Opposition Senator Leila De Lima on Friday, April 30, said President Duterte’s refusal to stand up against China’s continued bullying against the Philippines is a reminder of the many promises he made in his 2016 presidential campaign that he has failed to deliver to the Filipino people.

De Lima reiterated Duterte should stand against the unrelenting Chinese incursion in the West Philippine Sea and must stop tolerating its continued disrespect of the country’s sovereignty.

And yet the latter has chosen to highlight the Philippines’ indebtedness to China over its quick response to help the country in its fight against the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the senator lamented.

“China continues to bully us but Duterte, being China’s famous lackey, remains unperturbed. Whatever happened to his promise to defend our sovereignty with his life? Yet again, broken and unfulfilled,” she said.

De Lima insisted the Chinese should be the one vacating the country’s maritime territories in the West Philippine Sea and stop harassing Filipino fishermen who are operating within the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

“Lumalakas ang loob nilang magsalita, gaano man kagarapal, dahil tikom ang bibig ni Duterte sa ginagawang pagkamkam ng China sa ating teritoryo. Duwag na, pro-China pa (They are getting shameless talking down on us because Duterte is not saying anything while China relentlessly seizes our territories. Not only is he a coward, he’s also clearly pro-China),” she added.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin had earlier insisted that China enjoys sovereignty over the Spratly Island, Pag-Asa Island and Panatag Shoal, and their adjacent waters, calling them Nansha, Zhongye and Zhongsha.

Wang further urged the Philippines “to respect China’s sovereignty and rights and interests, and stop actions complicating the situation and escalating disputes.”

But De Lima, who was part of the Philippine delegation who argued the Philippines’ arbitration case against China over the WPS before The Hague during her stint as Justice Secretary, reminded China it is the one escalating disputes in the area as it continues to assault the country’s sovereignty in the area.

Contrary to China’s claims that they have rights over WPS, she said the landmark ruling on July 12, 2016 of the Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) found no legal basis for China to claim historic rights to a “nine-dash line” in the WPS.

China, however, has consistently refused to acknowledge the ruling that invalidated their claim in the West Philippine Sea.

De Lima further pointed out that the arbitral award also recognized the Philippines’ sovereign rights in its 200 nautical miles (NM) EEZ in the WPS.

Therefore, De Lima said, the Duterte administration has no right to pin the blame on retired Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio and former Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario for China’s continued presence in the disputed waters.

“Siya na nga itong walang ginawa kundi ang magpakaduwag sa China sa halos limang taon niyang panunungkulan, siya pa itong may kapal ng mukhang sisihin ang nakaraang administrasyon sa kawalang aksyon sa pagkamkam sa ating teritoryo (He’s the one who did nothing but to be a coward in front of China in the last five years of his term, and yet he has the gall to blame the past administration for his inaction on the territorial dispute),” she emphasized.

Duterte, in his recent public speech, continued to blame Del Rosario and Carpio as the ones responsible for the Philippines losing the West Philippine Sea to China.

That was during your time. It was your time when you were still in position. If you’re bright, why did we lose it? Now it’s China who’s holding it. And it’s me you’re pressuring to find a solution,” the president said.

Duterte insisted that the only means for the Philippines to physically take back the WPS is to “go to war” which he doesn’t want to happen.

“So I have a choice of going to war. We’re all going to die because we don’t have arms. I will just send my soldiers to hell, which I will never do. I will not let my soldiers fight. If there has to be a fight, then we have to win,” he said.