Press Release
February 20, 2009

Loren on secret VFA deal bared

"The secret implementing rules of the VFA, giving unequal treatment to Filipinos in favor of Americans in the detention of soldiers convicted of crimes, is yet another proof of the unfairness of this treaty. Thus we must abrogate it because as presently constituted it is a humiliation on us Filipinos.

"The US is a superpower, yes. But that's not an excuse for our country to let a transgression on our sovereignty continue. A mistake had been made in ratifying the VFA, but we can still correct it, either by scrapping it altogether or by renegotiating it to remove the inequities and offending provisions. "The issue is not just the Philippines taking custody of an American soldier convicted or raping a Filipina. It is about having self-respect as a people and wiping out still lingering vestiges of colonialism among our leaders, who seem to lack political will to do what is right."

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