Marcos questions alleged Duterte-Xi deal on WPS

“It’s not a good situation.”

This was President Marcos’ remark as he questioned the intention behind the supposed gentleman’s agreement between his predecessor, former president Rodrigo Dutete, and Chinese President Xi on the West Philippine Sea, saying he is “horrified” that such a deal has compromised the country’s sovereignty.

Marcos said this before he flew to Washington, DC for a trilateral meeting with US President Joseph Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio.

In an interview with reporters in San Juan City on Wednesday, April 10, the President said they were not told that such an agreement was made between Duterte and his Chinese counterpart.

“It turns out it’s a secret agreement. We don’t know anything about it. There is no documentation, there is no record, there is no— we were not briefed when I came into office,” he said.

“Kahit saan ka tumingin, walang record. So sikretong ginawa lahat ito. Bakit nila ginawa? Kung gagawin man nila, bakit naman nila ginawang sikreto? Nakakapagtaka nga, eh. Kaya it’s not a good situation (No matter where you look, there’s no record. So they did all of this in secret. Why? If they had to, why keep it a secret? It’s baffling. That’s why it’s not a good situation),” he added.

According to Marcos, they are trying to get answers from former Duterte officials to no avail.

“So, we’re trying to, really, up to now because from the former administration, iba-iba ang sagot, eh (we’re getting different answers),” he said.

“Maybe not the president himself but all his former officials tinatanong namin ano ba ‘yan? Ipaliwanag niyo naman sa amin para alam namin yung ginagawa naman (We were asking them about it. Explain it to us so we know what we’re doing). We still haven’t got a straight answer,” he added.

The President said he would summon Chinese Ambassador Huang Xilian to Malacañan to try to shed light on the matter.

“We still have to clear it up. We’re waiting for Ambassador Huang to come back from Beijing… Ipaliwanag niya kung sino ba ang kausap mo? (Explain to us who you talked to),” he said.

“Ano’ng pinag-usapan ninyo? Ano’ng pinag-agree-han ninyo (What did you discuss? What did you agree on)? Was this an official thing or was it a personal thing? Ano ba ito (What is this)?” he added.

Marcos said it would be difficult to follow an agreement that allegedly requires the Philippines to seek permission from another country before it can move inside its territory.

“I am horrified by the idea that we have compromised, through a secret agreement, the territory, the sovereignty, and the sovereign rights of the Filipinos,” he said.

In a statement after Marcos made his remarks, former Duterte spokesman Salvador Panelo reiterated that Duterte did not enter into any kind of agreement with Xi on the West Philippine Sea.

“As I have repeatedly said quoting the former President: ‘I have not entered into any gentleman’s agreement whatsoever,'” he wrote on April 10.

“FPRRD has never – and would never enter into any agreement that is against our national interest, sovereignty, and territorial integrity,” he added.

According to Panelo, who also served as Duterte’s chief legal counsel, three former Cabinet members, namely former executive secretary Salvador Medialdea, former Defense secretary Delfin Lorenzana, and former Interior secretary Eduardo Año already denied that such an agreement was made, whether formal or informal, regarding the West Philippine Sea, the Ayungin Shoal, or the BRP Sierra Madre.

“I was present at the state visit made by FPRRD in China as well as in the dialogue between the Chinese President and FPRRD. No such agreement was made between the two,” he said.

Panelo said President Marcos was probably being fed the wrong information.

“PBBM has been misinformed or has been misled by the alleged non-existent “gentleman’s agreement,'” he said.

“People should be wary of spreaders of false news and bogus narratives,” he added.

Early this month, another former Duterte spokesman, Harry Roque, claimed that Duterte and Xi had a gentleman’s agreement about the disputed waters. — Argyll Cyrus Geducos