Otso Diresto bets laud ‘patriotism’ of fisherfolk for complaint vs. China; Sara Duterte doubts if move would prosper

Otso Diretso candidates lauded the "patriotic concern" of the fishermen who filed a complaint against China before the International Criminal Court (ICC), together with former Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert Del Rosario and former Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales.

Sara Duterte, campaign manager  of the rival coalition Hugpong ng Pagbabago, said it is anybody's right to lodge a complaint before the international tribunal, but expressed uncertainty if such a move would prosper.

That is their right, as a global citizen. To write the ICC, whether it concerns President Duterte or other world leaders...right mo naman yan," Sara said.

But Sara, a lawyer, would not say if such move will prosper.

"That is another matter," she said in an interview on the sidelines of their campaign sortie in Danao, Cebu.

The complaints asked the ICC to make Chinese President Xi Jinping liable over China's reclamation activities in the West Philippine Sea which they described as crimes against humanity.

China’s moves to restrict access to areas in the resource-rich waters, has “seriously undermined the food and energy security of the coastal states in the South China Sea, including the Philippines," the complainants said.

Otso Diretso senatorial candidate Erin Tanada said the Filipino fishermen should be commended for their guts and patriotism.

“Our fisherfolk showed more guts and patriotic concern than some of our government officials who are now reduced to being mere Chinese lapdogs in the face of blatant encroachments by China on internationally adjudicated Philippine territory, " Tanada said.

“The rights to life and livelihood are fundamental human rights.  ... The government, led of course by the President, should be ashamed of its continuous abandonment of its duty to promote, protect, and fulfill the Filipino peoples’ human rights," Tanada added.

In a separate statement, Magdalo party-List Representative Gary Alejano said the move was a "slap to the Philippine government who has failed to exact accountability and punish the countless transgressions of China against Filipino fishermen and the destruction of our marine environment."

"Trabaho dapat ito ng ating gobyerno," Alejano said.

"Imbes na protektahan ang ating mga mangingisda, karagatan at kalikasan, interes ng dayuhang bansa ang pinoprotektahan ng administrasyong ito. Pagkain, enerhiya, at trabaho ng mga Pilipino ang kapalit ng pagiging sunud-sunuran ng ating Pangulo sa China," Alejano added.

Alejano, a former solider, called on the Armed Forces of the Philippines to be "steadfast" in protecting the territory and rights of the Filipinos.

The ICC is an independent international body, separate from the United Nations system, and the first permanent international court that deals specifically with the gravest crimes facing humanity, such as genocide. It also prosecutes individuals for war crimes and aggression.

ICC came into being on July 1, 2002 - the date its founding treaty, the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, entered into force. It can only prosecute crimes committed on or after that date.—LDF, GMA News