Binuweltahan ng Malakanyang si Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonio Carpio sa pahayag ng mahistrado na ang pagtitiwala ng pamahalaan sa China ay kahalintulad ng pagtitiwala sa magnanakaw.
Ayon kay Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque, bagamat iginagalang niya ang opinyon ni Carpio, mas makabubuti aniya kung ilalagay niya ito sa isang ‘court resolution’ dahil yun ang kanyang trabaho.
Tila pinayuhan din ni Roque ang mahistrado na tumakbong mambabatas upang maisulong nya ang mga ninanais nitong polisiya.
This is a democracy is entitled to have opinion but I would expect that next time we would read his opinion in the form of court decision because that’s the function of the judiciary branch of the government.
Or, as I said, he could run for an elective legislative position if he wants policy for government.
Nilinaw ni Roque na tiwala ang Pangulong Rodrigo Duterte na hindi sisirain ng China ang pangako nito na huwag nang lumikha ng panibagong artificial island sa pinag-aagawang teritoryo sa West Philippine Sea.
Binigyang diin ni Roque na ang militarisasyon at pagdami ng artificial islands sa West Philippine Sea ay ginawa ng China bago pa maupo sa puwesto ang Pangulong Duterte.
And I, on the promise of China, not to reclaim new artificial islands and not to make further reclamation.
For militarization, if we can it militarization, did not happened during the Duterte administration alone, it’s been long militarized.
And, the question is, “What can we do on what the past administration do?”
What can we do right now, the posture of the President is to maintain close ties so they don’t have any reason to use those arms in those islands.
Tiniyak ni Roque na patuloy nilang minomonitor ang galaw ng China sa West Philippine Sea at sa katunayan ay regular aniya siyang nakakatanggap ng briefing patungkol dito.
Who says we are not monitoring?
I get ‘briefings’, and I can tell you we know what ships were plying where, we know about the work but the question is, “What can you do?”
You can protest, and I think there is a protest already filed even before.
What else can be done? Well, we continue rely not only in the principle of ‘goof faith’, we also continue to rely on the general provision on the use of force which is found in the international law.