{"id":273530,"date":"2020-10-30T06:44:28","date_gmt":"2020-10-30T10:44:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=273530"},"modified":"2020-10-30T06:44:28","modified_gmt":"2020-10-30T10:44:28","slug":"govt-urged-to-decide-on-suspension-of-vfa-termination","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2020\/10\/30\/govt-urged-to-decide-on-suspension-of-vfa-termination\/","title":{"rendered":"Gov’t urged to decide on suspension of VFA termination"},"content":{"rendered":"
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In a media forum, Muntinlupa City Rep. Ruffy Biazon said the suspension of the VFA termination would expire this December and would be \u201cextendible by the Philippines for another six months.\u201d (File photo<\/a>: Congressman Ruffy Biazon\/Facebook<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

MANILA<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 A lawmaker at the House of Representatives on Friday urged the government to make a decision whether or not to extend the suspension of the Visiting Forces Agreement\u2019s (VFA) termination, or even rescind the termination notice itself.<\/p>\n

In a media forum, Muntinlupa City Rep. Ruffy Biazon said the suspension of the VFA termination would expire this December and would be \u201cextendible by the Philippines for another six months.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have three choices. Our first choice is to withdraw the termination; the second choice is to extend the suspension of the termination, and the third choice is to pursue with the termination and end the VFA.\u00a0Parating na tayo sa panahon na \u2018yon<\/em>\u00a0(We are nearing that period),\u201d Biazon said.<\/p>\n

Biazon noted that the decision would have an impact on the Philippines\u2019 foreign policy, as well as its policy on protecting the West Philippine Sea.<\/p>\n

\u201cDahil kung tayo ay magte<\/em>-terminate\u00a0na talaga<\/em>\u00a0by December,\u00a0magpu-<\/em>pullout\u00a0na ang<\/em>\u00a0whatever troops or forces stationed temporarily here in the Philippines (Because if we are really terminating [the agreement] by December, whatever troops or forces stationed temporarily here in the Philippines will be pulled out),\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Biazon said the VFA termination could also affect the country\u2019s anti-terrorism campaign.<\/p>\n

\u201cRemember,\u00a0nagkaroon ulit ng<\/em>\u00a0bombing\u00a0sa<\/em>\u00a0Jolo.\u00a0Ibig sabihin<\/em>, terrorists are still operating in the southern part of the Philippines\u00a0at nandoon ngayon, doon nago<\/em>-operate,\u00a0\u2018yong mga ibang tropa ng<\/em>\u00a0America, under the VFA (Remember, there was a bombing again in Jolo. That means, terrorists are still operating in the southern part of the Philippines, and that is where some American troops are operating under the VFA),\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Asked whether the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) would be crippled should the VFA be terminated, Biazon said there were capabilities being supported by the United States, such as surveillance and training.<\/p>\n

Aside from this, Biazon also noted that the VFA also provides humanitarian assistance and disaster response capabilities, considering that the country is prone to typhoons.<\/p>\n

\u201cRemember Haiyan (Yolanda),\u00a0\u2018yong mga nasira noon sa<\/em>\u00a0Leyte. We survived it\u00a0at tinulungan din tayo ng<\/em>\u00a0US Armed Forces\u00a0dahil sa<\/em>\u00a0response\u00a0nila<\/em>\u00a0being in-country right away. These are things that should be considered\u00a0diyan sa bagay na \u2018yan<\/em>\u00a0(Remember [Typhoon] Haiyan (Yolanda), those that were destroyed in Leyte. We survived it and we were assisted by the US Armed Forces due to their response of being in-country right away),\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Biazon said in order to wean from dependence on foreign military, resources should be poured into upgrading the AFP.<\/p>\n

\u201cPero sa ngayon, kung ang problema<\/em>\u00a0really ay (But now, if the problem really is the availability of funds to develop the capability of the Armed Forces fully, we have to rely on allies. And\u00a0\u2018yung<\/em>\u00a0(the) reliance on allies, \u2018yong (the) maintenance of alliances,\u00a0ang tingin ko,<\/em>\u00a0long-term\u00a0talaga \u2018yan<\/em>\u00a0(in my view, is for the long-term),\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MANILA\u00a0\u2013 A lawmaker at the House of Representatives on Friday urged the government to make a decision whether or not …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":273531,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,95],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-273530","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news","category-news-ph","mauthors-filane-mikee-cervantes","mauthors-philippine-news-agency"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/273530","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/44"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=273530"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/273530\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":273532,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/273530\/revisions\/273532"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/273531"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=273530"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=273530"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=273530"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}