KIKO PANGILINAN ON GMA'S VISIT TO OBAMA: REVIEW THE VFA

"On top of the agenda should be the VFA," says independent senator Francis 'Kiko' Pangilinan of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's meeting with US President Barack Obama. "At the minimum, GMA should in no uncertain terms make it known to President Obama that there is a growing clamor for the termination of the VFA, that eight senators have called for its abrogation."

Pangilinan adds that President Arroyo should have the interest of Filipinos in mind, more than the honor of being the first Southeast Asian head of state to have a meeting with the newly-elected US president.

"There is a need to revisit onerous provisions that have become a source of tension between both nations. President Arroyo should use the Senate resolution as leverage to impress upon the US that RP-US relations need to be reshaped, and that it begins with revisiting the lopsided VFA."