Palace promises thorough review of VFA

Malacanang has promised to thoroughly review the controversial RP-US Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) to ensure that the Philippines gets "maximum benefits" from the agreement. President Benigno Aquino III on Monday said there are certain provisions in the VFA that he wants reviewed and possibly amended, although he did not state what those provisions were. "I think I made my position clear… there are certain provisions like anything made by man that can be made better," he said in a media briefing after he voted in Barangay Central in Tarlac City for the synchronized barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections. Aquino said the Presidential Commission on the VFA, which is headed by Executive Secretary Paquito "Jojo" Ochoa Jr., will get inputs from legislators on the controversial agreement. In a statement on Sunday, Ochoa said Aquino believes that a review of the VFA is necessary because the government "must evaluate whether we are getting the most out of the VFA." Ochoa said enough time has passed for the government to assess whether the Philippines got maximum benefits from the agreement. “It has been over a decade since the VFA was ratified, and we have over ten years’ worth of experience with regard to the implementation of the agreement to serve as bases for a thorough and objective assessment of its costs and benefits," he said. "We are also conscious of the fact that there have been specific incidents that necessitate an evaluation of provisions that deal with the handling of visiting American armed forces personnel that violate Philippine laws," he added. The VFA contains the framework that governs the conduct, exit and entry movements of American troops visiting the Philippines for military exercises. It was ratified by the Philippine Senate on May 27, 1999, but the US Senate has yet to ratify the agreement. The Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the VFA after it was questioned by a group that included former Senate President Jovito Salonga and Evalyn Ursua, the former lawyer of Suzette Nicolas who claimed that she was raped by an American soldier, US Marine Lance Cpl. Daniel Smith, in Subic five years ago. Smith, a participant in the 2005 Balikatan exercises under the auspices of the VFA, was convicted by the Makati Regional Trial Court of raping Nicolas inside the Subic Bay Freeport on Nov. 1, 2005. In a sworn statement submitted to the Court of Appeals in March 12, 2009, however, Nicolas—whose identity was still being hidden under the name "Nicole" at that time—recanted her earlier statements accusing Smith of rape and admitted that she had doubts whether the US serviceman indeed raped her. The Department of Foreign Affairs and several legislators have long been calling for a review of the controversial agreement. Last August, Senate foreign affairs committee head Loren Legarda said her committee will assess the impact of the VFA and consider a resolution filed by Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago that seeks the termination of the RP-US VFA. – KBK, GMANews.TV