MANILA – The Department of Justice (DOJ) is set to submit to President Rodrigo Duterte its study on procedure for the termination of the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) between the United States and the Philippines.
DOJ secretary Menardo Guevarra said in an interview over the weekend that his office has finished its study on the agreement and will submit its findings before President Duterte today.
“I’m done with the study on the procedure for terminating the VFA, but I have to submit first my memo to President Duterteon Monday,” said Guevarra, adding they only dealt with procedure on the termination of the military deal.
“We shall answer such questions as: is the VFA a treaty or an executive agreement? If it’s a treaty, is Senate concurrence required for termination? Who will give the notice of termination? Is it necessary to state any ground for termination?” he added.
Guevarra said that a separate study is needed if the termination would have an impact on other military agreements with the US, such as the Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT) and Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA).
“Possible effects on the MDT and EDCA may have to be studied separately by the DND [Department of National Defense] and DFA [Department of Foreign Affairs], but the DOJ will be ready to assist,” he said.
President Duterte recently ordered the termination of the Visiting Forces Agreement after the American government canceled the visa of Sen. Ronald dela Rosa./PN
