Palace: Marcos upheld 2016 arbitral ruling; Duterte treated it as 'scrap of paper'

President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. is upholding the 2016 arbitral ruling, which Malacañang said former President Benigno Aquino III fought for during his term and which former President Rodrigo Duterte treated as a scrap of paper when he came to power.

Palace Press Officer Usec. Claire Castro indicated this in the wake of the 10th anniversary of the ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration, which invalidated China’s massive claims in the West Philippine Sea and upheld the Philippines' exclusive economic zone on July 12, 2016.

On the 10th anniversary of the ruling, the Philippines and 13 other countries reiterated that there is no legal basis for China's claims in the South China Sea.

“Totoo naman na ipinaglaban ito sa panahon ni PNoy pero sa panahon ni dating Pangulong Duterte, ang arbitral award or ruling ay kinonsidera lamang na simpleng papel na pwedeng itapon sa basurahan,” Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Claire Castro said.

(It is true that this was fought for during the time of PNoy, but during the administration of former President Duterte, the arbitral award or ruling was regarded as merely a piece of paper that could be thrown into the trash.)

Castro said then-Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana was also powerless when Duterte ordered the stop to the construction on Sandy Cay due to strong opposition from China.

“Hindi po kasi ganyan ang polisiya ang ating Pangulo. Ipaglaban ang ating karapatan sa diplomatikong pamamaraan,” Castro said.

(That is not the President’s policy. His policy is to uphold our rights through diplomatic means.)

She cited Marcos’ order to remove the floating barrier that that Chinese Coast Guard place in the southeast portion of the Bajo de Masinloc or Scarborough Shoal in September 2023.

“Hindi nag atubili ang Pangulo na gawin ang nararapat. Hindi nag provoke ng war. Hindi nagkaroon ng kaguluhan pero ipinaglaban ang karapatan at interes ng ating bansa,” she said.

(The President did not hesitate to do what was necessary. He did not provoke a war or create conflict, but he stood up for the rights and interests of our country.)

Castro, meanwhile, said that the administration does not want Filipinos to be afraid of fighting for sovereignty.

Despite this, she said the administration maintains that the South China Sea should be an area of peace, cooperation, and coordination and should not be a source of division or chaos.

“Hindi po ‘yan ang nais ng administrasyon. Hindi po natin gusto maging duwag ang bawat Pilipino para ipaglaban ang karapatan natin pero hindi po tayo nag sasabi na dapat tayo sumulong sa isang gera,” she said.

(That is not what the administration wants. We do not want Filipinos to be too afraid to stand up for our rights, but neither are we saying that we should rush into war.) –NB, GMA News