Philippines Says US Visiting Forces Agreement to Remain in Effect Voice of America 30 Jul 2021, 16:05 GMT+10 MANILA, PHILIPPINES - The Philippines says it has fully restored a major security agreement with the United States, with President Rodrigo Duterte retracting his intention to terminate the Philippines-U.S. Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) late Thursday. Filipino Secretary of National Defense Delfin Lorenzana told reporters at a news conference with U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Friday that Duterte, after his meeting with Austin, retracted the VFA termination letter sent to the U.S. last year. "This provides us some degree of certainty going forward, so we can plan further in advance," Austin told reporters. "And with that long-range planning, we can actually do more comprehensive exercises."