Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has banned cabinet ministers from traveling to the United States as Manila begins terminating an agreement with Washington that governs US troops stationed in the country
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 29th January, 2020) Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has banned cabinet ministers from traveling to the United States as Manila begins terminating an agreement with Washington that governs US troops stationed in the country.
"I will not allow any Cabinet member to go there at this time," Duterte said during a ceremony to commemorate the founding of the Department of Social Welfare and Development, as quoted by the Philippine media outlet ABS-CBN.
Duterte also declined Washington's invite to attend the upcoming US-ASEAN summit in Las Vegas in May for strategic, geopolitical reasons, the outlet stated.
On Friday, the Philippines began terminating its Visiting Forces Agreement with the United States on Duterte's orders after Washington canceled a visa for Senator Ronald dela Rosa, the former police chief who led the president's anti-drug campaign.
The Visiting Forces Agreement between the US and the Philippines came into force in 1999. The agreement stipulates that the Philippines cannot begin legal proceedings against any US soldier accused of committing a crime, unless it is of particular importance to Manila.
The diplomatic spat between Washington and Manila has heightened since the publication of the United States budget for the 2020 fiscal year in December. The budget included a provision stating that US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has the right to deny entry to any Philippine government officials who are alleged to be involved in the arrest and detention of Philippine lawmaker Leila de Lima, an outspoken critic of the deaths incurred during Duterte's anti-drug campaign.
In response, Duterte prohibited two US senators supportive of de Lima, Dick Durbin and Patrick Leahy, from entering the Philippines.
According to official data, approximately 6,600 drug suspects were killed as part of Duterte's controversial war on drugs that began in 2016. The Philippines Commission on Human Rights has estimated the death toll to be as high as 27,000.
