Villanueva: 'Gentleman’s agreement' is Chinese propaganda

Senator Joel Villanueva said on Tuesday that the revelation of the "gentleman’s agreement" between former President Rodrigo Duterte and the Chinese government was propaganda meant to divide the country.

In a press conference, the senator said that instead of falling for the ruse, the public should instead unite and acknowledge the Philippines’ Exclusive Economic Zone.

“Well, we are somehow falling into the trap of this bullying nation. Lahat nagsasalita na. I mean, lahat, biglang naging eksperto, no?" said Villanueva. "Pakiusap ko lang, konting yuko lang at minsan hindi natin talaga alam lahat eh."

(Everyone seems to have something to say. I mean, everyone somehow became an expert, right? I’m kindly asking for some restraint because sometimes we don’t have all the information.)

The senator added that everyone involved could learn from each other. Furthermore, there was also a pool of experts available who he was sure were in a better position to give views and advice on what to do.

“Dapat wala ni isa sa atin na Pilipino na nagsasabing, hindi, hindi pa tapos yan, or kwestyonable pa yung claim na yan. Dapat easy to understand na ito'y parte ng ating Exclusive Economic Zone na pagka mula doon sa ating baseline, merong 200 nautical miles ay pag-aari ng Pilipinas. Ganun na ho kasimple,” Villanueva said.

(There should be no Filipinos claiming that no, it’s not over or the claim is questionable. It should be easy to understand that this is a part of our Exclusive Economic Zone starting from our baseline, there are over 200 nautical miles belonging to the Philippines. It’s that simple.)

Villanueva further said that fueling this discussion was a strategy of the Chinese government as no one believed the "gentleman’s agreement" was binding.

“All of us knew that it's void, null and void to begin with. And, can you imagine yung China, the Chinese government, hindi ba nila alam to? Are they that naive na hindi nila alam na pumapasok sila sa isang so-called agreement na hindi naman mapapatupad, na hindi naman ma-ho-honor?” Villanueva asked.

(All of us knew that it's void, null and void to begin with. And, can you imagine China, the Chinese government, don’t they know this? Are they that naïve that they don’t know that they’re entering into a so-called agreement that could not be implemented, and wouldn’t be honored?)

As there was no documented discussion to enforce the implementation of a possible agreement, Villanueva called for the public to focus on the "common denominator" which was to defend the country.

Meanwhile, the senator supported the joint military exercises in the West Philippine Sea between the Philippines, the US, Japan, and Australia.

Villanueva did not believe that these exercises should provoke China as these merely enhanced the Philippines' defense for future incidents.

The senator also called for the Senate to hold a caucus and discuss the gentleman’s agreement and prioritize more pressing measures ahead of the State of the Nation Address in July.

“Importante that we are united in this particular issue. Again, let's talk about anything, debate about anything, we can agree to disagree with anything, but not on the West Philippine Sea,” he said. — DVM, GMA Integrated News