Sun.Star Cebu

Embassy: US will work with Duterte

Palace aide: Revoking of US military accord was just a warning

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THE United States said yesterday it will work with the Philippine President to address any concerns after he threatened to terminate a pact that allows US troops to visit the Philippine­s.

Malacañang was quick to clarify yesterday that President Rodrigo Duterte was just warning when he said he told the United States to prepare for abrogation of the Visiting Forces of Agreement (VFA).

“It was a warning. It was really something the President said he will void,” Presidenti­al Communicat­ions Office (PCO) Assistant Secretary Ana Marie Banaag said.

Duterte was enraged after a US government aid agency deferred a vote on a renewal of a major developmen­t assistance package for the Philippine­s over concerns about extrajudic­ial killings in Duterte’s war on illegal drugs, which has left thousands dead.

Although no decision on the aid package has been taken, Duterte on Saturday launched an expletives-laden tirade, telling the United States to “prepare to leave the Philippine­s, prepare for the eventual repeal or the abrogation of the VFA.”

He was referring to a 1998 accord that governs American forces visiting the Philippine­s for joint combat exercises.

The pact has helped the Philippine­s contain a violent Muslim insurgency in the south and train and equip Filipino forces facing an assertive China in disputed South China Sea waters.

VFA revocation

In his arrival speech from Singapore last Friday night, President Duterte told the US to prepare the revocation of the VFA after what he thought the Philippine­s has been stricken out of the US aid agency Millennium Challenge Corp. (MHC).

“You know, tit for tat ... if you can do this, so (can) we. It ain’t a one-way traffic,” Duterte said, adding tauntingly, “Bye-bye America.”

“We will wait for the next President’s move and what the advisers can say,” Banaag said.

The US Embassy in Manila said in a statement overnight that Washington will work closely with the Duterte administra­tion to address any concerns it may have. It did not elaborate.

The White House didn’t immediatel­y respond to a request for comment, but spokesman Josh Earnest has said previously that the White House would not react publicly each time Duterte made an offhand remark.

The 71-year-old Duterte, who describes himself as a left-wing politician, has made similar threats before and after taking office in June, but he and his officials have walked back on many of his public statements, causing confusion.

While calling Americans “sons of bitches” and “hypocrites,” Duterte on Saturday praised China as having “the kindest soul of all” for offering what he said was significan­t financial assistance. “So, what do I need America for?” he asked.

He also said Russia can be a very important ally. “They do not insult people, they do not interfere,” he said.

$434-M aid package

The Philippine­s had been slated for another aid package after its previous five-year, $434 million poverty reduction program was successful­ly completed in May under Duterte’s predecesso­r, Benigno Aquino III.

A spokeswoma­n for the MHC, Laura Allen, said on Thursday that it would continue to monitor events in the Philippine­s before the next board review in March 2017.

The US decision is among the first signs of how concerns about the rule of law and human rights under Duterte could entail economic costs.

The US Government, along with European Union and U.N. officials, has raised concerns about Duterte’s crackdown on illegal drugs, which has left more than 2,000 suspected drug users and dealers dead in purported gunbattles with police.

More than 3,000 other deaths are being investigat­ed to determine if they were linked to illegal drugs.

 ?? (AP FOTO) ?? ‘JUST A THREAT. President Rodrigo Duterte speaks to the Filipino community in Singapore. In his arrival speech from Singapore last Friday night, the President told the United States to prepare the revocation of the VFA after what he thought the Philippine­s has been stricken out of the US aid agency Millennium Challenge Corp.
(AP FOTO) ‘JUST A THREAT. President Rodrigo Duterte speaks to the Filipino community in Singapore. In his arrival speech from Singapore last Friday night, the President told the United States to prepare the revocation of the VFA after what he thought the Philippine­s has been stricken out of the US aid agency Millennium Challenge Corp.

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