IN the coming weeks, an “increasingly large number of US-produced vaccines” will be arriving in the Philippines, “either through direct donations or through Covax,” the United States’ top embassy office in Manila said.
Chargé d’Affaires John C. Law, in an ambush interview at the sidelines of the July 4th Independence Celebration at the US Embassy in Manila on Thursday, said, “And we’re going to help as much as we can the Department of Health, the Task Force headed by Secretary (Carlito) Galvez and all the others, to do what we can to support the Philippine roll out its vaccination program.”
Law said the US is sending at least 45 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines to the Philippines through the world Health Organization (WHO)-backed Covax facility in addition to the recent While House announcement that it is donating 80 million vaccines around the world.
“The vaccines are starting to arrive in very large quantities; the US is distributing through Covax, to 92 countries,” Law added, saying the US has donated $2.5 billion to Covax, which could reach $4 billion this year.”
“I expect some of those vaccines in significant numbers arriving here in the Philippines in the very near future, and President Biden announced that this year and next year, the US is going to donate from our supply an additional 500 million vaccines around the world.”
“We are determined to do everything we can to help vaccinate the world. It’s obviously critical to overcome this pandemic to make the vaccines available and the US is working as hard as we can possibly can,” Law added.
VFA’s fate
On the other hand, Law said the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) is very important “and we support it and we’re hopeful that we can arrive at a satisfactory arrangement to continue that.”
President Duterte has suspended the abrogation of the VFA three times.
There are unconfirmed reports that the President might leave the decision of whether to continue or to cancel the VFA completely to the next administration following the Presidential elections on May 9, 2022.
On Thursday, Law pointed out that, “the US Philippine alliance is more than any one agreement, the alliance is more than a defense agreement, as well, and so we have always had enormous faith in the future of US-Philippine relations.”
He said while the US continues to work very hard to restore the VFA, “we’ll continue to work very hard, to do everything we can to continuously strengthen and reinforce the MDT [Mutual Defense Treaty], adding, “But I believe the VFA is in the hearts of our people, and so I think it’s gonna continue.”
He said the US-Philippine relationship is a relationship that is so much broader than the military/security relationship. “It is extraordinarily important; we have the oldest continuously running Fulbright program in the world. It’s here in the Philippines, and it has been 74 years since it was established with nearly 10,000 participants in US-Philippine exchanges.”
Asked about the proposed sale of F-16 jetfighters to the Philippine Armed Forces, Law said “there has been a congressional notification on that which is part of the process.”
He said the US side understands that the Philippine Department of National Defense (DND) is studying and considering what fighter jets to add to its modernization program in all aspects, “and the F-16 would be included in that.”
Last week in Washington, it was announced that the US State Department had approved the potential sale of F-16 fighter jets, as well as Sidewinder and Harpoon missiles, to the Philippines in three separate deals with a combined value of more than $2.5 billion.
The announcement comes as the United States seeks to renew the VFA which is critical to Washington’s strategy to counter ever-expanding Chinese activity in Asia.
The Pentagon said the Philippines requested to buy 10 F-16C Block 70/72 aircraft and two F-16D Block 70/72 aircraft made by Lockheed Martin Co. That package, which includes spares and training, is valued at up to $2.43 billion.
Eric Sayers, a visiting fellow at the conservative American Enterprise Institute, said it appeared to be “a proactive effort by Washington to ensure the United States remains the security partner of choice for Manila.”
President Duterte, who has frequently condemned US foreign policy while developing closer ties with China, told Washington last year he was canceling the VFA following outrage over the denial of a visa to his former National Police chief, Senator Ronald dela Rosa. But he has repeatedly extended the VFA expiration date.