Marcos on Risa’s reso: Foreign policy not set by legislation

KUALA LUMPUR—President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. doesn't see how Sen. Risa Hontiveros' proposed Senate resolution as regards the 2016 arbitral award will translate into action before the United Nations.

Marcos made the remark after Hontiveros sponsored on the Senate floor proposed Senate Resolution No. 659, which urged the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to call out China’s aggression before the UN General Assembly.

“Generally speaking, the foreign policy is not set by the legislation. Generally speaking, foreign policy is up to the executive,” Marcos told reporters which covered his state visit here.

“So, I mean of course the senator is free to file the resolution she wants but I do not know how that will translate into any action that will reach the United Nations General Assembly,” he added.

“The United Nations entertains governments, not parts of the government," Marcos said.

Senators on Wednesday debated Hontiveros’ resolution, which sought to exhaust all available diplomatic means to assert the country’s rightful claims over the West Philippine Sea amid China’s “reckless, unrepentant, and continuous incursion” in the area.

The arbitral ruling in July 2016 invalidated China’s massive claims in the resource-rich region and upheld the Philippines' exclusive economic zone under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

China has refused to acknowledge the ruling as it continues its activities in the area as well as its harassment against Filipino fisherfolks. —NB, GMA Integrated News