President Rodrigo Duterte sets a condition on the resumption of the Visiting Forces Agreement or VFA with the United States.
“I want to put notice, if there is an American agent here, if you want VFA, you have to pay. You have to pay because it is a shared responsibility,” Duterte said in a speech on Friday.
“Your share of responsibility does not come free because after all, when the war breaks out, we all pay,” Duterte added.
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The US-Philippine deal has been signed in 1999. The VFA allows American troops to conduct military exercises and humanitarian missions with their Filipino counterparts.
The VFA, however, prohibits US troops from engaging in combat operations.
“In the past, ang hinanakit ko, we ask so much from them because they have taken so much from us na libre…iyong advancing their troops in our land, okay lang ‘yan sa akin. We do not want to quarrel with anybody,” Duterte said.
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“The exigency of the moment requires their presence here,” he added.
Foreign Affairs Secretary Teddyboy Locsin Jr. said that he will be meeting with the Americans to discuss the agreement.
Duterte ordered the termination of the VFA last February 2020. The termination has been suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic in June and was later on extended again in November. (TDT)
