2016 arbitral ruling has no enforcement mechanisms, Esperon says

Backing the statements of President Rodrigo Duterte, National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon said the 2016 arbitral ruling, which invalidated China’s massive claims over the South China Sea, has no enforcement mechanism.

”Tama ang sinabi ng ating pangulo na papel nga 'yon kasi yon ang pinirmahan na dokumento pero kasi itong award na ito… it did not rule on the sovereignty over the islands,” Esperon said in an interview with Dobol B TV.

(The President is right that it is just a paper. It did not rule on sovereignty over the islands.)

“Ang Arbitral award, walang provisions for enforcement. ‘Di naman niya sinabi na China umalis ka d’yan, ‘di niya sinabi na Pilipinas umalis ka d’yan at kung sinabi man niya ay wala namang enforcement mechanism. Kaya hanging lahat ‘yon,” the National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea (NTF WPS) chairperson added.

(The arbitral award has no provisions for enforcement. It did not state that China or the Philippines should leave the area. Even if it said so, it has no enforcement mechanisms. That is all hanging.)

Esperon said the tribunal only ruled that the Scarborough Shoal is a “traditional fishing ground of so many nations.”

He then echoed Duterte’s narrative on the Philippines loss of Scarborough Shoal.

“Ang reality nawala natin ang Scarborough dahil nung nand’yan tayo, nagsimula ‘yan sa pag-imbestiga sa mga fishermen ng China. Nagpadala tayo ng barkong Navy, gray ship na tinatawag which is military. Dapat ang ginagamit mo ‘yung white ship ‘yung Coast Guard yung sa Bureau of Fisheries (and Aquatic Resources),” he said.

(The reality is we lost the Scarborough because when we were there, we started investigating the Chinese fishermen. We sent Navy ships or what we call gray ships. But the Philippines should have sent the white ship from the Coast Guard and the BFAR.)

In his Wednesday night public address, President Rodrigo Duterte said the 2016 ruling of the Hague-based tribunal is just a paper fit to be thrown in the trash.

He also suggested that former Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario should be investigated over the withdrawal of Philippine forces during the 2012 Scarborough Shoal standoff.

This was backed by incumbent Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr., saying the former officials should “come clean” on what exactly happened in the 2012 standoff at Scarborough Shoal.

Del Rosario, in a statement issued Thursday, lamented the President's pronouncement that the 2016 arbitral ruling is a scrap of paper, stressing the international tribunal's decision is “valid and binding” and must be enforced against China.

Duterte also challenged retired Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio to a debate on the “retreat” of Philippine ships from the Scarborough Shoal.

He said he will resign if his story about the Scarborough Shoal standoff is proven false.

Carpio has accepted Duterte’s challenge. — RSJ, GMA News