Zubiri confident Senate will ratify reciprocal access agreement with Japan

MANILA, Philippines — Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri believes that they have more than 16 votes in favor of the reciprocal access agreement (RAA) with Japan, which is enough to ratify the said deal.

Zubiri in an ambush interview on Saturday explained that they are ready to discuss concerns with the RAA and eventually vote on the deal.

With 24 members in the Senate, the RAA at least needs 16 affirmative votes, as the 1987 Constitution states that no treaty will be valid or deemed effective “unless concurred in by at least two-thirds of all the Members of the Senate”.

“So kami naman po sa Senado, handa po kami na talakayin itong RAA kasi kami po ang magra-ratify n’yan, at nakakuha na po ako ng majority,” Zubiri told reporters after Japan Prime Minister Kishida Fumio addressed the Philippine Congress at the Batasang Pambansa complex.

(So in the Senate, we are ready to discuss the RAA because we will be in charge of ratifying that, and I have been able to secure a majority vote.)

“We need more than 16 votes; I believe we have more than that to ratify the RAA in the Senate,” he added.

Zubiri stressed that the RAA will be a big help to the Philippines, especially as the tensions have been high regarding the West Philippine Sea (WPS) dispute.

According to the Senate president, the RAA will prepare the country for any eventuality — not only in terms of security and defense posture but also in times of calamity.

“We’re very, very happy and you know we are pushing for the Reciprocal Access Agreement, that’s that so-called VFA of Japan and the Philippines, so that we will have interoperability, cross-training of our Navy and Coast Guard with their own Navy at Coast Guard,” Zubiri explained.

“I think what is important is we prepare for any eventuality, the RAA will allow our interoperability and cross-training between our two forces not only in the times of self-defense, but also in the times of calamity, because if we have an RAA, the Japanese forces, the self-defense forces, will be able to go here during calamities like what happened during the Typhoon Yolanda; they can now enter and assist our Armed Forces and our civil servants,” he added.

Earlier, Zubiri and House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez also allayed fears that the RAA — believed to be a version of the Philippines’ Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) with the United States — will put Filipino women at risk of being sexually abused by more soldiers.

Zubiri explained that the Japanese soldiers would be asked to follow a strict set of guidelines should the RAA be ratified, noting also that for over the 30 years of the VFA with the US, only two major incidents occurred.

He was referring to the two incidents involving US soldiers accused of committing sexual abuse — Marine Lance Cpl. Daniel Smith, who was tried for the 2005 rape of a Filipino woman, and private first class Joseph Scott Pemberton, who was found guilty of killing transgender woman Jennifer Laude.

Zubiri and Romualdez’s answers came after opposition lawmaker and ACT Teachers party-list Rep. France Castro expressed concerns over the RAA saying that Filipino women may be placed at risk with the pact.

Talks of a VFA-like agreement between Japan and the Philippines have been swirling since the early part of 2023, but during Marcos’ trip to Tokyo last February, the said deal was not discussed.

Earlier, when he addressed the Philippine Congress in a special joint session, Kishida said that he and President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. had agreed to start formal discussions on the RAA.

READ: Philippines, Japan sign key agreements during PM Kishida’s visit to PH