VFA termination after Bato's visa cancellation an assurance to Duterte's ‘minions’ —Trillanes

President Rodrigo Duterte's termination of the country's Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) with the United States was somehow a message of affirmation to his minions, aside from being a clear statement of pivot to China, according to former Senator Antonio Trillanes IV on Wednesday.

"I believe Duterte's act of using the visa cancellation of Senator Bato is to use it as a symbol na he is protecting his people, 'yung mga pinangakuan niya na 'Sige pumatay kayo, sagutin ko kayo,'" Trillanes said in an interview on Rappler.

"Ito na 'yun. Kinancel pa lang ang visa hindi na niya maproteksyunan. So, he's doing a mind game na ang audience niya 'yung kaniyang minions na pumapatay," he added.

Last month, Duterte threatened to scrap the VFA after the US visa of Senator Ronald "Bato" Dela Rosa was cancelled.

Previous reports linked the visa cancellation to Dela Rosa's alleged involvement in extrajudicial killings in connection with the government's war against drugs.

Dela Rosa served as the chief of the Philippine National Police and the Bureau of Corrections under the Duterte administration before being elected as a senator.

On February 11, Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. announced that the notice of termination of the VFA has already been sent to the US government.

It will take effect after 180 days.

Retired Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio expressed concern that Duterte's latest move may pave the way for China's construction of air and naval bases on the Scarborough Shoal. —Dona Magsino/LDF, GMA News