FILE: Sen. Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa INQUIRER.NET PHOTO/CATHY MIRANDA
MANILA, Philippines—Malacañang said Monday the United States, as the Philippines’ long-time military ally, should have the courtesy to explain the cancellation of Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa’s visa.
“Not that we are requiring the US to tell us the reason for the barring as well as Senator Bato’s visa being canceled, but we feel that as a matter of courtesy between countries who are allied, it should have given the reasons,” presidential spokesman Panelo said in a Palace briefing.
“After all, we stated the reasons why we are refusing entry to three US senators in this country,” he added.
The Palace official was referring to a travel ban against US Senators Richard “Dick” Durbin, Patrick Leahy, and Edward Markey, who pushed for the release of Senator Leila De Lima, a staunch critic of the Duterte administration, who has been detained for drug-related charges.
According to Panelo, the cancellation of Dela Rosa’s US visa was the “last straw” that prompted President Rodrigo Duterte to order the termination of the Visiting Forces Agreement with the US.
He also cited prior events supposedly committed by the US that intrudes in the Philippines’ sovereignty, such as the US senators’ demand to release De Lima; the US Senate resolution condemning the violations of human rights under the Duterte administration’s drug war; and the introduction of an amendment to the US national budget that barred entry to Philippine government officials involved in the detention of De Lima.
The VFA, which took effect in 1999, covers the conduct of visiting American soldiers in the Philippines and serves as a foundation for military exercises between the Philippines and the US.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) is set to submit on Monday its study on the process needed to terminate the VFA.