Enrile to speak on West Philippine Sea issue as guest on Duterte's public address

Former Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile will speak on the West Philippine Sea issue during President Rodrigo Duterte’s Talk to the People on Monday night, presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said. 

Roque made the announcement three days after the Chief Executive sought Enrile’s counsel on the issue by saying the former senator was there from the beginning. 

“Magiging panauhin po si dating Senador Enrile sa Talk to the People mamayang gabi,” Roque said. 

(Senator Enrile will be the guest during the Talk to the People tonight.)

While Duterte said he wants to listen to Enrile’s take on the West Philippine Sea issue due to the former senator’s impeccable intellect, Roque said the ex-Senate president's take is needed to shed light on the role of the President’s critics—Senator Antonio Trillanes IV and former Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario—on why the country lost access to Panatag Shoal (Scarborough Shoal).

The Philippines and China agreed to simultaneously pull out their respective vessels out of Scarborough Shoal, a traditional fishing ground in the West Philippine Sea, back in 2012 after a prolonged standoff between the two parties.

The standoff included an incident when Chinese vessels even fired water cannons at Filipino fishing boats to turn them away from the traditional fishing ground. 

Such agreement to jointly pull out vessels brokered by the United States to deescalate the situation, however, was only complied with by the Philippines since Chinese vessels never left the area. 

Duterte, however, earlier said that he will never pull out Philippine vessels out of the West Philippine Sea amid continuous incursions of Chinese militia vessels within the Philippines' exclusive economic zone in the area. 

"Mga barko natin, nandiyan sa Pag-asa island [Our ships are in Pag-asa Island]... We will not move an inch, but we will not go to war with China," Duterte said in a taped message aired on Friday.

"Kaya ako sabihin ko sa China ngayon, I am not ready to withdraw. I do not want a quarrel, I do not want trouble, I respect your position and you respect mine. But we will not go to war," Duterte added. 

(I am telling China now, we are not ready to withdraw.) —KG, GMA News