Malinaw na nakasaad sa Saligang Batas ang karapatan ng Senado sa pagpasok ng ating pamahalaan sa mga pandaigdigang tratado lalo na kung nakasalalay ang pangmatagalang kapakanan at interes ng bansa, katulad ng Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA).
Iginiit din ni Senador Panfilo Lacson, chairman ng Senate Committee on National Defense, na mas epektibo kung ang paghahatid ng mensahe ay ipinaabot sa pamamagitan ng madiplomasyang pamamaraan.
“I may not be a lawyer like the President. But last time I read the Constitution, a senator has something to do with international agreements. The President should refresh his memory by reading Article VII, Sec. 21 of the 1987 Constitution. It says: No treaty or international agreement shall be valid and effective unless concurred in by at least two-thirds of all the Members of the Senate,” banggit ni Lacson.
Related: Lacson: Constitution Gives Senators a Say in International Agreements Like VFA
Mr President, read the 1987 Constitution. A senator has something to do with international agreements:
Article VII SECTION 21. No treaty or international agreement shall be valid and effective unless concurred in by at least two-thirds of all the Members of the Senate.
— PING LACSON (@iampinglacson) February 15, 2021
Isiniwalat din ng mambabatas na noong Marso 2020, naghain ng petisyon ang Senado sa Korte Suprema para pag-aralan kung kailangan ang concurrence ng Senado para tapusin ang tratado natin sa ibang bansa, gaya ng VFA.
Noong 2018, naghain ng Senate resolution ang 14 senador ang na nagsasaad na kagaya sa pag-apruba ay dapat na two-thirds vote din ang dapat makuha sa mga miyembro ng Kapulungan bago mapawalambisa ang isang tratado.
“There is a pending petition in the Supreme Court in this regard and the issue has not been settled. All the more that as a senator, I have something to do with the President’s threat to terminate the VFA if the US doesn’t pay up,” banggit pa ni Lacson.
Ayon pa kay Lacson, bagama’t epektibo kasi sa ibang situwasyon ang ginamit na estilo ng Pangulo ay hindi umano nangangahulugan na magiging ganito rin ang pang-unawa ng isang dayuhang gobyerno.
“That said, even an ordinary citizen of this country who feels embarrassed by his harsh, undiplomatic remarks concerning an existing bilateral agreement is guaranteed under the same Constitution to express his or her views. Not anyone, even he cannot curtail that basic right,” ayon kay Lacson
“This is more so in the case of agreements with other states. Common sense alone mandates that there should be no room for misinterpretation or misunderstanding,” dagdag pa ng mambabatas.
Binanggit din ni Lacson ang pangmatagalang epekto na hatid ng VFA sa Pilipinas. “We are not being pro-US or anti-China. But our Constitution mandates that we must uphold the national interest,” aniya.
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