Enforcement of Hague ruling a ‘continuing project’ – Jardeleza

On the third anniversary of an international court's invalidation of China's massive claims on the South China Sea, a Supreme Court justice and a former solicitor general said the ruling's enforcement was  a "continuing project" for Filipinos.

Associate Justice Francis Jardeleza on Friday said the Philippines continued to be confronted by the "challenge" of enforcing the Permanent Court of Arbitration's 2016 decision because there was no such thing as an "international policeman" under international law.

"We won and we won big and it's there forever," Jardeleza said on Metro Manila television channel ANC. "Now the president, the executive department, has acted in a certain way. Some agree or some disagree.

"Now I hope that on the third anniversary, I'd just go back to the sense of civic spirit, civic-mindedness that sustained us, who fought hard for this, the same patriotism will be observed by the administration as they make their tough calls, and by the critics as they do their rightful way to criticize."

The Duterte administration has been criticized for appearing to take a soft stance on enforcing the arbitral tribunal's ruling in pursuit of warmer relations with China, a decision that, among others, invalidated Beijing's "nine-dash line" claim.

Jardeleza, who was part of the Philippine legal team that brought China to court, believed that "the biggest lesson is that when we are united even as we disagree, we can achieve big tings."

"And this ruling will survive, I predict, the political winds... I don't know if within our lifetime it will be enforced, but this is going to be a continuing project of the Filipino people," the magistrate said.

Jardeleza also said he did not believe the Hague ruling was a "paper victory," as had been claimed by maritime law expert Jay Batongbacal, but recognized that the description may be rooted in the issue of enforcing it.

"Academics all over the world call it a hands-down, astounding, complete victory," the justice declared. — DVM, GMA News