Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA)

The Visiting Forces Agreement needs to be ratified and renegotiated with the United States. I see two major points that is within the VFA. First is the national security of the country and its nationals and second is the development of the country’s military.

Undoubtedly, the VFA totally strikes our national security. First are the nuclear weapons. Why does the government allow passage of nuclear weapons? It is very unconstitutional and didn’t we also sign an agreement with the ASEAN for a nuclear free Southeast Asian Region? Second, when the American soldiers commit crimes, they cannot be subject to Philippine law? It is so nerve-wracking. How can the government allow such agreement? It’s undermining the people’s right and the country’s sovereignty. It’s as if the Philippines is not an independent country. It seems like we are a puppet government of the US and whatever they will tell us, we should follow. The unforgettable Subic Rape Case is one. The American soldier stayed in the US Embassy and lived as if he did not commit any crime. It is totally unjust. And third, the agreement is vague, specifically to the term “activities”. Can you just imagine the country immediately engaging in war due to the role reason of the VFA? The Philippines is not ready for war but when it comes, we can’t just say to our opponents that we are not ready.

And the second one is pertaining to the development of our navy and air force. We are very much lagging behind our Southeast Asian neighbors. We believed that the US will aid the country in times of war or conflicts with other countries but nowhere in the VFA is the US obliged to come in our side in case of such conflict with a third party and the US is also not obliged to aid in modernizing our weapons system. An example would be the South China Sea conflict where the Philippines is a claimant together with other countries including China. Do we expect the US to take our side and not China? It will never happen. It is time for the government to improve our military most especially our navy since we are an archipelagic country.

I hope the current administration will pursue an independent foreign policy geared towards the protection of the nationals and the total recognition of our national sovereignty.