‘No treaty or international agreement shall be valid and effective unless concurred in by at two-thirds of all Members of the Senate’ – Constitution, Art. VII, Sec. 21
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In 1998, US Defense Secretary William Cohen visited President Estrada with the purpose of seeking support for the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA). Estrada replied, quite properly, that the VFA had to be approved by Senate. Reportedly Cohen demurred. But Estrada was correct. The US Constitution only specifies that treaties need Senate approval whereas the Philippine Constitution is clear that both treaties and international agreements must be supported by Senate.
The draft VFA was discussed in 1999 by Senate where it was approved by 18 votes to five. Since over two-thirds of Senate members gave approval, the VFA was passed into law.
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During the Aquino presidency, another international agreement between the Philippines and the US was promulgated. This was the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Act (EDCA). This, too, should have received Senate approval. US Ambassador to the Philippines, Philip Goldberg, due to the impending visit of President Obama persuaded President Aquino to go ahead with the agreement, even without Senate approval. I believe President Obama would not have minded if the agreement had not been signed before his visit as it seemed likely that Senate would have approved (as it did with VFA).
Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago petitioned the Supreme Court that EDCA, as an international agreement, should have been subjected to Senate scrutiny. The SC, with Maria Lourdes Sereno as Chief Justice, denied her petition.
A year or so later, in 2016, incoming President Duterte was gratuitously offensive to President Obama: ‘son of a bitch.’ This was particularly unpleasant since Obama’s mother, as a single lady, had serious challenges in providing a secure environment for her son. I wonder whether Duterte’s discourtesy may have been as a result of being misbriefed about the passage of EDCA. It was Goldberg who was pushy, not Obama.
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Now for the present.
The relationship between the Philippines and China is complex. The Philippines does not want to be seen as being subservient to China. But the nitty gritty of negotiations must be substantially confidential. Nevertheless I believe the Constitution must be respected which means that agreements with China should receive Senate approval. We are not hearing much about this necessary part of the process.
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The stability of the SC over the next few years is not assured. Strong candidates, from the point of view of seniority, will only serve for a few months before they reach the compulsory retirement age of 70.
Oh dear…/PN
