Retired Supreme Court (SC) Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio has good things to say about Manila Mayor Francisco "Isko Moreno" Domagoso even if the latter didn't end up getting 1Sambayan's endorsement for the presidency in next year’s polls.
Carpio revealed during the Oct. 1 edition of the Friday News Forum that Domagoso previously "sought him out" for one particular reason--to know more about the West Philippine Sea (WPS) issue.
"Si Mayor Isko nakiusap sa akin yan kung pwede ko daw siya i-brief. Binrief ko siya on the West Philippine Sea (Mayor Isko asked if I could brief him. I briefed him on the West Philippines Sea)," he said.
"Ako naman, kahit sinong gusto makinig sa akin (As for me, anybody who wants to listen), I will also brief because we have to educate everybody," noted the ex-magistrate, who is a senior convernor of opposition coalition 1Sambayan.
"Ang gusto ko, consistency. Kasi madali lang magsalita para boboto yung tao sayo eh but I gave credit to Isko (What I want is consistency. It's easy to talk people into voting for you, but I gave credit to Isko) because he sought me out. That means gusto niya malaman din (he also wanted to know)," Carpio said.
A patriotic stance on the WPS issue was a non-negotiable criterion for Carpio as far as the 1Sambayan endorsement process was concerned.
"Kailangan may patriotism kasi importante (Having patriotism is important), we have to assert the arbitral award and defend our sovereign rights in the West Philippine Sea," he did.
1Sambayan on Thursday endorsed Vice President Leni Robredo for the presidential race in May 2022.
In the forum, Carpio criticized President Duterte for his pro-China stance on the WPS issue, which at its core is a territorial dispute.
"During the campaign of Duterte in 2016, sabi niya, sinabi niya ito (he said this), 'I don't believe in that arbitration. That's nothing. I agree with China, that's b*llsh*t,'" he recalled.
The Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) would rule in favor of the Philippines in July 2016 regarding the case filed by the previous Aquino administration against China's expansive territorial claim in the South China Sea. The PCA decision invalidated Beijing's controversial nine-dash line claim.
Duterte was already the Philippine president for a few weeks when the arbitral award was given to the Philippines.