LUCENA CITY –– Exiled Communist rebel leader Jose Maria “Joma” Sison doubts that President Duterte would abrogate the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA), a 20-year military accord between the Philippines and the United States.
“The VFA notice of termination takes effect after 180 days. The people cannot be sure that Duterte will not change his mind within that lengthy period,” Sison, Communist Party of the Philippines founder, said in a statement from Utrecht in The Netherlands Tuesday.
A provision under the VFA states that the agreement would remain in force “until the expiration of 180 days from the date on which either party gives the other party notice in writing that it desires to terminate the agreement.”
Sison, who declared support to President Duterte’s move to terminate the VFA, once tagged Duterte as “notorious for flip-flopping.”
Sison claimed that Duterte was “beggarly dependent on US military supplies and advice.”
“One telephone call from Trump can fix Duterte,” the top communist rebel said.
“His pro-US military officers trained in US military forts and organized as assets of the US DIA and CIA will tell him to comply with US orders, or else,” Sison added but did not elaborate.
He recalled that the President once postured about terminating the VFA, “but after a few months allowed Balikatan exercises under VFA.”
Sison emphasized that there were other military treaties with the US: Mutual Defense Treaty, Mutual Logistics Support Agreement, and Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA).
“The EDCA allows the US military to rotate more of its troops in the Philippines and build facilities in Philippine military camps using the Filipino puppet troops as security guards,” he said.