MikeLigalig.com

MANILA, Philippines—The clamor for the abrogation of the RP-US Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) could have prompted US President Barack Obama to finally call President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to reaffirm ties between the two countries, Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri said Sunday.

“Maybe this (clamor for VFA abrogation here) was a wake-up call for President Obama,” Zubiri said in a phone interview.

Obama called up Ms Arroyo on Saturday night to reiterate Washington’s commitment to the VFA, which some senators now want junked following renewed questions on who should have custody of American serviceman Lance Cpl. Daniel Smith, who was convicted of raping a Filipino woman.

Malacañang crowed about the Obama call, especially in light of attempts by Ms Arroyo to meet with the US president, who is barely three months into the job.

Zubiri said the move taken by Obama was “good” for RP-US relations. “Maybe, the US government feared losing the agreement and found it difficult to hold training exercises here for US forces,” he said on radio dzBB.

Obama was apparently advised not to snub the Philippines lest Manila decide to renegotiate and abrogate the VFA, said the Senate majority leader.

A resolution seeking to abrogate the treaty, which has the support of six senators, has been referred to the Senate foreign relations committee under Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago.

Sen. Francis Pangilinan, proponent of the resolution, said Obama’s phone call could be “consuelo de bobo” (consolation), especially after US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton bypassed the Philippines in her Asian tour.

But Pangilinan maintained that “Obama will only go out of his way to call other heads of state if it is in the best interest of the United States for him to do so.”

Study matter

Malacañang on Sunday said the phone conversation between Obama and Ms Arroyo reaffirming both governments’ commitment to the VFA should be considered by the Senate.

“A treaty is an executive action subject only to ratification by the Senate. (So) whatever they discussed should rightfully be considered in the deliberation of the treaty by the ratifying body,” Press Secretary Cerge Remonde said on Radyo ng Bayan.

Remonde said Malacañang was not expecting senators opposed to the VFA to change their position on the issue just because of the conversation.

But he said the senators should “carefully study the matter and consider what would really be for the good of the country.”

Sen. Loren Legarda, who signed Pangilinan’s resolution, called on Ms Arroyo to uphold the national interest as she stressed that the VFA was a violation of the Constitution.

Onerous

For his part, Sen. Francis Escudero expressed the hope that Ms Arroyo would push for changes in the VFA that would make it “mutually beneficial” to the two countries.

“The VFA, as it was crafted, is onerous and needs changing to deter people like Daniel Smith and his ilk from taking advantage of its infirmities,” Escudero said.

Last month, the Supreme Court ruled that Smith’s transfer from a Makati jail to the US Embassy in December 2006 violated the VFA.

The high court ordered the government to negotiate Smith’s detention in a Philippine-run facility as he awaits the result of his appeal. The US Embassy, however, has stalled on the negotiation.

Obama and Ms Arroyo did not speak specifically about Smith in their telephone conversation, a Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) official said Sunday.

“They spoke about the RP-US Visiting Forces Agreement in general terms, reiterating their commitment to it. The working details would be tackled by lower [officials] in the regular meetings on the VFA,” said Assistant Secretary Eduardo Malaya, DFA acting spokesperson.

Critical to relationship

Malaya referred to a statement issued by the US Office of the Press Secretary which stated that the US considered the VFA “critical to the bilateral relationship and our strategic interests.”

He said Foreign Secretary Alberto Romulo and Clinton earlier had the opportunity to speak about VFA during Ms Arroyo’s last visit to the United States.

Obama’s phone call was not exactly a “surprise” because the White House, a few days before, had sent advance notification to Malacañang about the US leader’s intention, according to Malaya.

“It’s part of the preliminaries between two heads of state who wanted to speak to each other over the phone,” he said.

Malaya said Ms Arroyo also used the opportunity to “very firmly” express the Philippines’ gratitude to Obama for his administration’s passing of an economic stimulus bill that included benefits for Filipino World War II veterans.

The DFA spokesperson said another topic in the conversation was US cooperation with the Philippines and other countries on other issues such as the environment and interfaith dialogue.

Malaya recalled that the United States had pledged $35 million, through the US Agency for International Development, to help protect the Coral Triangle, which includes the biologically diverse waters of the Philippines and its neighbors.

“That there is a significant readiness on the part of the Unites States to engage the Philippines and other countries with regard to issues such as environment, climate change and interfaith dialogue, is quite important to us,” he said.

Unimpressed

In the House of Representatives, some lawmakers were unimpressed by Obama’s call because Ms Arroyo failed to assert Philippine custody over Smith.

“In her giddiness over Obama’s call, the President forgot to ask Obama to turn Smith over to Philippine authorities or to tell him how unfair and onerous the VFA is,” Bayan Muna party-list Rep. Teodoro Casiño said.

Palawan Rep. Abraham Mitra said Obama’s charm did not in any way boost the merits of having a VFA.

“If Obama had told the President that Smith would be turned over to us, then that would have made our day, a change in policy that we could believe in,” he said in a text message.

In a radio interview, Muntinlupa Rep. Rufino Rozanno Biazon said Ms Arroyo should not have been happy just because Obama called her.

“She should have told him that the country would abrogate the VFA if the United States would continue to insist on its own interpretation,” he said.

Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay downplayed Obama’s call, insisting the need to review the VFA.

In a statement, Binay, the United Opposition president, said Obama’s support for the VFA was expected because it was consistent with US interests and policies.

“The VFA needs to be reviewed from the framework of what is best for the Philippines,” Binay said. With reports from Christian V. Esguerra and Marlon Ramos
 

 


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