The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) underscored Wednesday, June 16, the importance of the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) as one of the building blocks of the robust relationship between the Philippines and United States.
This, as President Duterte decided to suspend for another six months the termination of the VFA as announced by Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. last Monday.
AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Cirilito Sobejana said the military will adhere to the guidance of the Commander-in-Chief with regards to the suspension of VFA abrogation.
"The VFA is a cornerstone of our alliance with the United States that has benefitted both our countries' armed forces," he said.
The military chief noted that the military pact specifically provides opportunities for joint and interoperability trainings between the AFP and US Armed Forces which is in furtherance of the existing Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT) of 1951.
"As such, your AFP will continue to enhance its capabilities through purposeful engagements with our treaty ally," Sobejana said.
"Our engagements will be in enhancing the interoperability between our two armed forces to meet evolving security threats and in making the AFP better prepared and capacitated to address these security concerns," he added.
Signed in 1998 and ratified the following year, the VFA governs the conduct or behavior of American soldiers in the Philippines. It allows joint military trainings between US and Filipino soldiers in the country.
Duterte ordered the termination of VFA in February 2011 after the US government revoked the travel visa of Sen. Ronald dela Rosa, a key political ally, due to alleged human rights violations. Dela Rosa, who oversaw the implementation of the bloody war on drugs, is Duterte's first Philippine National Police (PNP) chief when he was elected into presidency in 2016.
However, Duterte ordered the suspension of the termination of VFA in June 2020 due to an increased tension between the Philippines and China in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The suspension would last for six months.
He announced a second six-month suspension in November 2020 which paved the way for discussions to improve the 23-year-old military pact.