MANILA, Philippines — Demanding the United States to pay to keep the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) is “not extortion” since their payment can be used in the country’s Covid-19 response and other government services, Malacaang said Monday.
“Sa mga nagsasabing extortion, hindi po yan extortion. ‘Yan po ay isang pagtaguyod ng pang-nasyonal na interes ng mga Pilipino at dahil marami po tayong gastusin lalong lalo na sa Covid-19, bakit hindi tayo sumingil?” presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said in an online Palace briefing.
(To those who are saying this is extortion, it’s not. This is pushing for the national interest of Filipinos and since there are a lot of expenses to addres…
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