Rody: Phl Won’t Leave WPS ‘Even If You Kill Me’; Signature Campaign Seeks Retraction Of ‘Defeatist’ Remarks
President Duterte declared that he will not withdraw ships in the West Philippine Sea, even if it means his death or ending his friendship with China.
After receiving backlash for saying that the jet ski promise he made in 2016 was only a campaign joke, President Duterte on Thursday night, May 13, took a tougher stance against China and said that Philippine vessels will “not move an inch backward” even at the cost of his life or his friendship with Beijing.
“We have a stand here and I want to state here and now again that our ships around Pag-asa (Island) and elsewhere, we will not move an inch backward,” Duterte said in a mix of English and Filipino during a pre-recorded conference with Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana and other Cabinet officials at Malacañang.
“I will not withdraw, even if you kill me. Our friendship will end here,” he added.
The Philippines reportedly has two vessels in the area, as against the hundreds of Chinese ships spotted around the island and in other areas in the West Philippine Sea.
China last month said the Philippines must “stop actions complicating the situation and escalating disputes” in response to a rare maritime exercise conducted by the Philippines.
“I do not want a quarrel, I do not want trouble. I respect your position, and you respect mine. But we will not go to war,” Duterte said.
The Chinese embassy has no official statement yet on Duterte’s pronouncement.
Duterte has been criticized for refusing to press China to abide by a 2016 arbitration ruling on the South China Sea in the Philippines’ favor.
He drew flak last week for saying the landmark award was just a “piece of paper” he could throw in the trash.
In his televised address, he said he “believes in the entirety” of that ruling but reiterated, his friendship with China to which – he claimed – the Philippines owes a debt of gratitude with its vaccine donations.
“I don’t want to fight China really. I’m saying this again, we have a huge debt of gratitude to China. They saved lives,” he said.
He claimed he could become a laughingstock if he insisted on turning to the United Nations for help in having Beijing comply with the arbitral ruling.
“What paper do you want, for me to go… when has the United Nations been useful? Where will I go? To what body, the United Nations? Please spare me, I will be regarded as comedy there,” he added.
Duterte claimed the Philippines raised the issue before the UN General Assembly last year but to no avail.
The Chief Executive also said he wants former senator Juan Ponce Enrile to join the next meeting of the National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea (NTF-WPS) on Monday, May 17.
“We have respectfully invited Senator Enrile to come here because I can’t go out. Let’s listen to him. I will not talk, I’ll just listen to him because he was there right at the beginning so I will just listen to him. I admire his brains and understanding of this West Philippine Sea problem,” he said.
Duterte might be referring to Enrile’s long government stint that spans decades, including his stint as defense minister during the Marcos dictatorship.
“But I am sure hopefully, I hope that Senator Enrile would accept the invitation to be our guest here, Monday,” he said.
It was Marcos who issued Presidential Decree No. 1956 in 1978 declaring a cluster of islands and islets in the South China Sea, known as Kalayaan Island Group, as part of Philippine territory vital to the security and economic growth of the country.
Retract statements
Meanwhile, retired Supreme Court justice Antonio Carpio has started a signature campaign demanding that President Duterte retract his statements deemed detrimental to the country’s sovereignty and sovereign rights in the WPS.
The Change.org petition is titled “President Duterte should RETRACT his damaging statements on the WPS.”
Carpio is petitioning Duterte “on behalf of the Filipino people” to retract the following statements: the July 12, 2016 Arbitral Award is “just a scrap of paper that deserves to be thrown to the wastebasket;” “Chinese fishermen can fish in the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone in the West Philippine Sea” and “China is in possession of the West Philippine Sea.”
Carpio, chairman of the 1SAMBAYAN coalition that aims to challenge Duterte’s candidates in the 2022 elections, said these statements are contrary to the Constitution, as they mean waiving the country’s sovereign rights under the 2016 arbitral award and even conceding to China’s possession of the WPS.
“In fact, China is not physically and legally in possession of the West Philippine Sea,” Carpio noted.
Some senators also urged Duterte to retract his “defeatist” statements on the WPS despite voicing a newfound resolve against Chinese bullying.
Sen. Risa Hontiveros said Malacañang should “set the record straight immediately,” especially with the continued presence of Chinese vessels in WPS and the South China Sea.
She also cited a report from the NTF-WPS that a Philippine coast guard vessel was shadowed by a Chinese coast guard ship in the vicinity of Panatag Shoal.
“Why is it that those in Malacañang talk as if they’re losers? They must take them (statements) back because it’s only China that’s benefitting from such pronouncements,” Hontiveros said in Filipino.
“That’s probably the reason why the more than two hundred Chinese ships all over the WPS won’t leave because of what Malacañang is saying,” she said.
“It’s not clear why Malacañang is not countering abuses from China and the entire nation is being dragged into toxic relations with these two best friends. The Filipino people know we deserve better,” she said.
Sen. Francis Pangilinan said securing the WPS is not a laughing matter to Filipino fishermen who rely on it for livelihood.
He said the WPS problem is serious as what is at stake are the lives of Filipino fishermen and their families, whom the government should prioritize.
“How are we able to secure the livelihood of our fishermen if we don’t secure the West Philippine Sea? How are we able to secure our food if we are cut from our very own resource-rich waters? This is very basic,” Pangilinan said.
The senator earlier warned of a looming fish shortage if Chinese presence remains in Philippine waters.
Only China to blame
Former foreign affairs secretary Albert del Rosario said China’s prolonged presence in the WPS, including Panatag Shoal, is a “continuing and open violation” of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Philippines.
Del Rosario issued the statement to explain the country’s withdrawal of its ships during a standoff with China at Panatag Shoal nine years ago, clarifying that as the secretary of foreign affairs then he had no power to make such an order.
“We appreciate President Duterte’s desire to be informed on how the withdrawal by the Philippines of its ships from Scarborough Shoal came about pursuant to the 2012 US-brokered agreement for a mutual withdrawal of ships,” he said.
“First, we would like to highlight the fact that the secretary of foreign affairs is not part of the chain of command present in the military, the Navy or the Coast Guard. This is a basic principle that any good soldier or naval officer knows. Under the law, the mandate of the secretary of foreign affairs is in the conduct of diplomacy and foreign relations,” he said.
“Thus, in the 2012 Scarborough standoff, the secretary of foreign affairs has no authority to order the withdrawal of ships from Scarborough Shoal,” Del Rosario said.
He also said no Filipino is to blame for following the US-brokered agreement for mutual withdrawal, adding it was China which illegally seized Panatag Shoal from the Philippines.
“As mentioned, in 2012, we withdrew our one or two ships from Scarborough Shoal while China deceitfully breached the US-brokered agreement by not withdrawing their more than 30 ships,” he said.
He said China occupied Panatag Shoal and breached the agreement based on its highly questionable claim that it exclusively owns the shoal.
Del Rosario said the Philippine government decided to bring the case before the arbitral tribunal in 2013 in order to peacefully and legally settle the issue.
He explained that the US became a mediator during the Panatag standoff after realizing “the futility of bilateral talks with China.”
During the standoff, he said Philippine officials were consistently engaging with then Chinese ambassador Ma Keqing and the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
“After days of seemingly endless talks, we were made to realize that we were talking to a wall and China would never leave Scarborough Shoal. Thus, a third party – the US – entered the picture to help resolve the standoff,” the country’s former top diplomat said.
Del Rosario urged Duterte not to waste the remaining months of his term blaming his fellow Filipinos regarding the 2012 Panatag standoff.
Dispute ‘properly handled’
But for the Chinese ambassador in the Philippines, the Philippines and China have “properly handled” their maritime dispute during the Duterte administration.
“In the past five years, with the commitment to peace and friendship, our two countries have continuously deepened pragmatic cooperation, properly handled maritime disputes and brought tangible benefits to our peoples,” Ambassador Huang Xilian said in his speech at a forum on China-Philippines Cooperation Development in the Post-COVID-19 Era on Friday, May 14.
“Over the past year, we have fought against the pandemic together and pushed forward practical cooperation against headwinds. Our partnership in the new era has been endowed with a stronger foundation, a richer content and a finer quality. I believe all of these would help the Filipinos know who their real friends and reliable partners are,” he said.
The Chinese ambassador also noted that the two countries’ bilateral trade in goods increased from $17.7 billion in 2015 to $ 29.5 billion in 2020, saying China has remained the Philippines’ largest trading partner since 2016.
Citing Philippine government data, Huang said China’s investment in the Philippines ballooned from P1.5 billion in 2015 to P15.6 billion in 2020, or nearly a tenfold increase.
China climbed up from the 15th largest foreign investor of the Philippines in 2015 to the second largest in 2020, he said.
Huang said he believes as long as the two nations make “concerted efforts,” their post-pandemic bilateral relations “will release more potential and achieve greater results.”
Support from allies
Both Speaker Lord Allan Velasco and his predecessor Taguig Rep. Alan Peter Cayetano also came to the defense of Duterte after he received flak over his controversial pronouncements regarding the WPS issue.
Velasco believes there was nothing wrong with the President’s campaign joke, saying what is important is the policy taken by the administration to defend the national territory.
“I think what he said was just bravado. It was really a joke. But it’s a joke as to the jet ski, we have to remember. But as to giving away the sovereignty, I don’t think the President will just give away the sovereignty of our country ng ganon-ganon,” he stressed in an interview via Zoom.
The Marinduque congressman explained that Duterte has his own style and assured the public that “he has his heart for the country.”
Cayetano, for his part, slammed Carpio over his tirades against Duterte, saying the former magistrate’s attacks may be related to his plan to join politics and run for an elective post next year.
He accused Carpio of making false claims and “fake news” on the Duterte administration’s policy on the WPS to advance his alleged political ambition.
Carpio previously said that he will not seek an elective post, noting that doing so will be in conflict with his role as chairman of the 1Sambayan coalition, which will select a unified opposition slate for next year’s polls. – With Edu Punay
