THE Philippines’s ambassador to the United States Jose Manuel G. Romualdez firmly believes that the new iteration of the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA)—which has remained in limbo for more than a year—will see the light of day.
“Both Filipinos and Americans hope that the VFA will continue, because it’s an important piece of agreement, and part of a bigger picture of our relationship—especially in our Mutual Defense Treaty,” the country’s envoy to Washington, D.C. said during a joint press briefing hosted by the US Embassy in Manila on June 4.
The 60-year-old treaty provides the legal framework for the presence of American troops in the Philippines for joint war exercises and related activities.
President Duterte decided to axe the deal on February 11, 2020 after the US denied issuing a visa to Senator Ronald M. dela Rosa, who had been accused of alleged human-rights violations for the government’s aggressive stance on the war against illegal drugs.
Romualdez said he does not have the details of what has been revised since the VFA was suspended, “but I know there have been improvements, [due to the amount of time spent by both our countries’ panels in discussing a number of items] they wanted to improve in that agreement.”
He said the updated VFA is now in the office of Duterte and waiting for the Chief Executive’s signature. “We expect it to come out any time now, and we are hopeful [and] confident that it will go through.”
Since the Philippines sent notice that it was terminating the said agreement with the US, Romualdez shared that negotiations have “improved” with regard to the important deal between the two countries.
Responding to the issue, the US Embassy’s Chargé d’Affaires (CDA) John Law revealed that “very productive [and] very good conversations” were held between both governments over a series of weeks after their first meeting in February to discuss the agreement.
“There have been some very specific proposals related to how we can clarify and strengthen the implementation of the VFA,” Law said, adding that Washington, D.C. now awaits the Philippine government’s decision.
Vaccines arriving soon
ALSO discussed during the webinar is the plan of the US to share with the developing world some of the excess vaccines in its possession. With the initial 25 million doses of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) jabs that the US would be sharing with some 100 countries around the world, the Philippines was singled out as among the first that would receive them, according to the CDA.
“From White House’s statement, it’s clear that—of the initial tranche that will be shared with a number of countries—the Philippines was exclusively named among that first group of countries,” Law said during a webinar celebrating the 75th anniversary of Philippine-US relations.
He added that the White House is looking not only at the logistical aspect “but each country may have different regulatory aspects,” related to the Covid-19 vaccine. He made the explanation to justify the seeming delay in the distribution of the much-needed jabs from Washington, D.C., especially those bound for countries experiencing difficulties accessing the vaccines.
“But I would expect an announcement very soon as President [Joseph R.] Biden has made it very clear that by the end of this month, the US is going to be distributing 80 million doses of vaccines.”
Law did not provide specific dates of arrival or volume of vaccines intended for the Philippines, as he does not want to preempt the White House. However, he is extremely optimistic “that it’s going to be very, very soon.”
“We’re going to see [it] not only with this initial tranche, but as vaccine productions in the US continue to expand… [President Biden] has been very clear on the US commitment to help countries throughout the world on this,” the CDA added. “[He said] we are all in this together. We’re safe to the extent that all of us are safe.”
According to Law, 75 percent of the initial set of vaccines will be distributed through the COVAX, “precisely because we want to do it in the most equitable manner possible.”
In addition, Law stated the US will also be moving specific vaccines in a surge response, as conditions warrant in certain parts around the world. He said possible recipients of the American jabs would have to wait for a few more days, but furthered: “We [are confident] that those numbers would be major, and we’re going to see distribution coming in the very near future.”
PHL-US ties
BOTH envoys appreciated the contributions of their respective citizens to promote Philippine-American links over the years.
Law said there are somewhere between 350,000 to 400,000 Americans who are residing on a “more-or-less permanent basis” in the Philippines. “But of course, there are so many millions of Americans who have close personal ties with the Philippines…throughout all the decades of the relationship,” including the millions of Filipino-Americans living in the US.
He said there has been a local assimilation of American culture, such as the Filipinos’ mania for the Western kind of sports—particularly basketball.
As for the Pinoys’ penchant for American popular music, Romualdez also mentioned local artists performing in next month’s celebration.
The Filipino diplomat said he would not be surprised if “we would have a Filipino-American (president) sitting in the White House someday.”
“Who knows, it may happen one day. And that’s what our relationship is all about,” the Philippine ambassador said. “Really, [the US] is like a second home to many Filipinos, because every other [one] has a friend and relative living in the US, and vice-versa.”
“I can say…Filipino-Americans and Filipinos living here in the US make me very proud because they are very much appreciated by a lot of people and in their communities,” he concluded.