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The second challenge, Suzette Nicolas y Sombilon Vs. Alberto Romulo, et al. / Jovito R. Salonga, et al. Vs. Daniel Smith, et al. / Bagong Alyansang Makabayan, et al. Vs. President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, et al., on 2 January 2007, was re-decided by the Supreme Court on 11 February 2009. In deciding this second challenge, Court 9-4 (with two judges who inhibit) ruled that “the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) concluded on February 10, 1998 between the Republic of the Philippines and the United States is in accordance with the Constitution … The decision continued, particularly with respect to the subic Rape case, “… the Romulo-Kenney agreements of 19 and 22 December 2006 are not in accordance with the VFA and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, respondent, is responsible for negotiating without delay with the representatives of the United States the corresponding agreement on detention centres under the Philippine authorities, in accordance with Article V, para. VFA, until the status quo is maintained until further decisions of the Court. [13] UP professor Harry Roque, an adviser to former Senator Jovito Salonga, one of the petitioners in the case, said in a telephone interview about the decision on the consistency of the VFA.
“We`re going to appeal… We hope to be able to convince the other judges to join the four dissenters. [14] The VFA is an agreement between Manila and Washington signed in February 1998 on the treatment of U.S. military personnel in the Philippines. A counter-agreement was signed in October 1998 on the treatment of Philippine military personnel in the United States. The Philippines-U.S. Visiting Agreement, sometimes the PH-US Visiting Forces Agreement, is a bilateral agreement between the Philippines and the United States, which consists of two separate documents. The first of these documents is commonly referred to as “VFA” or “VFA-1″[1] and the second is referred to as “VFA-2” or “counterparty agreement.” [2] A Visiting Forces Agreement is a version of an agreement on the status of the armed forces that applies only to troops temporarily stationed in a country. The agreements entered into force on 27 May 1999, after ratification by the Philippine Senate. [3] [8] [10] The U.S.
government considers these documents to be executive agreements that do not require the approval of the U.S. Senate. [3] [42] If the Philippine government decided to impose the termination of the AFA, it would only have to inform the United States in writing of its intention to terminate the treaty. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines) – The Philippines is currently investigating the consequences of a possible exit from a 1998 agreement with the United States on the treatment of its military personnel, the Visiting Force Agreement. “Of course, there are irritants that need to be addressed… There could be some value in going back to the VFA to address sovereignty issues such as jurisdiction and custody of children,” he said. Duterte`s cabinet also appear to have serious reservations about his VFA decision. They tried to discuss their concerns with him cautiously, but they understood that they probably will not change their minds. To make their views tastier, they probably tried to emphasize the importance of the VFA for maintaining the United States.