AN interagency committee led by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) will now take over the management of the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) and other future status of forces agreements (Sofa).
This, after President Duterte signed Executive Order (EO) 97 on Friday, transferring the management of the Presidential Commission on the Visiting Forces Agreement (PCVFA), which was renamed into the Presidential Commission on Visiting Forces (PCVF).
The PCVFA was previously under the Office of the President and chaired by the Executive secretary.
“The PCVFA is hereby renamed the Presidential Commission on Visiting Forces, hereafter referred to as the ‘Commission,’ which shall be attached to the DFA while being under the oversight of the Office of the President,” the EO 97 said.
Aside from the foreign affairs secretary, who will chair the PCVFA, other members of the Commission are the secretaries of National Defense; Justice; Social Welfare and Development; and Interior and Local Government.
Also included in the Commission are the National Security Adviser, the executive director of the Presidential Commission on the VFA (VFACom), and representatives from the Office of the President and from the private sector.
EO 97 also amended the selection process for the executive director of the VFACom. “The President upon the recommendation of the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Department of National Defense shall appoint or designate an executive director,” EO 97 said.
Prior to the new issuance, the President directly appointed the executive director of VFACom.
EO 97 will take effect after being published in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation.