Carpio: Duterte’s campaign promise on West Philippine Sea a ‘grand estafa’

Retired Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonio Carpio on Tuesday slammed President Rodrigo Duterte who claimed that he never promised he would “retake” the West Philippine Sea during the 2016 presidential campaign.

Carpio reminded Duterte that he declared in a debate in April 2016 that he would personally ride a jet ski to the features claimed by China and plant the Philippine flag, a statement later dismissed by the President as a hyperbole.

The former SC magistrate also said Duterte’s campaign stated at the time that he “fully supported” the arbitration case filed by the Philippines against China’s claim over nearly the entire South China Sea, a portion of which Manila refers to as the West Philippine Sea.

“President Duterte cannot now say that he never discussed or mentioned the West Philippine Sea issue when he was campaigning for president. Otherwise, he would be admitting that he was fooling the Filipino people big time,” said Carpio, a critic of Duterte’s friendly approach to China amid the maritime dispute.

“There is a term for that – grand estafa or grand larceny. Making a false promise to get 16 million votes.”

Duterte, however, said on Monday he never tackled the maritime dispute during the campaign “because that was a very serious matter.”

“I never, never in my campaign as president, promised the people that I would retake the West Philippine Sea. I did not promise that I would pressure China,” he said.

He also continued his criticism of Carpio and former Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario, who led the arbitration case.

Duterte has blamed the previous administration for losing the Scarborough Shoal, which is within the country’s exclusive economic zone, to China in 2012. — RSJ, GMA News