DFA delaying VFA review - Miriam

MANILA, Philippines – Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago said yesterday the review of the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) between the Philippines and the United States would have to wait until after the congressional break in June as Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo wanted to personally defend it before the Legislative Oversight Committee on the VFA.

Santiago said it was Romulo who asked for a postponement of the hearing set this month as the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and the Department of National Defense (DND) were against the abrogation of the VFA. Congress resumes session in July.

“They don’t want to terminate it. So even only to give a platform to those who are against it, I would like to at least hold a public hearing, or a series of hearings,” Santiago, who chairs the oversight committee, said.

Santiago and Sen. Pia Cayetano said the VFA review was needed in light of an alleged new rape case involving an American soldier.

The case of “Vanessa,” Santiago clarified, would no longer merit a full inquiry in aid of legislation but only a VFA review.

“Either we continue with the VFA, which can be a cause of other rape cases. (But if we investigate rape cases involving US soldiers) we will not do anything more but investigate rape. Because you know these Americans, once they are assigned to a foreign country and military exercises, we conceive they’re deprived of other civilian company until they’re given rest and recreation period. (They) are too full of testosterone,” Santiago said.

“So we will try and send them back. The only way you can do that is not to conduct another investigation on another rape case but to examine whether it is to the benefit of the Philippines to allow the VFA to continue because it has already been enforced for 10 years. We have already sufficient factual basis for assessing the benefits and liabilities that we get from the VFA,” Santiago said.

Cayetano said the VFA had been hounded by legal and constitutional issues.

“For the past decade of its existence, there have been reports of violations as a result of the implementation of the VFA. These include not only human and women’s rights violations, but also environmental violations and graft and corruption,” she said.

In her privilege speech, Cayetano assailed Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez for saying “Vanessa” should be compelled to press charges against her alleged rapist.

Cayetano said the Department of Justice must be proactive in dealing with the case rather than wait for the complaint from the victim. – Aurea Calica