Category Archives: Military

Government, Immigration, International, Military

DUTERTE TO BIDEN: VISITING FORCES AGREEMENT IN EXCHANGE FOR VISITING FILIPINOS AGREEMENT

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MANILA, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles, Manila Bureau) – Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte is known as a master strategist. He manages to always take the upper hand when negotiating with world leaders.

Today, Duterte sent a message to President-elect Joe Biden, proposing to permanently reinstate the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) which allows America to maintain a military presence in the Philippines, under one condition.

The condition? That the incoming Biden administration institute a new immigration policy that would grant Filipino citizens a visa-free entry to the United States.. Duterte calls it the Visiting Filipinos Agreement.

VFA to VFA!

Government, Military, Politics

DUTERTE CREATES NEW, TASK FORCES OF THE PHILIPPINES

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MANILA, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles, Manila Bureau) – If there’s an app for that, there’s also a task force for that.

It is no secret that the Duterte administration has a penchant for creating task forces for almost everything — from the Covid-19 response, to the PhilHealth and other corruption investigations at other agencies, to the Boracay rehabilitation, to typhoons and other calamities. Many members of these task forces — numbering about 15 as of latest count according to Rappler — are retired army generals or members of the Armed Forces.

So in order to coordinate the activities of these task forces, President Rodrigo Duterte has signed an Executive Order creating a new agency, the Task Forces of the Philippines (TFP). It will be an attached agency to the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP)

As of press time, Duterte is yet to name the head of this new agency who will be called Task Forces Czar. Rumors have it that the President is considering Senator Bong Go to fill the position.

Spokesperson Harry Roque, the goal of the TFP is to make sure that the left hand knows what the right hand is doing.

Government, International, Military, Politics

Post VFA: PH Government Offers Free Therapy Conference In San Francisco

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SAN FRANCISCO, California (The Adobo Chronicles, San Francisco Bureau) – President Rodrigo Duterte’s decision to terminate the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) between the Philippines and the United States has caused a big stir in the political and military circles.

VFA allowed U.S. military and other personnel to enter the Philippines even without a permit or visa.

Realizing the VFA termination has upset a lot of people — Americans and Filipinos alike — the Philippine Consulate in San Francisco is offering a free conference as a means of therapy to help attendees cope with the change.

A spokesperson for the Consulate told The Adobo Chronicles that the conference will feature pray-overs, psychological and grief counseling, zumba and cooking classes, and a panel of experts that will discuss the implications of the VFA termination.

The conference, called VFO Con — or Visiting Forces Over Conference will be held this weekend at the Holiday Inn in South San Francisco.