Carpio warns Duterte vs defending China verbal fishing deal at SONA

Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio warned President Rodrigo Duterte against defending a supposed verbal agreement allowing the Chinese to fish in a large part of the West Philippine Sea during his upcoming State of the Nation Address (SONA).

The country would be legally bound to a "lopsided" deal if the president would make good on his word to use the SONA to "educate" his critics on the constitutionality of allowing China to fish within the Philippines' exclusive economic zone, Carpio said Friday.

"I do not see anything positive coming out of that SONA if he will do that. Because that means we are finally bound by that verbal agreement," the senior justice, a vocal advocate of the Philippines' claims and rights in the West Philippines Sea, warned at a forum in Taguig City.

"The moment he makes that statement in the SONA, it is a final confirmation that that verbal agreement is now a legal agreement binding on the Philippines and China and we are terribly at the losing end... because we are opening the entire West Philippine Sea to China's fishing fleet in exchange for our fishermen to fish in the periphery of Scarborough Shoal."

Carpio had earlier said Duterte's "verbal agreement" with Chinese President Xi Jinping allowing China to fish at the Recto Bank, an area within the Philippines' exclusive economic zone, was unconstitutional.

The magistrate assailed the "disadvantageous" agreement, saying it would effectively allow the Chinese, with a massive fishing fleet, to fish in an area 59 times larger than the Scarborough Shoal.

Duterte had reacted defensively to such criticism, promising to "educate" detractors on his decision during his fourth report to the nation on July 22. "By any stretch of imagination, hindi unconstitutional 'yung ginawa ko. As a matter of fact, it was in keeping with the law," he said Monday

The exclusive economic zone is the 200-nautical mile maritime area measured from the Philippines' coast. Under the 1987 Constitution, the country enjoys exclusive sovereign rights to exploit natural resources within this zone.

Arbitral ruling

At an ADR Stratbase forum, Carpio said the verbal fishing agreement risked "waiving or diminishing" the arbitral award that the Philippines won three years ago, an international court ruling that invalidated China's massive claims in the South China Sea.

He called to mind Duterte's declaration, early in his presidency, that the Philippines was setting aside the decision. Had the Department of Foreign Affairs not clarified the president's statement, China's acceptance of Duterte's words would have made it binding, Carpio said.

"We were saved by the skin of our teeth from what could have been a self-inflicted fatal blow to our sovereign rights in the West Philippine Sea," he said.

This is why the Philippines "must reject" the verbal fishing agreement, Carpio said.

"We must therefore do everything to convince the present government Administration not to confirm or ratify the supposed verbal agreement with China," he said. — DVM, GMA News