VFA termination notice sent to US
Credit to Author: Ma. Reina Leanne Tolentino, TMT| Date: Tue, 11 Feb 2020 06:04:18 +0000
THE Philippines has sent to the United States (US) the termination notice for the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA), which the US Embassy in Manila has received, officials said.
Malacañang spokesman Salvador Panelo said that President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday night ordered Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea to tell Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. to send the notice.
“And the executive secretary sent the message to Secretary Teddy Boy Locsin and the latter signed the notice of termination…sent to the US government today,” Panelo said in a press briefing on Tuesday.
The spokesman said in part that “the notice of termination has been sent and the effectivity of that would be 180 days from the receipt of the US government of such notice.”
Locsin confirmed on Twitter that the deputy chief of Mission of the US Embassy received the “notice of termination” of the VFA.
“As a diplomatic courtesy there will be no further announcements following this self-explanatory development,” Locsin tweeted.
The VFA promotes interoperability between Philippine forces and their US counterpart in law enforcement. Locsin said the VFA allowed for continued support by the US in addressing non traditional security threats.
Through the VFA, American forces have been instrumental in assisting the Philippines to combat non-traditional security threats such as trafficking in persons, cyberattcks and terrorism and illegal narcotics through trainings, joint exercises and exchange visits. REINA C. TOLENTINO, BERNADETTE E. TAMAYO