PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte warned the United States (US) to stop building a "permanent" armory in the Philippines.
Duterte made the warning in a press conference with reporters held at the Palace on Sunday evening.
The Chief Executive claimed that the US troops are unloading arms in some parts of the country, including Palawan, Cagayan de Oro and Pampanga.
“[The US] is building depot. They are unloading arms in the Philippines now – here in Palawan, in Cagayan de Oro, and in Pampanga,” Duterte said.
“I am serving notice to the Armed Forces of the United States: Do not do it. I will not allow it,” he added.
Duterte said building a permanent armory in the country is a violation under the Visiting Forces Agreement signed between the Philippines and the US.
He warned that he might repeal the existing treaty, if the US continues to unload their weapons.
“First of all, there is a provision in the Visiting Forces Agreement that there shall be no permanent facilities. A depot by any other name is a depot. It’s a permanent structure to house arms. And I do not even know if there is a nuclear tip, now that they are unloading because that’s prohibited,” the President said.
“You do that and I will consider a review and maybe ultimately abrogate, since it is an executive order. Abrogate the treaty altogether.” (VoxPop Philippines)
