Deputy Speaker and 1 PACMAN Partylist Rep. Michael “Mikee” L. Romero on Sunday, February 28, recommended a five-year extension of the Visiting Forces Agreement instead of resorting to abrogation as previously announced by President Duterte.
Romero, together with partylist colleague Rep. Enrico Pineda, backed the proposal as he expressed his support to the Senate’s recommendation that the VFA should be maintained under the new administration of President Joe Biden.
“I think it would be in our best interest to keep the status quo at this point, particularly before we send the notice to abrogate the VFA during the Trump administration,” House Deputy Speaker Mikee Romero suggested.
He also lauded President Duterte for keeping an open mind on the VFA issue when the chief executive declared that he will be gauging public opinion on his previous stand that the agreement be abrogated.
Romero noted that Duterte’s decision was arrived at under different circumstances prevailing in the US-PH ties. It was made during the administration of former US President Donald Trump whom Biden has replaced.
“Perhaps an extension would be the more prudent thing to do, but this time with a five-year program, where every year our counterparts in the US will have an assessment or review of sorts with our own defense secretary,” the senior administration lawmaker said.
“This should include the transfer of modern warfare training and technologies as well as introduction of new state-of-the-art equipment that the country can use to combat domestic and international threats,” Romero said.
Pineda, chairman of the House Committee on Labor, aired similar pronouncements.
“Having an ally like the US - who is just like a Big Brother to us - will be very crucial for us, primarily because we also need to have an appropriate response to what China has been doing in our territorial waters, not to mention their new Coast Guard laws,” he said.
Pineda, chairman of the House committee on labor, noted that Beijing’s Coast Guard Law took effect on February 1. This allows the Chinese Coast Guard ships to use lethal force on foreign ships that do not obey orders to leave disputed waters. Both Romero and Pineda issued their respective statement after US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin III affirmed the US government’s commitment to the US-Philippines alliance, the Mutual Defense Treaty, and the VFA during an introductory call with Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana early this month.