Clueless Del Rosario

“Those who feign to be working in the interest of the country are actually acting on behalf of selfish political interest.

“For somebody who had been repeatedly usurped in his post and not knowing about it, Del Rosario is hardly believable in his allegations.

Critics of President Rodrigo Duterte, who had failed to advance their political agenda after unveiling the forgettable 1Sambayan coalition last March, are putting up a desperate attempt to inject doubt into the 2016 landslide poll victory of the President.

Former Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario, who was clueless of the back channeling of putschist Antonio Trillanes

IV during the 2012 standoff at Scarborough Shoal, now claims to have received information from Chinese officials about “influencing” the last presidential polls.

For somebody who had been repeatedly usurped in his post and not knowing about it, Del Rosario is hardly believable in his allegations.

In his weekly Talk to the People briefing, Mr. Duterte said he is ready to have a face-off with the former official to get from him directly what is apparently a yarn of political intrigue.

President Duterte won by six million votes against his closest rival, former Interior Secretary Mar Roxas, which was indisputable. In contrast, Del Rosario holds nothing but what he supposedly overheard as second-hand information or rumor.

Instead of the unfounded allegations, Del Rosario should give a detailed recounting of how the country lost Scarborough Shoal after the former government blinked and left the area of the stalemate to the Chinese.

At that time, Del Rosario and other officials, including Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin and Philippine Ambassador to the United States Jose Cuisia, were shuttling back and forth to Washington apparently to get guidance from American authorities.

Del Rosario and Gazmin even met with their US counterparts — Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Defense Chief Leon Panetta — to discuss the end of the stalemate, but which was bungled after China refused to go along with the American initiative.

Instead, Beijing warned the United States to stay away from the dispute, which it described as an Asian issue that should not involve outsiders like Washington.

Del Rosario then complained about inaccurate information from the Chinese Embassy on the negotiations with Philippine officials to end the impasse.

Former Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile said during his guesting in the weekly program of Mr. Duterte that Trillanes had accused Del Rosario of being a traitor, while the former coup leader also coopted with the Chinese during the backdoor negotiations.

Now, President Duterte wants to dig deep into the series of events when several treasonous actions led to the loss of the country’s territory.

Mr. Duterte said he wanted to talk to “some people” in Washington to find out whether Del Rosario ordered the withdrawal of Philippine ships from Scarborough Shoal in the West Philippine Sea during a standoff with China in 2012.

“You know, we are still investigating it. But you know, you Alberto, once I found that you have (sold off the country’s interest), I will charge you, I have many charges against you,” he said.

Those who feign to be working in the interest of the country are actually acting on behalf of selfish political interest in their overall desire to get back into political power.