Drilon rallies support for Senate petition at SC on VFA abrogation

MANILA, Philippines — Senate Minority Franklin Drilon on Monday urged his colleagues in the Senate to support the filing of a petition at the Supreme Court questioning the unilateral abrogation of the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) with the United States without the concurrence of the chamber.

The Philippines has already sent a notice to the US, terminating the 1999 Philippine-US accord.

“The Senate President, to my understanding, has decided to go to the Supreme Court, and that is why I am asking our colleagues to support our Senate President,” Drilon said in an interview at the Senate.

Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III earlier said he and Senators Panfilo Lacson and Richard Gordon are planning to file the petition at the SC this week.

Aside from them, Sotto said former Senators Francisco “Kit” Tatad and Rodolfo Biazon, who sponsored the VFA in the 11th Congress, would also join the SC filing.

“Inaayos pa na lang yung wording because I merely want a simple petition asking the Supreme Court to interpret the  Constitution on whether it should pass the Senate or not when an agreement or a treaty is abrogated,” Sotto said in another interview.

Drilon said he is supporting Sotto’s move to elevate the issue before the SC since the issue has not been settled yet.

He recalled that the same issue was raised two years ago when they questioned before the SC the Philippines’ withdrawal from the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the International Criminal Court.

“The ruling on the VFA, or even the ruling on the ICC for that matter, will set the rule or will set the standard,” Drilon said.

The minority leader has already filed a resolution in the Senate, asserting the chamber’s role in treaty or agreement withdrawal, and the chamber has adopted another resolution, urging President Rodrigo Duterte to reconsider the VFA abrogation pending Senate review.

Despite this, the government proceeded with the scrapping of the VFA, which will take effect 180 days upon receipt of the notice.

Edited by EDV