Drilon welcomes suspension of VFA abrogation

Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon on Wednesday welcomed the suspended abrogation of the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) between the Philippines and the United States.

"This sudden policy change is a welcome development. The unhampered implementation of the VFA will serve the interest of our country, particularly with regard to the preservation of our rights over parts of the West Philippine Sea," Drilon said in a statement.

He underscored that the "abrupt" decision of President Rodrigo Duterte to terminate the treaty last February amid the aggressiveness and bullying of China will not benefit the Filipino people.

"What the country truly needs is a stable foreign policy that promotes our interest," he added.

Drilon said the sudden change in course would not affect the petition filed by the Senate at the Supreme Court to rule on the chamber's role in treaty withdrawals.

"This turnaround does not affect the case that we filed before the Supreme Court. The petition we filed is for declaratory relief and mandamus where we asked the Supreme Court to uphold the power of the Senate over treaty termination," he said.

"The fact that the VFA is reinstated will not render our case moot and academic. The case stands," he added.

The question on constitutional boundaries surfaced after President Rodrigo Duterte unilaterally ended the VFA between the Philippines and the United States almost four months ago.

Duterte's decision came on the heels of Senator Ronald "Bato" Dela Rosa's US visa cancellation. Dela Rosa was a close ally of the President and served as the chief of the Philippine National Police during the pilot years of the administration's war against illegal drugs.

On Tuesday, Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. said the Philippines has informed the United States that it was suspending for six months the termination of the military accord which governs the conduct of visiting US personnel holding military exercises in the Philippines.

He said the move was made upon the instruction of Duterte and "in light of political and other developments in the region."—AOL, GMA News