Palace: Xi’s ‘word of caution’ not a threat
Malacañang is not considering as a threat the “word of caution” that Chinese President Xi Jinping gave President Duterte about causing trouble by invoking a UN tribunal ruling on the South China Sea (SCS).
Presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo said Xi only gave Duterte a friendly advise.
“You know, when you’re friends and you give some suggestions, you are not dictating. When you say ‘dictating,’ it has a different meaning,” he explained.
Panelo said the Chinese leader could just be cautious to avoid any conflict in the area.
“It’s not a warning. I think the Chinese President was being also practical. I don’t think he wants that to happen; so he wants to avoid it also, which is the better way in dealing with problems or conflicts,” he added.
When asked to put context into President Duterte’s statements that Xi had told him not to cause trouble in the West Philippine Sea, Panelo said taking matters through peaceful dialogue is a better option than aggressively dealing with the situation as he downplayed Xi’s statement by saying “it was not a threat at all.”
Despite the criticisms, Panelo said the President is dealing with the matter without the Philippines being drawn into a war with Beijing.
Senator-elect Ronald dela Rosa defended Duterte, saying the President is being patriotic in his handling of the territorial dispute in the South China Sea.
“It’s wrong for them to question the President’s patriotism. How I wish they knew how patriotic he is,” Dela Rosa told reporters on the sidelines of 41st founding anniversary of the Philippine National Police Academy (PNPA) in Silang, Cavite yesterday.
The President was criticized for his handling of the Recto Bank incident where a Chinese vessel hit a Filipino fishing boat and left the 22 fishermen floundering in the sea.
Dela Rosa said Duterte is not prone to doing knee-jerk reactions by sending troops at the West Philippine Sea just to gain brownie points with the public.
Inhibit Carpio
Meanwhile, the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) filed Thursday a motion asking the Supreme Court (SC) to inhibit Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio from taking part in the proceedings of the Writ of Kalikasan petition.
“It is interesting that even before the OSG filed its motion for inhibition, Justice Carpio already told the media that he will not inhibit in this case. This puts the OSG in a bind. Our motion will be an exercise in futility if the issue of his inhibition will be solely left for him to decide. It should be the Supreme Court, as a collegial body, which should decide on our motion,” said Solicitor General Jose Calida in a statement.
The OSG cited Carpio’s “personal bias and partiality” as grounds in asking for an inhibition on the Writ of Kalisakasan petition that seeks the protection and preservation of three shoals – Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal, Ayungin Shoal and Panganiban Reef – within the country’s territory in the West Philippine Sea.
It added that the magistrate had actively participated in the arbitral proceedings and has made numerous public pronouncements against the actions taken by the government in relation to the arbitral award.
Because of these, Calida said, Carpio cannot sincerely claim the neutrality or impartiality that is demanded by judicial ethics and due process of law.