Senate Minority Leader Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III said on Friday, April 5, that any informal agreement involving a Filipino with a foreigner is not going to be binding upon the country, regardless of the former's government position.

This was after Sen. Risa Hontiveros filed a resolution asking the Senate to look into the supposed “gentleman’s agreement” between the Duterte administration and the Chinese government which restricted the repair and rehabilitation of the BRP Sierra Madre on Ayungin Shoal.

"Ang gusto kong sabihin (What I want to say is), it could be unconstitutional, it could be unlawful but definitely it is void. It is void. Mabuti rin siguro (It's a good that) this hearing will have a purpose in the sense that all foreign nations monitoring our hearings will get to know that should something like this happen in the future, that is void," he said.

"A single Filipino no matter the position in government cannot bind the country in an informal, unwritten, unrecorded agreement. So-called agreement. That should be the conclusion of the hearing," he added.

When asked if even the President at that time was the one who made the agreement with another country, he replied: no matter the position because it is an informal, unwritten, unrecorded agreement. Malay mo kailangan may concurrence ‘yan (Maybe a concurrence is needed there). How can the concurrence be given in a he-said she-said scenario, di ba (right)?"

Pimentel said that if it is a treaty, it requires a congressional concurrence yet there is no way of knowing if it is indeed a treaty since it is a "he-said she-said scenario".

"Mga ganyan basta’t mga ganyang scenario, void na po ‘yan. Lalo na bina-bind niyo po ang isang bansa (Scenarios like that are already void. Especially if you are binding a country). That is void," he explained.

He also mentioned that if Duterte wants to address the issue, he can do so.

"But the point is there is no record, so therefore it does not exist," he added.

Recently, former Palace spokesman Harry Roque said that Duterte had entered into an "gentleman's agreement" with China which was to no longer send more construction materials in the waters still contested by Beijing to prevent tension from further escalating.

Roque's remark came as who promised China that the Philippines would remove the grounded ship remains unanswered.

This, as China had justified its harassment on Filipino troops, including by hitting them with a water cannon, by saying the Philippines did not stand by its promise of towing away Sierra Madre and not sending any more construction materials.

Former Supreme Court Justice Antonio Carpio said Duterte surrendered the Philippines’ sovereign rights over Ayungin Shoal disguised as a “gentleman’s agreement” with Xi.

Sen. Imee Marcos has said that she sees nothing irregular with this deal.

The presidential sister added it is normal for any chief executive to do his part in maintaining the peace and order situation within the country’s maritime territory through verbal agreements.