Rody Rebukes Pacman Over ‘Shallow Knowledge’ Of WPS Issue

President Duterte took a dig at Sen. Manny Pacquiao for supposedly criticizing him over his policies related to the West Philippine Sea and China.

“Study well first,” Duterte said, lecturing Pacquiao about independent foreign policy following the boxing champion’s statements against the President’s soft stance toward Beijing.

“I would not want to degrade him but next time he should --- mag-aral ka muna nang husto bago ka pumasok,” the President said, before he was cut off by the pastor.

“Apparently, this guy has a very shallow knowledge of (the WPS issue),” he added, without finishing his sentence.

Duterte discussed his independent foreign policy during his interview with church leader and pastor Apollo Quiboloy in Davao City on Monday, June 7, and which was aired Tuesday evening, June 8.

The President maintained it is better to have an “independent foreign policy” amid criticisms that he was favoring China and the Russia over the United States and other Western countries.

In response, Pacquiao expressed regret on Wednesday, June 9, that Duterte was misinformed about his criticism on how the Chief Executive was handling the WPS issue.

“I firmly believe that my statement reflects the sentiment of majority of the Filipinos, that we should stand strong in  protecting our sovereign rights  while pursuing a peaceful and diplomatic solution to the dispute,” Pacquiao said.

In a statement, Pacquiao said he respects Duterte’s opinion of him but “humbly disagrees with his assessment of my understanding of foreign policy.”

“I am a Filipino voicing out what needs to be said in defense of what has been adjudicated as rightfully ours,” Pacquiao said.

During an online interview with reporters in May, Pacquiao urged Duterte not to “buckle” in the face of China’s repeated intrusions in the WPS as his apparently defeatist remarks could weaken the resolve of Filipinos to defend the country’s sovereign rights.

Read more: Pacquiao To Duterte: Do Not Buckle In Face Of China’s WPS Intrusions

Pacquiao recalled that during his electoral campaign in 2016, Duterte vowed to ride a jet ski and plant the Philippine flag in the WPS to confront China’s intrusions that made him as well as many Filipinos vote for him.

But Duterte described his controversial “jet ski” remark five years ago as a “pure campaign joke” even as he insisted that he was not taking the Philippines' sovereignty lightly when he made the comment.

Read more: Rody: ‘Jet Ski’ Remark Pure Campaign Joke

“It (campaign promise) gave me and many others great encouragement and resolve that I said to myself: ‘this is what we need’. But time came when he (Duterte) buckled when we need to make a stand,” Pacquiao told reporters in Filipino.

The senator likened China’s intrusions in the WPS to an intruder building some structures in one’s property.

He said he found Duterte’s stance “lacking” when the government must take measures that would make China respect the country.

“I understand our President has a lot of problems to deal with… but if our President softens, our resolve would weaken,” Pacquiao noted. “We want to be friends with China but they must respect our rights.”

Pacquiao last April 10 wrote to Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Huang Xilian expressing alarm over the presence of some 220 Chinese militia vessels in the WPS and asked that Beijing order their removal.

PDP-Laban issue

The President’s tirades against Pacquiao came amid the senator’s apparent rift with some of Duterte’s allies at the ruling administration party, PDP-Laban.

Pacquiao, who is PDP-Laban president, and the faction of party vice chairman and Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi earlier had a run-in after the latter held a meeting of PDP-Laban’s national consultative council – the party’s governing body – on May 31 in Cebu City.

The senator said the meeting was not authorized as it was not coordinated with him. It turned, however, that the meeting was sanctioned by Duterte, who is party chairman.

The tiff, some party leaders said, was connected to the jockeying among PDP-Laban leaders, who are supporting different candidates for standard-bearer.

Pacquiao disclosed he sought a meeting with Duterte and was still waiting for the President to reply to his request.

He said he has to follow the party’s constitution and by-laws that mandate the chairman and president have to meet first and set the agenda for the holding of the national consultative meeting. 

Pacquiao is reportedly eyeing to run for president but other PDP-Laban members are rooting for other candidates who are not from the ruling party.

During the May 31 meeting, the PDP-Laban members passed a resolution urging Duterte to run for vice president in next year’s elections and choose his running mate.

But the President told Quiboloy during the interview on Monday that he was preparing to retire next year and that he doesn’t his daughter, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio to succeed him.

Read more: Duterte Prepares For 2022 Retirement; Asks Sara Not To Run For President

AFP chief visits Pag-asa

 Meanwhile, Armed Forces chief of staff Gen. Cirilito Sobejana visited Pag-asa Island last Monday, hoping to boost the morale of soldiers guarding the country’s interests and territory in the WPS.

Talking to troops manning the Naval Station Emilio Liwanag, Sobejana highlighted the importance of their role in protecting the citizens of the Kalayaan Island Group and their livelihood as well as guarding the country’s territories in the WPS.

The military plans to transform Pag-asa Island into a supply and logistics hub mostly for the benefit of the Philippine Navy.

The Armed Forces of the Philippines recently deployed additional air and naval assets under the operational control of Western Command in Palawan to support the National Task Force for the WPS together with the Philippine Coast Guard and Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources in performing sovereignty patrols in the WPS.

Such move was in response to how Chinese maritime militia vessels had swarmed islands and features in the WPS  in recent months. – With Michael Punongbayan