The Malacanang has confirmed that President Rodrigo Duterte has ordered the termination of the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA).
Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said the start of the VFA termination was based on the order of President Duterte last night.
Earlier, Foreign Affairs Sec. Teodoro Locsin Jr. said that he had already appointed Defense Sec. Delfin Lorenzana to commence the process for VFA termination.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) has also begun the study of the proper cancellation process.
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Duterte can terminate VFA without senate’s approval
President Rodrigo Duterte may abolish the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) without the approval of the senate.
Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo explained that the VFA is an executive agreement, meaning the president can cancel it.
According to Panelo, the US interfered in the Philippine affairs when it barred the president’s ally, senator Bato Dela Rosa from entering their country because of government war on drugs.
Duterte on Thursday warned the United States he would scrap the agreement on the deployment of troops and equipment for military exercises if the US would not reinstate Dela Rosa’s visa.
“If you do not do the correction, one, I will terminate the bases, the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA). I will finish that son of a bitch,” Duterte said in a wide-ranging speech before former Communist rebels. “I am giving the government and the American government one month from now.”