FACT CHECK: Duterte changes tune on terminating PH-US VFA

From stressing that the Philippines “did not need” the United States to “survive as a nation,” President Rodrigo Duterte, through his foreign affairs secretary, is now citing “political and other developments in the region” to delay by at least six months the termination of the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA).

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In an earlier radio interview, Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador Panelo, then also serving as the president’s spokesperson, flatly replied “hindi (no)” when asked if Duterte was in any way open to renegotiate the deal. See FACT CHECK: Palace negates AFP chief, says PH ‘not open’ to new military agreements

The DFA note said the suspension will start on June 1 and will continue for six months. It may be extended by the Philippines for another six months, “after which the tolling of the initial period in Note Verbale No. 20-0463 dated Feb. 11, 2020 (terminating the VFA) shall resume.” See FACT SHEET: The Visiting Forces Agreement, explained

In a press briefing on June 2, Locsin attributed Duterte’s change in position to the “vast and swiftly changing circumstances of the world in a time of pandemic and heightened superpower tensions.” Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, on the other hand, said the president might have deemed it “untimely” to terminate the deal given that “we need to cooperate with other countries to fight the pandemic.”