BY JOCELYN MONTEMAYOR and ASHZEL HACHERO
PRESIDENT Duterte wants former Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert Del Rosario investigated, and executed “by hanging” if possible, for his role in the Philippines’ loss of Panatag Shoal (also known as Scarborough Shoal and Bajo de Masinloc) in the West Philippine Sea during the previous administration.
The President, in his Talk to the People address on Wednesday night, continued his criticisms against Del Rosario and retired Supreme Court associate justice Antonio Carpio whom he challenged to a debate about the South China Sea issue.
Carpio accepted the debate challenge but told the President to make good his promise to resign if he (Carpio) can prove he had nothing to do with the standoff between Chinese and Philippine ships at the shoal in 2012, which later saw the Philippine ships withdrawing from the disputed area. The shoal is now under the control of China which claims most of the South China Sea.
Current Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. joined the fray, saying he wants to know who ordered the Navy ships to withdraw from the area.
The President has been criticizing Carpio and Del Rosario who are calling for more concrete actions from Duterte on the territorial dispute with China and have been saying Duterte is not prioritizing the Filipinos’ interests.
Duterte has said the two were involved in the withdrawal of the Navy ships from Scarborough Shoal, adding he was willing to resign if he is proven to be lying.
“Kung ako ‘yong nagsisinungaling, mag-resign ako bukas kaagad. Iyan ang garantiya ko sa inyo (If I am lying. I will resign tomorrow. That I guarantee you),” he said in his address to the nation on Wednesday night.
“Ikaw Albert, Alberto, bakit mo pinaatras? Kaninong permission ka nanghingi? Ngayon kung wala kang maibigay, p***** i** mo, huwag mong ibigay sa akin ‘yong kasalanan mo…
Alam ninyo one day, one day you will be tasked to answer for that, iyang pag-order ninyo, dapat imbestigahin ka (Albert, Alberto, why did you have the ships pull out? From whom did you get the permission? If you cannot answer, you son of a b****, do not pass your wrongdoing to me… One day, one day you will be tasked to answer for that order, you should be investigated),” he said.
“I don’t know what will be the history of this country because if I were a leader… I will execute you by hanging,” he added.
The President has said that his predecessor, Benigno Aquino III, may not have even been informed before the pullout.
The country withdrew reportedly on the intervention of the United States that asked both the Philippines and China to withdrew their vessels at the Panatag Shoal to end the tension. China did not leave the area.
“Tayo umatras because Albert called the, maybe, the ships, ordered it to withdraw. The mystery question here is: Was it approved by President Aquino? Siya iyong presidente (We pulled out because Albert called the, maybe, the ships, ordered it to withdraw. The mystery question here is: Was it approved by President Aquino? He was the president then),” Duterte said.
Last week, the President said the Philippines owes China a debt of gratitude over the anti-coronavirus disease vaccines that it donated and steadily supplies the country but he would never compromise when it comes to the sovereignty, territory and interests of the Philippines.
Duterte said he is not about to go to war with China but he ordered the Philippine Coast Guard and other Philippine assets patrolling the disputed waters to stay put especially when Chinese or other foreign vessels orders them to leave or stay away.
DEBATE
The President wanted to debate with Carpio on the Panatag Shoal incident and the 2016 ruling of the Permanent Court of Arbitration that favored the Philippines over China.
He said he would only ask three questions: Who made the Philippines retreat from the Scarborough Shoal, what did the administration do after the retreat, and if the arbitration ruling can be enforced and if other countries would help to enforce it.
The President said the Philippines may have won the arbitral ruling but in reality, it is just a piece of paper that can be thrown away in the garbage bin.
Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said Duterte was not belittling the arbitral ruling but merely explaining how the decision looks from China’s perspective.
Carpio said he is ready to face the President in a debate “any time at the President’s convenience.”
Turning the table on Duterte, Carpio also said, “President Duterte should now resign immediately to keep his word of honor. I state under oath that I was never involved in the decision to withdraw Philippine Navy ships from the West Philippine Sea during the 2012 Scarborough standoff. I was serving in the Supreme Court at that time and all I knew about the withdrawal of Philippine Navy ships was what I read in the newspapers,” he said.
Carpio said Aquino, Del Rosario and the chiefs of the Air Force, Navy and Coast Guard at that time can attest that he had nothing to do with the
standoff.
CHANGING STORY
Locsin, on the withdrawal of Navy ships, said, “Walang pinamigay si Duterte pero maraming nawala nila. I demand a complete explanation of why we withdrew our fighting ship from the Scarborough face-off, and why (former senator Antonio) Trillanes was sent to make peace when we never made war. So aside from surrender, we apologize for whimpering,” Locsin said in a tweet.
“We’re all old on both sides of the argument about the loss of Scarborough Shoal, it is time that those ones who were in charge of protecting our territory come clean on what exactly happened when we walked-rather sailed away from a confrontation. Could anyone make them do that?” he added.
He explained that his call was due to the fact that the story about the standoff keep changing over time.
“Time to come clean. Story keeps changing from PH mistake of sending Navy ship to a face-off with one CHN fishing boat to 30 CHN militia boats. And who ordered and why did we pull out of the face-off? The US couldn’t have ordered us because surrender is not an option in the Mutual Defense Treaty,” Locsin said.
The DFA chief said it is not fair to blame Duterte for the previous administration’s “failure of nerve.”
