Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday barred cabinet members from traveling to the United States, his latest move after threatening to scrap the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA).
"I will leave it to foreign affairs, but I will not allow any cabinet member to go there (the United States) at this time. No cabinet member should be allowed to go to the United States...indefinitely," Duterte told reporters in an interview on the sidelines of the Department of Social Welfare and Development's founding anniversary.
The order, according to him, stemmed from the U.S. decision to deny entry to Ronaldo dela Rosa, a former police chief who is now a senator and is known as the architect behind the government's bloody anti-drug campaign.
With no cabinet-level official making trips to the U.S., Duterte said he would "limit" the Philippines' interaction in "whatever aspect of international relations would be discussed or subject to talks."
Philippines' former National Police Chief Ronaldo "Bato" Dela Rosa (R) listens to testimonies from witnesses as he testifies anew at the resumption of the Senate probe on alleged extra-judicial killings in President Rodrigo Duterte's drug war, December 5, 2016. /AP Photo
Speaking of the decision, the Philippine president said it is not solely based on the denial of entry, "It started when they mentioned the U.S. resolution in the Senate," said Duterte, referring to the U.S. Senate's adoption of a resolution that seeks Global Magnitsky Act sanctions against Philippine officials involved in alleged extra-judicial killings.
If Washington's sanctions are imposed, affected Philippine officials may be denied U.S. visas and may have their bank accounts and assets in America frozen.
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The VFA, signed in 1998, accorded legal status to thousands of U.S. troops who were rotated in the country for military exercises and humanitarian assistance operations.
Duterte makes no secret of his disdain for the United States and what he considers its hypocrisy and interference.
Last month, Duterte banned U.S. senators Richard Durbin and Patrick Leahy from visiting the Philippines after they introduced a provision that calls the ban on U.S. entry to anyone involved in locking up Philippine senator Leila de Lima, a former justice minister and Duterte's top critic who was jailed in 2017 on drug charges after leading an investigation into thousands of deaths during the anti-narcotics campaign.
(With input from Reuters)