As chief architect of the country’s foreign policy, President Duterte has the prerogative to make whatever decision in regard to the Philippines’ Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) with the United States of America, Senator Christopher Lawrence "Bong" Go said.
“Alam mo, nirerespeto ko po ang…desisyon ng ating Pangulo as the Chief Architect of our foreign policy. Sovereign country naman po tayo and independent country ang Pilipinas (You know, I respect the decision of our President as the Chief Architect of our foreign policy. The Philippines is a sovereign and independent country),” Go said during the groundbreaking ceremony of the Northeastern Misamis General Hospital in Villanueva, Misamis Oriental on Friday, February 19.
Go said Duterte was only concerned about the national interest of the country and welfare of all Filipinos, saying that he and Duterte would not let Filipinos be taken advantage of.
“So, kung ano po ‘yung desisyon ng ating Pangulo, hindi naman po ibig sabihin ay maniningil ang Presidente. Kung ano lang po ang tama na kompensasyon para sa Pilipino (So, whatever the decision of our President, it does not mean that the President is collecting fees. He is only asking for the right compensation for the Filipinos),” Duterte's former special assistant explained.
President Duterte earlier demanded compensation from the US government if it wanted to keep the PH-US VFA, a 1998 bilateral agreement which allows US troops to conduct joint military exercises with Filipino troops and humanitarian missions in the country.
He ordered last year the abrogation of the agreement, but suspended it due to the pandemic and “heightened superpower tensions.”
When President Duterte first proposed the abrogation of the VFA in February last year, Go had said that the termination would be an opportunity for the country ‘’to assert sovereignty and reaffirm relations" with the US.
He said he believes the termination of the VFA "is a chance for us to write a new and better chapter in Philippines–United States relations." "We should now be able to renew our friendship, reaffirm our ties and resume cooperation as true co-equals," he added.
Go said that he also understands and respects the opposing views of his colleagues with regard to the position of the President to terminate the VFA.
“We are a separate branch of government and it is the right of each senator to express their views. After all, we are a working democracy,” he said.