The Marcos administration should seek payment from the United States government for their use of the existing sites under the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA), Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa suggested on Sunday, June 11.
Sen. Ronald "Bato" Dela Rosa (Senate PRIB Photo)
Dela Rosa said Congress should have no qualms amending the provision under the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) between the Philippines and the US, as their payment for the use of these facilities could be used to augment the funds needed for the retirement benefits of military and uniformed personnel (MUP).
Currently, the government has been pushing to reform the pension system of the MUPs but the senator said compelling soldiers, police, and other uniformed personnel to shoulder the contribution could backfire and eventually affect the country’s over-all national defense and security.
All the while, the Philippine government has been paying for all the operational costs of these EDCA sites, the senator noted.
The Philippines has recently given the US access to four additional locations under the 2014 EDCA.
“I-amend natin yung provision ng VFA. I-amend natin yun and sabihin natin na magbayad kayo, mag-renta kayo (Let’s amend the provision of the VFA. Let’s amend it and tell them that they pay, they should pay the rent),” dela Rosa said in an interview on Radio DZBB.
“Gumagamit kayo ng lupa namin (pero) ayaw niyo naman magbayad. Tapos kayo pupunta dito sa Pilipinas, hindi namin kayo hinihingan ng visa, tapos kami pumupunta kami dyan sa inyo sa Amerika, pinapahirapan nyo kami (kumuha) ng visa (You are using our land but you don’t want to pay for that. Then you just come here to the Philippines, we don’t require a visa from you, yet when we come there, you make it hard for us to get a visa),” he stressed.
“So where’s the principle of reciprocity in international relations? Bakit ganun (Why is that)? One-sided itong relationship (This relationship is one-sided). There’s no reciprocity at all,” the senator reiterated.
Dela Rosa said the government should consider the proposal since it has been pushing for the proposed MUP pension reform bill.
“Isa rin yan pandagdag din yan (sa MUP pension) (It can also be additional funds for the MUP bill),” the lawmaker stressed.