De Lima lauds Del Rosario, Morales for communication vs. Xi at ICC

Detained opposition Senator Leila de Lima on Saturday lauded the move of former Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario and former Ombudsman Conchita Morales for leading the filing of a communication against China's President Xi Jinping for the "crimes" committed in disputed seas.

In a dispatch, De Lima praised as "remarkable move" the filing of communication before the International Criminal Court (ICC) for the abuses against Filipino fishermen in the South China Sea.

She noted that the complaint was lodged just days before the effectivity of the Philippines' withdrawal from the Rome Statute that established the ICC.

De Lima pointed out that doing nothing about China's excesses in the disputed sea is to ensure the triumph of Beijing's plan to control the South China Sea.

“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing,” De Lima quoted Edmund Burke.

"In their aggressive and systematic attempt to control the whole of South China Sea, including our territorial waters, China has not only committed a wide-scale and almost irreversible destruction of the environment, but has also deprived our fishermen, as well as those from our ASEAN neighbors, of their food and livelihood," the senator said.

She blasted the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte for "defending China" instead of fighting for the rights of Filipino fishermen.

"Ilang beses na ba natin narinig ang ating mga mangingisda na humihingi ng tulong sa ating Pangulong Duterte na ipagtanggol sila laban sa panggigipit at pang-aapi ng mga Tsino sa West Philippines Sea? Mayroon bang naging aksyon ng Pangulo dito maliban sa pagtatanggol sa Tsina?"

"Because of the inaction and disinterest by this administration to do anything in spite of mounting evidence of Chinese abuses in our territory, our fisher folks, backed by two illustrious and highly respected public figures, have no choice but to take matters in their own hands," she added.

Earlier, Malacañang said that the filing of complaint against Xi Jinping may be a futile exercise.

"The ICC has no jurisdiction over China," presidential spokesperson and Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador Panelo said in a statement.

Del Rosario and Morales filed the case before the ICC on March 15 or two days before the Philippines' exit from the tribunal.

Del Rosario and Morales, Panelo said, "may have the right to file the complaint before ICC as individuals over a perceived violation committed against their country or their countrymen." —LBG, GMA News