Villar has piece of advice for rookie senator Tolentino
Published Jul 30, 2019 05:30 pm
By Vanne Elaine Terrazola
"Learn from your experience."
This was the Senator Cynthia Villar's advice on Tuesday to neophyte Sen. Francis Tolentino, who was grilled by long-time lawmakers on his position about President Duterte's verbal fishing agreement with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Sen. Cynthia Villar
(Facebook / MANILA BULLETIN) Tolentino delivered on Monday a privilege speech insisting that President Duterte's verbal deal with China was valid and, likening it to an executive agreement, did not need the Senate's concurrence. But Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon stressed that before concluding on the validity of the verbal pact, or whether or not the Senate's concurrence was necessary, they should first know the exact parameters of the deal. Senator Richard Gordon also pointed out to Tolentino that the "devil is in the details." The first-time senator, however, denied having knowledge as to what the Duterte-Xi agreement contained, explaining that his proposition was only based on "anecdotal reports". Still, he argued that fishing agreement was legal and binding. Asked to comment on her colleagues' exchange yesterday, Villar said she saw "nothing wrong" with Tolentino being grilled by the veteran senators as this would help him in his stint in the Senate. "Mabuti rin 'yong ganyan para alam mo what to expect 'di ba (It's good that he did that so he will know what to expect, right). You learn your lesson from your experience," Villar told reporters in an interview. "Mabuti na 'yong na-experience para alam nila, there is nothing wrong with that (It's okay that they experience it so that neophyte senators learn, there is nothing wrong with that)," she added. Villar said it is but natural for Drilon, as the Senate's chief fiscalizer, to focus on legal technicalities. "We have to study 'di ba...Kapag topic mo dapat aralin mong mabuti. 'Pag di ka magaling sa topic mo, kasalanan mo yon kasi 'di ka nag-aral (And you should study your topic well. If you failed to defend it, it's your fault because you did not prepare for it)," she said. Villar, however, vouched for Tolentino's expertise in the matter since the latter has a master's degree in international law. She also agreed that verbal agreement did not require the Senate's nod, saying that heads of states can enter into an "understanding" to avoid armed conflicts. The country’s leaders, she noted, may also choose not to comply with such informal agreements. Villar said the issue on West Philippines Sea would take too long to resolve, echoing President Duterte that Philippines and China were both claiming rights to the area. "Wala naman 'tong, pag-aagreehan eh. Kasi tingin ng China, kanya, tingin natin, atin. So anong pag-agreehan? Magulo to, eh," she said.
Sen. Cynthia Villar(Facebook / MANILA BULLETIN) Tolentino delivered on Monday a privilege speech insisting that President Duterte's verbal deal with China was valid and, likening it to an executive agreement, did not need the Senate's concurrence. But Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon stressed that before concluding on the validity of the verbal pact, or whether or not the Senate's concurrence was necessary, they should first know the exact parameters of the deal. Senator Richard Gordon also pointed out to Tolentino that the "devil is in the details." The first-time senator, however, denied having knowledge as to what the Duterte-Xi agreement contained, explaining that his proposition was only based on "anecdotal reports". Still, he argued that fishing agreement was legal and binding. Asked to comment on her colleagues' exchange yesterday, Villar said she saw "nothing wrong" with Tolentino being grilled by the veteran senators as this would help him in his stint in the Senate. "Mabuti rin 'yong ganyan para alam mo what to expect 'di ba (It's good that he did that so he will know what to expect, right). You learn your lesson from your experience," Villar told reporters in an interview. "Mabuti na 'yong na-experience para alam nila, there is nothing wrong with that (It's okay that they experience it so that neophyte senators learn, there is nothing wrong with that)," she added. Villar said it is but natural for Drilon, as the Senate's chief fiscalizer, to focus on legal technicalities. "We have to study 'di ba...Kapag topic mo dapat aralin mong mabuti. 'Pag di ka magaling sa topic mo, kasalanan mo yon kasi 'di ka nag-aral (And you should study your topic well. If you failed to defend it, it's your fault because you did not prepare for it)," she said. Villar, however, vouched for Tolentino's expertise in the matter since the latter has a master's degree in international law. She also agreed that verbal agreement did not require the Senate's nod, saying that heads of states can enter into an "understanding" to avoid armed conflicts. The country’s leaders, she noted, may also choose not to comply with such informal agreements. Villar said the issue on West Philippines Sea would take too long to resolve, echoing President Duterte that Philippines and China were both claiming rights to the area. "Wala naman 'tong, pag-aagreehan eh. Kasi tingin ng China, kanya, tingin natin, atin. So anong pag-agreehan? Magulo to, eh," she said.