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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Gonzales: House probe shows there was never a valid 'gentleman's agreement' on West Philippine Sea 

Gonzales: House probe shows there was never a valid 'gentleman's agreement' on West Philippine Sea 

Published May 20, 2024 09:44 am

At A Glance

  • House members heard enough testimonies from Philippine agencies Monday, May 20 to  conclude that there was never any valid "gentlemen's agreement" between the Philippines and China on the West Philippine Sea (WPS), Mandaluyong City lone district Rep. Neptali "Boyet" Gonzales II said.

IMG-a8d87546ad66e9777498ff87e8ec048e-V.jpgMandaluyong City lone district Rep. Neptali Gonzales II (PPAB)



House members heard enough testimonies from Philippine agencies Monday, May 20 to conclude that there was never any valid "gentlemen’s agreement" between the Philippines and China on the West Philippine Sea (WPS).

Thus, said Mandaluyong City lone district Rep. Neptali "Boyet" Gonzales II after the first day on the joint panel investigation on the alleged gentlemen’s agreement.

"I still stand by my word before, na [that] there is no agreement to speak of that is constitutionally valid," Gonzales said.

The Special Committee on the West Philippine Sea chaired by Gonzales and the Committee on National Defense chaired by Iloilo 5th district Rep. Raul Tupas carried out the much-anticipated probe.

"If you're going to ask me, there are sufficient ano na mga...nasabi na ng mga (there are sufficient utterances from the) different agencies of the government for us to conclude na talagang ano, there's no agreement (there's really no agreement)," Gonzales said.

"And even if there was, ang sabi nga ng representative of DOJ (Department of Justice), na as early as August 2023, that the President (Marcos) even said that hindi niya alam yung pinag-usapan, in fact siya yung gumamit ng 'secret agreement' eh. Hindi niya ginamit yung 'gentlemen’s agreement'," he said, referring to what was heard in the hearing.

(The DOJ representative said that as early as August 2023, the President even said that he doesn't know what the agreement was about, in fact just he's the one who used the term 'secret agreement'. He didn't use 'gentleman's agreement'.)

"And even if there was, then nire-rescind na niya (he has rescinded it already)," said the lawyer-legislator.

Participating in the hearing were ofciials and experts from agencies such as the DOJ, Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), Department of National Defense DND), and Philippine Coast Guard (PCG). They all denied there their respective institutions knew about any gentlemen’s agreement.

Marcos' immediate predecessor, former president Rodrigo Duterte allegedly struck a deal with the Chinese President Xi Jinping on the WPS.

Some House members suspect that this secret pact is being used by Beijing to justify its continued shadowing and harassment of Filipino troops and fishermen in areas that are well within the country's exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

"As far as I'm concerned, wala nang agreement. Because kung mayroon mang agreement ay canceled na. And ano ang mapapala namin for us to establish that there was?" Gonzales said.

(There's no more agreement. Because of there is, then it's been canceled. And what do we stand to gain for us to establish that there was?)

At any rate, the special committee chairman shared what he thought of the alleged Duterte-Xi deal on the WPS.

"Ang summation ko (My summation is), it involves surrender...of our sovereign right na hindi pe-pwedeng gentlemen’s agreement lang (which can't be done by a mere gentleman's agreement). At best it must be covered by a treaty. And when it is covered by a treaty, under our Constitution, kailangan ipadala mo sa Senate for its ratification (it must be sent to the Senate for its ratification)."

Gonzales said another hearing on the topic will be held Tuesday, May 21.

Related Tags

neptali boyet Gonzales II Gentleman's agreement Rodrigo Duterte West Philippine Sea
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