Congressional panel to tackle VFA Tuesday

The Legislative Oversight Committee on the RP-US Visiting Forces Agreement (LOVFA) will convene on Tuesday to discuss the requests to review the agreement, Senator Loren Legarda said Monday. "Eleven years after 1999 when a divided Senate concurred in the ratification of this agreement, there is now a clamor from members of Congress, non-government organizations, and even the executive to review or even terminate the same. This review of the VFA is in order," said Legarda, who co-chairs the LOVFA with Senator Francis Escudero. Legarda said they have already gathered inputs from different sectors in preparation for a series of public hearings meant to formulate a report to Congress on the implementation of the VFA in the Philippines. "Some of the issues raised include the guidelines on the custody of US military personnel who commit an actionable offense in the Philippines, and the silence of the VFA both on how long the ‘visiting’ forces may stay in our country and what activities they may do while they are here," she said in a statement. The VFA contains the framework which governs the conduct, exit and entry movements of American troops visiting the Philippines for military exercises. It was ratified by the Philippine Senate on May 27, 1999. On the other hand, the LOVFA was formed in 2004 and was previously chaired by Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago. It was reconvened last year to set clearer guidelines on how to treat American soldiers accused of crimes under the RP-US pact. The LOVFA is composed of representatives from the Senate and House of Representatives. Resource persons Legarda senator said they have invited the members of the Presidential Commission on the VFA (PCVFA) to present a progress report on the matter. Among the members of the PCVFA are Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr. (chair), Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo (vice chair), Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin (vice chair), Justice Secretary Leila de Lima (member), Social Welfare Secretary Corazon Soliman (member) and VFACOM executive director Edilberto Adan. President Benigno Aquino III had earlier said he wants to "refine" some provisions in the RP-US treaty. Escudero likewise said he wants to "renegotiate" at least two points in the treaty: the criminal jurisdiction and the definition of "visiting" under the VFA. Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago, however, has called for the termination of the VFA. In a joint resolution, she said that the US does not recognize the VFA as a treaty because its Congress never ratified the agreement, which the Philippine Senate did in 1999. In 2009, Senator Francis Pangilinan also filed a Senate resolution saying that the VFA violated the country's constitutional provision banning the presence of foreign military bases, troops, or facilities in the country. Also last year, the Senate adopted Resolution No. 205 which called for the renegotiation of the VFA. But Santiago said that the Department of Foreign Affairs has yet to submit its recommendations to the Senate. — Kimberly Jane Tan/RSJ, GMANews.TV