When President Duterte himself admitted in his 2020 State of the Nation Address (SONA) that he is “inutil” (useless) regarding China’s continued presence in the West Philippine Sea, and his professed “love” for Chinese President Xi Jinping, is it not about time to reject him?
The was the question posed by former Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert Del Rosario to the Filipino people on the occasion of the fifth anniversary of the Arbitral Tribunal decision that rejected China’s excessive claim over the vast resources of the South China Sea.
Speaking at the virtual forum entitled Reinforcing the 2016 Arbitral Victory: The West Philippine Sea in the Convergence of Strategies, Del Rosario narrated Duterte’s series of pronouncements in the past five years that undermined the Arbitral Award, specifically by setting it aside in favor of economic benefits from China.
“Since then, our country’s fight for the West Philippine Sea has lost momentum as President Duterte decided to set aside the Award in favor of Beijing’s promise of economic benefits,” he said.
Del Rosario maintained that it is the President’s constitutional mandate as commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines to “secure the sovereignty of the State and the integrity of the territory”.
Abysmal record
Del Rosario recalled in 2016 when Duterte made his vow to ride a jet ski towards the Spratlys, plant the Philippine flag, and challenge China to a “suntukan o barilan” (fistfight or gun duel).
“However, our countrymen believed in the message apparently conveyed by President Duterte through the jet ski metaphor: that he would stand up to China and protect the West Philippine Sea, consistent with the Constitution,” the former DFA secretary said.
But on May 10, 2021, the President claimed that his pledge to ride a jet ski to the Spratlys and plant a Philippine flag there was a “pure campaign joke,” even calling those who believed him “being stupid.”
That particular episode, according to Del Rosario, contributes to a widening belief among Filipinos that the President betrayed the Constitution he swore to uphold and has consequently betrayed his countrymen who rely on him to protect the West Philippine Sea.
“With less than a year left until the end of President Duterte’s term in June 2022, his record of asserting the rights of Filipinos in the West Philippine Sea has been abysmal,” he said.
Del Rosario pointed out that the President’s admission that he is “inutil or useless about the persistent Chinese presence in the country’s EEZ “speaks volumes” about what he described as a “failed leadership”.
PH election interference?
Reflecting on the past events that led to Duterte’s victory in the 2019 presidential race, Del Rosario said Duterte’s actions would fit into a “disturbing pattern of loyalty to a foreign power”.
The ex-diplomat claimed that on February 22, 2019, they received information from a most reliable international entity that high officials from China are bragging that they had been able to influence the 2016 Philippine elections so that Duterte would be president.
Del Rosario, however, did not provide the name of his source. Instead, he suggested that the Philippine Embassy in Beijing can easily verify the said information.
“We believe that our Beijing post can easily validate this. Moreover, subsequent actions of the President lend more credence to this information,” he said.
On the Chinese leader allegedly protecting Duterte, Del Rosario said it was the President himself who, on May 15, 2018, proudly declared in Casiguran Bay in Aurora that Chinese President Xi Jinping has sworn to protect him from moves that will result in his removal from office.
“The assurances of Xi Jinping were very encouraging,” Del Rosario quoted Duterte as saying in his remarks. He said the Presiden even paraphrased Xi Jinping saying, “We will not allow you to be taken out from your office, and we will not allow the Philippines to go to the dogs."
Duterte and Xi
During a press conference in Davao before going to China to attend the 2018 Boao Forum for Asia, Del Rosario remembered President Duterte publicly professing: “I just simply love Xi Jinping. He understood, he understands my problem and he is willing to help.”
“It is certainly disturbing to see our President—who should be looking after his own people—relying on a foreign leader for his security of tenure as President. Moreover, such foreign leader represents an aggressor that is openly and illegally occupying land and waters that belong to the Filipino people,” said Del Rosario who now sits as chair of a Manila-based institute named after him.
‘Compromised loyalty’
In the course of his remarks, Del Rosario outlined several actions taken by President Duterte that defined his policies in the West Philippine Sea:
First, in 2016, shortly after the issuance of the Arbitral Award, President Duterte declared: “I will set aside the arbitral ruling. I will not impose anything on China.” President Duterte set aside the Award in favor of Chinese loans and investments that have barely materialized until this day.
Second, in the same year, President Duterte announced that the Philippine Navy will patrol only the 12-nautical mile territorial sea of the Philippines, in violation of the constitutional mandate that the Philippine State shall protect the country’s 200-nautical mile EEZ.
Third, in 2019, President Duterte announced that he entered into a verbal agreement with President Xi Jinping allowing Chinese fishermen to fish in our waters—violating the Constitution which provides that the fish in our EEZ belongs only to Filipinos.
Fourth, President Duterte’s repeated false assertion that China is already “in possession” of the West Philippine Sea. This recklessly concedes Philippine lands and waters to China more than what China actually possesses.
And in a televised address last May 5, 2021, President Duterte said: “That paper, in real life, between nations, that paper is nothing...Son of a bitch, that's just a piece of paper. I'll throw it in the wastebasket.”
Del Rosario stressed that through these acts and pronouncements, many Filipinos have reason to believe that the President has been “discrediting our nation”.
“For the last five years, what we see is a betrayal of the Filipino people,” said the former DFA chief who once served as Philippine ambassador to the United States.