Over WPS remarks, Duterte tells ex-envoy Cuisia: ‘Shut up’

President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday criticized former Philippine Ambassador to the United States Jose Cuisia, who hit the Duterte government's approach to defending the country's claims in the West Philippine Sea.

Speaking before PDP-Laban members and officials during a taped meeting, Duterte was discussing the country's relations with China when he wrongly mentioned that China has "claims of ownership" in the West Philippine Sea.

"On the West Philippine Sea, they [China] are there not because they want to add to their territory, they are there because they say it is theirs, under claim of ownership," Duterte said.

Duterte also claimed that the Philippines lost Scarborough Shoal during the time of the late former President Benigno Aquino III's administration.

"We also claim it but we lost the Scarborough Shoal... Scarborough Shoal was lost because of past administration. Trillanes made 16 trips to China... Sila yung nag-usap, si late President Aquino, si Cuisia, saka itong si Albert [Former senator Antonio Trillanes made 16 trips to China...they were the ones who talked, as well as late President Aquino, Cuisia, and former foreign secretary Albert Del Rosario]," Duterte said.

The tough-talking President then challenged Cuisia to go to the West Philippine Sea and defend the country's territorial claims.

"Si Cuisia naman bombastic.... Bakit ko raw hindi... G— itong u— na ito. Pumunta ka roon, mangisda ka. Mabuti na nga may delineation na nga, they allowed Filipinos," he said.

(Cuisia is bombastic. Go there, and fish. It is better now, there is delineation, they allowed Filipinos.)

"If you want, Cuisia, pumunta ka roon kunin mo... E gusto ko siya paunahin. Bigyan ko siya baril pati uniporme," he added.

(Go there and claim it. I want him to do it first. I'll give him guns and a uniform.)

Duterte further slammed the former envoy: "You know, you are neo-Filipinos. You do not even look Filipino, shut up."

Cuisia previously pushed Duterte to assert the 2016 arbitral ruling, which invalidated China's claims in the West Philippine Sea. 

Duterte said the ruling was just a piece of scrap paper meant to be thrown in the trash.

Duterte's spokesman Harry Roque explained that Duterte's wastebasket statement was in context with China's concern that they ignored the ruling. — BM, GMA News