Embassy: US will work with Duterte
Palace aide: Revoking of US military accord was just a warning
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.