China monitoring my calls, emails, says Senior SC Justice Carpio

Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio on Thursday said that he was aware that China was monitoring phone calls and emails.

According to a report in GMA News TV's State of the Nation with Jessica Soho, Carpio made the remark after the power went off at a convention of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines in Iloilo City.

He was giving a lecture and presenting a video on China's claims in the South China Sea and the arbitral tribunal's 2016 ruling which favored the Philippines when the power outage occurred.

"I knew that my email and my phone conversations are being monitored by China but I didn't know they have the capability to tinker with our video now," Carpio said.

GMA News Online is trying to get word from the Chinese embassy as regards Carpio's statement.

Carpio recently expressed concern over the Chico River irrigation loan agreement between the Philippines and China, saying the latter could seize oil and gas-rich Philippine assets in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) if the country would default on its payments.

"In case of default by the Philippines in the repayment of the loan, China can seize, to satisfy any arbitral award in favor of China, patrimonial assets and assets dedicated to commercial use of the Philippine government," Carpio said in a presentation shared with reporters.

Carpio said that this was expected to be the "template" for all other loans to the Philippines.

He explained that the term "patrimonial assets and assets dedicated to commercial use" includes the oil and gas within the Philippine exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the WPS.

"This includes the rich gas fields in Reed Bank," he stressed.

Palace spokesman Salvador Panelo refuted Carpio's claims and said the Reed Bank was not a patrimonial asset of the Philippines.

"Hindi pupuwede yung sinasabi niya, kasi wala namang deklarasyon na yung Reed Bank is patrimonial property," he said on Tuesday.

He, however, acknowledged a day after that there is a law declaring Reed Bank as such.

“Meron nga, as he said and I agree, meron,” he said.

Panelo on Wednesday called Carpio "unpatriotic" for pointing out the pro-China provisions in the loan agreement covering the Chico River pump irrigation project.

Carpio just laughed off Panelo’s claim. —Dona Magsino/NB, GMA News