Militant groups critical of Duterte back VFA termination

MANILA, Philippines – Militant groups critical of President Rodrigo Duterte have supported the government’s move to withdraw from the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) with the United States (US).

In separate statements on Tuesday, Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) and party-list group Bayan Muna claimed that terminating the VFA was the right thing to do.

“The termination of the VFA is just and necessary. It is long overdue. The VFA is an affront to Philippine sovereignty. It is a reminder of our status as a US neocolony,” Bayan secretary general Renato Reyes said.

However, Bayan, which has long opposed the presence of American troops in the Philippines, warned of any possible reversal from both Manila and Washington that may result in the reinstatement of the VFA.

“With the DFA [Department of Foreign Affairs] transmitting the notice of termination to the US, the process of termination has been set into motion. We have 180 days from the day the US receives the notice for the termination to be effective,” Reyes explained.

“During this 180-day transition period, the Filipino people must remain vigilant  against any reversal by the Philippine government or any intervention by the US government,” Reyes added.

News broke out on Tuesday afternoon regarding Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr.’s signing of the termination notice of the country’s VFA with the US.  According to Locsin, the US Embassy in the Philippines’ deputy chief of mission has already received the document.

Talks about the VFA scrapping started when President Rodrigo Duterte threatened American officials to explain why the visa of his close ally, Senator Ronald dela Rosa, was revoked.

Observers speculated that the visa revocation may be either due to Dela Rosa’s role in the arrest of opposition Senator Leila de Lima, or in the enforcement of the bloody war against illegal drugs.

Militant groups slammed Duterte’s move of resolving a long-time issue just because Dela Rosa was affected by the visa cancellation.

If the VFA is revoked, the joint exercises between the US and Philippine militaries, called “Balikatan Exercises,” can no longer be conducted.

Bayan Muna, which has stood against several of the administration’s policies, urged that the Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT) and the Enhanced Defense Coorperation Agreement (EDCA) be scrapped as well.

“President Duterte should not stop with the scrapping of VFA only; MDT and EDCA should also be terminated as they are as onerous and violative, too, of our national sovereignty. They are vestiges of neocolonial control of the US, a tool for direct intervention in the country, facilitating for instance the return of their basing facilities, interference in the counterinsurgency operations,” Zarate said.

“These agreements effectively transformed the Philippines as the biggest US base in the world and should have long been terminated,” he added.

Edited by JPV