President Rodrigo Duterte said on Wednesday that he wants to hear the opinion of the Filipinos on whether to "abrogate or renew" the Visiting Forces Agreement with the United States.

In his "Talk to the People," Duterte said the people could call 8888 to give their stance on the matter.

"I must be frank, I do not keep secrets to the people that...I've been approached then asked, I said, 'No. I have not yet as yet decided on what to do'. Meaning to say, to abrogate or renew because I want to hear the people," he said.

"I want the narratives to come up. Not necessarily from the - well, of course, they count very much but not limited to Congress. An ordinary person can have the say and, I said, there is always the 8888 and you can enter your objections or any comment that you think would help the country and so that you can help us as well," Duterte explained.

Duterte recently said that if US wants the VFA to continue, it should pay the government.

Last year, Duterte ordered the termination of the 1998 military agreement with the US. However, he later suspended the process of termination due to coronavirus pandemic. Celerina Monte/DMS