Jaime J. Yambao
PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte’s threat to scrap the Philippines-United States Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) unless the US restores the canceled visa of former national police chief and now senator, Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, has once more focused public attention on the clutch of defense agreements we have with the US. While the President’s action referred to the VFA only, the VFA is inextricably linked to the Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT) and the Enhancement of Defense Cooperation Agreement because it concerns the sending by the US of warm (military) bodies to the Philippines, which these other agreements call for.