May 27, 1999 – VFA becomes effective upon ratification by the Philippines Senate.
January 2006 – Philippine congressional committee recommends President Arroyo abrogate VFA following US refusal to hand over to local authorities four US servicemen accused of raping a Filipino woman in Subic Bay in November 2005. Philstar 2006.
December 2016 – President Duterte warns of eventual abrogation of VFA after the US did not renew an aid package for the Philippines. Rappler 2016.
January 23, 2020 – President Duterte threatens to end VFA in response to US cancellation of Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa’s tourist visa. Dela Rosa is Duterte’s first Philippine National Police chief and top commander of his war on drugs. Duterte gives the US one month to reverse the visa cancellation. Rappler 2020.
February 11, 2020 – President Duterte formally announces a notice to the US Embassy to terminate the VFA, marking the start of a 180-day period of termination process. The VFA can be terminated via written notice from either of the countries. CNN Philippines 2020.
“This agreement shall remain in force until the expiration of 180 days from the date on which either party gives the other party notice in writing that it desires to terminate the agreement.”
June 2, 2020 – The Philippines decides to withdraw the notice that it was terminating the VFA, owing to “political and other developments in the region,” including rising tensions in the South China Sea during the pandemic. Rappler 2020.
November 11, 2020 – President Duterte suspends decision to scrap VFA and orders extra 6 months “To enable us to find a more enhanced, mutually beneficial, mutually agreeable, and more effective and lasting arrangement on how to move forward in our mutual defense,” Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin says in statement. The termination, should it happen, will take effect on August 9, 2021. Reuters 2020.
December 26, 2020 – President Duterte says “No vaccine, no stay here,” threatening to end VFA if the US fails to deliver at least 20 million Covid-19 vaccines to the Philippines. Rappler 2020.
February 24, 2021 – President Duterte seeks to consult the public before he makes a decision on VFA. Philippine News Agency 2021.
May 31, 2021 – President Duterte is “pondering” on possible reconsideration of VFA after the White House announced that it will be giving the Philippines free surplus of Covid-19 vaccines. Philippine News Agency 2021.
June 15, 2021 – President Duterte once again suspends his decision to scrap VFA for a further 6 months. This is the third six-month stay granted to the abrogation of the VFA. The VFA will remain in force until February 2022, just three months shy of the Philippine presidential election and the end of Duterte’s single term in office. The Diplomat 2021.
July 21, 2021 – Defense Chief Delfin Lorenzana states, “The VFA is not being changed, the document will not be changed, but there will be some addendum, side-agreement to implement the VFA. Once it is signed by the President, it will be an official document attached to the VFA.” USNI News 2021.
July 30, 2021 – President Duterte orders complete retraction of the planned revocation of the VFA. Manila Bulletin 2021.
August 3, 2021 – President Duterte admits the US’ donations of Covid-19 vaccines pushed him to ultimately keep the VFA after repeatedly threatening to scrap it. The Philippines has received over 3 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine from the US last July and is set to receive 3 million more doses of the Moderna vaccine on August 4, 2021. Rappler 2021.
“We did a give and take. We thank them and I made a concession. I conceded the continuance of the Visiting Forces Agreement, in gratitude.”
