Senator Richard Gordon said he welcomes the Senate’s move to hold a public hearing on the Duterte government’s plan to abrogate the Philippine’s 20-year old Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) with the United States, as this will pave the way for Filipinos to know whether or not it would be beneficial to the country in the long run.
Gordon said he believes the Senate should “assert” its right to be part of the process of abrogating a bilateral treaty, which involved them in the first place.
But President Duterte recently threatened to terminate the treaty after it was confirmed that the US cancelled former Philippine National Police chief and now Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa’s US visa. “The Senate must assert itself as the third branch of government involved in treaty making. Remember this is the only thing that the Senate is involved, the rest Congress is involved,” Gordon pointed out.
Gordon expressed fears that abrogating the VFA at this time may have serious repercussions on the government’s national security, especially since the government has no external defense capabilities.“At this time, ang dami nating problema. Sinasagasaan ang mga bangka natin, iniiwanan, hindi nila nire-respeto yung mga sundae natin dun, pinapaalis. Di naman dapat i-abrogate. Baka mamaya lalong mamaga yang mga problemang iyan ,” Gordon pointed out.
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