Facing strong domestic criticism over procurement delays, Duterte has tried to turn the Visiting Forces Agreement into a bargaining chip to secure COVID-19 vaccines from the US, Nikkei reported.
"If they fail to deliver a minimum of 20 million vaccines, they better get out -- no vaccine, no stay here," the president said on Saturday during a televised meeting with members of his cabinet and the national COVID-19 task force.
In November, Duterte agreed to extend by six months a 1998 agreement on stationing US troops that is critical to Manila's mutual defense treaty with Washington. The president had unilaterally abrogated the agreement earlier in the year.
Duterte's threat comes with his administration taking fire for failing to seal a vaccine deal with Pfizer, while Southeast Asian neighbors such as Singapore and Indonesia progress towards deliveries.
Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. said early in December that had been unable to secure 10 million doses of Pfizer vaccines with the help of US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo after Philippine health authorities "dropped the ball."
However, Health Secretary Francisco Duque said that there had never been a firm commitment from the US pharmaceutical giant.
In July, Duterte urged Filipinos reeling from one of the world's longest lockdowns to be patient and expressed hopes that the country will be "back to normal" by December with the availability of vaccines.
The Philippine president has previously favored vaccines from China and Russia, slamming "Western counties" for being "all profit, profit, profit."
MNA/PR
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