GEN. TINIO, Nueva Ecija – Ousted House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano continues to defend the policies of President Duterte, urging the public to trust the president’s handling of the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) with the United States.
In an interview here Wednesday on the sidelights of his distribution of food packages to barangay health workers, Cayetano said Duterte has the best interest of the Philippines at heart when he said the US government must pay for the continuation of the agreement.
“Huwag nating i-judge ang pangulo, the way he says it. Actually, many presidents have said the same thing, that if you (United States) want to be in the Philippines, what’s in it for us?” Cayetano said.
“Kasi kailangan nating isipin ang Pilipino. Ang kaibahan kay President Duterte, pino-point out n’ya na umiinit po ang relationship o ang mga hindi pagkakasundo ng China at saka ng US,” he added, noting that both the US and China are acting to protect their own interests.
“Linawin po natin ‘yan. Ang US, although naglalagay po ng security forces sa ibang parte ng mundo, ‘yung interes nila ang inuuna rin nila. Gan’on din po ang China. ‘Wag nating sabihing ang ginagawa ng China lalo po sa West Philippine Sea ay para sa ibang tao – para sa China ‘yon. So ang kailangang isipin natin,interes ng Pilipinas,” he said.
Duterte had said in a speech delivered at the inspection of new air assets at the Clark Air Base in Pampanga on Feb. 12 that the US should pay if it wishes to retain the VFA.
“It’s a shared responsibility but your share of responsibility does not come free because after all when the war breaks out, we all pay,” Duterte said.
Cayetano, however, said the people should expect that any president would place the interest of the country “front and center.”
“Ang sinasabi lang naman n’ya if the US has interestshere and wants their troops trained here… paano naman ‘yung Pilipino (how about the Filipino people)? What’s in it for us?” he said.
Cayetano, who served as foreign affairs secretary under Duterte from 2017 to 2018, also told the public to trust the country’s diplomats in handling negotiations on the VFA.
“Ang mga diplomats, may marching orders na ‘yan. I’m sure that we can get the best deal for the Filipino people basta bigyan natin ng full support ang mga diplomats natin,” he said.
President Duterte had announced the termination of the VFA on Feb. 11, 2020 but the decision was deferred months later to give way to negotiations on a new defense arrangement between the Philippines and the US.
Ratified in 1999, the VFA contains guidelines and procedures on the entry and conduct of American troops in the Philippines. The agreement removed the jurisdiction of Philippine courts over crimes committed by American military personnel in the country and exempted American troops from securing Philippine visas and paying taxes and duties for military imports and exports.
As DFA secretary, Cayetano had called on the national government to review the VFA and reassess relations between the Philippines and the US.
“This is about re-negotiating an existing agreement, of transacting with foreign countries to ensure that Filipinos get the best and the most from our country’s relations with other countries,” said Cayetano in an earlier statement.
