SENATORS on Monday, March 9, filed a petition before the Supreme Court to oblige President Rodrigo Duterte to seek the Senate’s concurrence on the termination of the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) with the United States.
Senate President Vicente Sotto III, Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon, and Senators Panfilo Lacson and Richard Gordon filed the petition for declaratory relief and mandamus at the Supreme Court.
In their petition, the senators asked the Supreme Court to "issue an order directing respondents to forthwith refer the Notice of Withdrawal to the Senate of the Philippines for its concurrence, pursuant to Section 21, Article VII of thr 1987 Constitution."
The Senators also asked if the court could "render a decision declaring that the withdrawal from or termination of a treaty or international agreement that had previously been concurred in by the Senate requires the concurrence of two thirds of all the members of the Senate for the said withdrawal or termination to be valid and effective."
Sotto said the Senate merely wants to clarify its powers.
"Verily, the Constitution could not have intended for foreign policy to be under the control of a single person. The system of checks and balances inherent in our republican form of government prohibits the concentration of power upon a single branch," the senators said.
This is the first time that the members of the majority bloc in the Senate challenged the President’s directive.
Duterte had directed the Department of Foreign Affairs to terminate the VFA after he learned about the cancellation of Senator Ronald dela Rosa's visa.
Dela Rosa is a loyal supporter of the President and was the first chief of the Philippine National Police who launched the war on drugs under the Duterte administration. (SunStar Philippines)