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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Riding a jet ski to Spratlys? Duterte says he can't even swim

Riding a jet ski to Spratlys? Duterte says he can't even swim

Published May 11, 2021 09:07 am

If he had ridden a jet ski to the disputed Spratly Islands as he promised in his 2016 campaign, President Duterte said he would’ve died as he doesn’t know how to swim.

President Rodrigo Duterte delivers his “Talk to the People” address on May 10, 2021 (Malacañang)

“Ngayon kung (Now, if) --- if you swallow it, my God, hindi na lang ako mag-comment ng ano. Sinong g***? (I will not comment anymore. Who’s *expletive*?),” he asked during a prerecorded public address on Monday night, May 10.

“Alam ba ninyong hindi ako marunong maglangoy? Eh kung matumba ‘yang yawa na ‘yan, magkapa-kapa na ako (Do you know that I don’t even know how to swim? If that jet ski will overturn, I do not know what to do). By this time, I would have been the late Rodrigo Duterte kung totohanan ‘yon (if that is true),” the President said.

For his presidential campaign in 2016, Duterte promised that he will ride a jet ski to the Spratly Islands and plant a Philippine flag there regardless of what China wants.

That was during the height of the campaign and amid the arbitral case being heard before the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) at The Hague. The arbitral case was filed by the Aquino administration for China’s continuous insistence that it owns the entire West Philippine Sea (WPS), including waters that belong to the Philippines. In 2016, the Hague-based tribunal ruled in favor of Manila, nullifying China's excessive claims to the sea.

The Chief Executive admitted that his 2016 promise to ride a jet ski was a “pure campaign joke,” saying people who fell for it like former Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio was “stupid.”

READ: https://mb.com.ph/2021/05/10/duterte-anyone-who-fell-for-his-jet-ski-campaign-joke-is-stupid/

The Spratlys Islands is composed of resource-rich islands, islets, cays, and more than 100 reefs that lie off the coast of the Philippines, Malaysia, and Vietnam. The Philippines has the strongest claim since the islands are just 100 kilometers away from the farthest point of Palawan Island in the Visayas region.

Duterte did not only fulfill his campaign promise, he remained largely friendly to Beijing despite its repeated incursions in the Philippines’ Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) during his term.

Related Tags

President Duterte Antonio Carpio Spratlys Island jet ski Philippine flag West Philippine Sea china
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