By Argyll Geducos
President Duterte said he does not mean to belittle the plight of the 22 fishermen who were abandoned at sea by a Chinese vessel when he referred to the Recto Bank incident as a “little” maritime incident.
President Rodrigo Roa Duterte (JOEY DALUMPINES / PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO / MANILA BULLETIN)
In an interview with reporters in Mandaluyong City, Duterte apologized to the fishermen if they feel that the government is not fighting for them.
“I’m sorry but that’s how it is. It is a maritime incident, ‘little’ in the sense that there is no confrontation. There was no bloody violence,” he said Monday evening.
“It’s a maritime incident. ‘Little,’ in the sense that it did not result in any confrontation, this is not to belittle anything,” he added.
“There was damage but luckily nobody died, but maliit itong bagay na ito (this is a small matter) for anybody to bring in the gray ships, the gray ships are the warships," he continued.
Duterte then reiterated that the incident should not prompt the deployment of the Philippine Navy to the West Philippine Sea since it may ignite tension in the area.
“That is not a reason to go to any military exercise there. 'Pag ginawa mo 'yan, giyera 'yan. So I am sorry if yun ang feeling nila (If you that, that would be war. So I'm sorry if they are feeling that way),” he added.
“Alam naman nila na (They know that) that area is claimed by both. Para sa (For) China it happened within their jurisdiction, sa atin (for us it is) within our jurisdiction because we have two conflicting claims of ownership,” he continued.
Guilty will be accountable
Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo reassured the public that it will hold accountable whoever is guilty in the Recto Bank incident.
Panelo gave the assurance following the disapproval of Vice President Leni Robredo and Senator Panfilo Lacson of President Duterte's stand on the Recto Bank incident.
In a statement, Panelo reassured that justice will be served and that the government will not allow the country's sovereignty to be breached.
“We reiterate: There will be no escape at the accountability of the guilty party, nor a denial of compensation to the offended victims. Justice will be served, at whatever cost,” he said.
“Sovereignty, as we have repeatedly declared, is non-negotiable. It cannot be bartered. Neither can it be surrendered nor diminished. We shall assert and protect our sovereignty, from any assault coming from any part of the world. Let no man or country forget that nor doubt it,” he
Panelo said national interest and security are the main reasons President Duterte is taking a cautious stand on the Recto Bank incident.
“As the Chief Architect of foreign policy, the President strikes a balance between the interest of the nation and the country’s security, as against the threat of potential war with another,” said Panelo in a statement.
“He maintains friendly and trade relations with other countries, even those with adversarial claims,” he added.
Third party
Meanwhile, President Duterte expressed anew that the best way to resolve the issue is for it to be given due process and be investigated. He said that it would be better to have a third party because separate investigations mean there would be prejudices.
“Kung ako (If you're to ask me), it’s always biased even if it’s not. Kung kanila namang (If it's their) report, it would always be according to the theory of the incident. So sa atin (to us) it’s prejudiced,” he said.
“Fair play is that there is no one that is under suspicion of siding with the other and you can only do that kung may board kayo na… Kasi pag kanila lang (if there is a board that will look in to it. Because if we do it on our own), then we compare which would always be contradictory I suppose, that can be presumed, eh 'di walang mangyari, parang walang insidente (then nothing will happen, like nothing happened at all),” he added.
While he was Bangkok, Thailand over the weekend for the ASEAN Summit, Malacañang said that Duterte welcomed the suggestion of the Chinese embassy of a joint investigation on the incident which happened on June 9. Duterte also said that there should be a neutral country which will look into the matter.
During his interview, Duterte revealed that he already has the preliminary reports of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and the Philippine Navy. He said it is up to China if they would still want to have their own probe.
“We have our own, I think it’s about to be completed. I already have the preliminary reports of the Coast Guard and the Navy, okay. But the official report has yet to be prepared and given to me for publication to the people,” Duterte said.
“But if they want another investigation, payag man ako (fine with me). Or they can always also investigate on their own and we can confront each other over our evidence,” he added. (With a report from PNA)