MANILA, Philippines — Senator Panfilo Lacson on Sunday said it would be better for the government to use “diplomatic and statesmanlike” talks in dealing with the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) with the United States.
“The President may have used strong words to send his message across to the US. But certainly, there is a more civil and statesmanlike manner to ask for compensation from a longtime ally using the usual diplomatic channels and still get the same desired results,” Lacson, who heads the Senate Committee on National Defense, said in a statement.
He was reacting to President Rodrigo Duterte’s remark that the US must “pay” to maintain th…
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