Jardeleza: West Philippine Sea arbitration one of Noynoy Aquino’s important legacies

Asserting the country’s sovereign rights over the West Philippine Sea through arbitration was one of the key legacies of the late former President Benigno Aquino III, retired Supreme Court Justice Francis Jardeleza said Friday.

“We should remember the former president for his contributions to the country. And I believe the West Philippine Sea is one of the most important,” Jardeleza said in an interview with Super Radyo dzBB.

Jardeleza said he was supposed to meet with Aquino to get his thoughts about the arbitration case since he is currently writing a book on the West Philippine Sea, but he learned from people close to the former Philippine leader that Aquino already had health issues.

In 2013, Aquino took China to the Permanent Court of Arbitration over its massive claim over the South China Sea, a portion of which falls under the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone. Jardeleza was part of the Philippines’ legal team in his capacity as Aquino’s solicitor general.

The Court ruled in favor of the Philippines shortly after Aquino left the presidency in 2016.

Beijing does not recognize the ruling, which invalidated its claims to nearly the entire South China Sea, despite calls from the Philippines for the Asian powerhouse to comply.

A day before Aquino’s death on Thursday, Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. said the arbitral award is final and that the Philippines “rejects attempts to undermine it; nay, even erase it from law, history and our collective memories.”

The Philippines’ ties with China have warmed under Aquino’s successor, Rodrigo Duterte, who reached out to Chinese officials after taking office in June 2016 to push for increased trade and economic cooperation between the two countries.

Critics, however, accuse Duterte of kowtowing to China. — Virgil Lopez/RSJ, GMA News