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Duterte should have asserted PHL territorial rights in China visit, says Gordon


President Rodrigo Duterte should have asserted the Philippines’ territorial rights in the West Philippine Sea during his trip to China, Senator Richard Gordon said Thursday. 

“I will leave it to the judgment of the President but that’s dangerous because anytime you have a claim, you must assert it,” Gordon told reporters in an interview. 

“You can assert it in a friendly manner, pag-usapan ‘eh kung magkaibigan tayo, bakit hindi natin pagusapan yan?” he added. 

The senator said the Philippines and China can always “agree to disagree.” 

“Sayang, naghihinayang ako. Dapat i-bring up ‘yun. Kung ako ang presidente, ibi-bring ko ‘yun in a firm, purposeful, fair manner. But I will tell them we’re friends,” Gordon said. 

A Reuters report earlier said Chinese President Xi Jinping and Duterte met Thursday in an expanded bilateral meeting, where Xi said that China and the Philippines could “appropriately handle disputes.” 

Xi, however, did not specifically referred to the South China Sea, parts of which Manila refers to the West Philippine Sea. 

Duterte earlier said that he will bring up the maritime dispute issue with Xi only if the latter raises it during their meeting. 

In July, the Permanent Court of Arbitration ruled in favor of the Philippines in its case against China over a territorial dispute in the South China Sea. China has since said that it will not recognize the ruling. 

Duterte’s four-day state visit to China will conclude on October 21. 

Ground for impeachment

Meanwhile, Gordon said he agrees with the position of Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonio Carpio that giving up the country’s sovereignty over the Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal could be a ground to impeach Duterte. 

Gordon, however, said that he was not for impeachment “right now.” 

“I don’t think he can be impeached right away because call niya ‘yun eh. Siya ang political officer ng bayan,” Gordon said. 

“Siya [ang gumagawa] ng policy pero it is also incumbent upon us in the Senate na payuhan bilang kaibigan na sabihin sa kanya na ‘boss, wag ka magalit pero mali yung ginagawa mo’,” he added. — RSJ, GMA News

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