Former President Joseph Estrada's sons, Senators Joseph Victor “JV” Ejercito, and Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada on Monday, August 14, strongly refuted claims that their father was the chief executive who promised China in 1999 to remove the BRP Sierra Madre.
Sen. Joseph Victor "JV" Ejercito (Senate PRIB Photo)
Both Ejercito and Estrada were reacting to Rigoberto Tiglao’s online column dated Aug. 14, 2023, saying the information he presented in his entry is inconsistent with “the mere fact President Estrada was the one who ordered the BRP Sierra Madre be grounded in Ayungin Shoal.”
“It’s impossible he will commit to remove the same!” Ejercito stressed in an interview.
“That’s very inconsistent and common sense tells us it was Pres. Joseph Estrada who ordered that BRP Sierra Madre be grounded in Ayungin Shoal so paano namang siya rin ang magsasabi na to remove it na magkaroon ng commitment (so how can he also say he had a commitment to also remove it),” Ejercito added.
“I don’t know saan nanggaling yung statement ni Tiglao (I don't know where Tiglao got his statement), but it was them who supported the entry of the first salvo of Chinese intrusion through (the) NBN-ZTE (deal). Baka yun ang dapat nilang alalahanin (I think that’s the one he ought to remember),” the senator added.
Tiglao earlier served as presidential spokesperson and chief of staff during the administration of former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
“Conclusion, at least, whatever they see with President Estrada, he has the balls to fight for our sovereignty and our territorial integrity,” Ejercito stressed.
“Kahit paano meron siyang (no matter what they said, he had the) balls to claim our territory against the super power. That they should have they done the work after nung inangkin natin yun (after we claimed that area),” he pointed out.
“Anong nangyari? Bakit mas lumaki ang pinanghawakan ng China (What happened? Why did China’s claim on the area became more bigger) right after? So sila ang nagkulang (So they were the ones who failed)?” Ejercito reiterated.
For his part, Jinggoy Estrada said President Marcos has already spoken and declared that he had "rescinded" that arrangement or agreement—“if there was such an agreement”—concerning the removal of the vessel from Ayungin Shoal.
Sen. Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada (Senate PRIB Photo)
“This renders the debate about a possible promise made during former President Joseph Estrada's tenure to the Chinese government irrelevant,” Estrada pointed out.
Estrada also said former Senator Orly Mercado, who led the position of defense secretary during his father’s tenure, confirmed that there was “no agreement or promise” whatsoever made to the Chinese government about removing the BRP Sierra Madre.
“Any assertion of such a commitment contradicts the rationale behind the (Estrada) government's decision at that time to station BRP Sierra Madre at the shoal. This move was primarily undertaken to assert our country's claim and establish a presence in the area,” he pointed out.
Estrada also said that the reason then President Estrada approved that the BRP Sierra Madre to be stationed at Ayungin was because the troops saw how the Chinese have already started reclamation activities at the West Philippine Sea.
“Sabi ni (former) Sen. Orly, nagtatayo na ng konkreto so pinadala na barko natin dun (they were already building concrete in the area so they sent the ship there),” he stressed.
Name names
Estrada, for his part, challenged the Chinese embassy to properly identify the administration that allegedly made a “verbal commitment” to remove the BRP Sierra Madre out of the shoal.
“Why not ask the next administrations? The Chinese government made press releases that it was made verbally, but this will not stand even in the courts. These are all hearsays,” he said.
“So name names…We are also at a loss. We are in limbo, sino ba talaga ang nangako?” Estrada reiterated.
Asked if it’s possible the Arroyo administration, which took over his father’s presidential term, had made any such commitment, Estrada said: “I don’t know. I’m not privy to that.”
But he insisted “it is illogical” for then President Estrada to order the removal of the ship in the area immediately after ordering that the BRP Sierra Madre be stationed at the Ayungin Shoal.