Duterte denies rumored ouster of Yasay

MANILA, Philippines — There is no plan to remove Foreign Affairs Secretary Perfecto Yasay from his post, President Rodrigo Duterte said Tuesday as he affirmed his support for the Cabinet official who serves as the Philippine government’s spokesman on the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) row.

 

Duterte said Yasay continues to enjoy his trust and that everything he says regarding foreign policy has his blessing.

 

“I would like to assure the secretary that he is in good company and there is no truth to the rumor that there is a plan for his ouster, far from it actually,” Duterte said in a video message Tuesday.

 

“Let me just douse cold water on the rumor…it's not good. Yasay speaks for me. Everything that he says in public both national and international comes from my guidance and he has my backing and full support,” he added.

 

 

Duterte issued the clarification exactly a week after the Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration ruled that China’s extensive territorial claim in the South China Sea has no legal basis.

 

The landmark decision also awarded the Philippines sovereign rights over the Panganiban (Mischief) Reef, Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal, and Recto (Reed) Bank — areas that are also claimed by China. 

 

Duterte was all praises for Yasay, whom he said, agreed to join his government despite his job as an educator. He, however, noted that Yasay accepted the post on the condition that he would only serve for a few months because of his obligations as a professor of universities in the United States.

 

“I'd like the Philippines to know that I personally pleaded with Secretary Yasay to join my government because he is competent and honest and he knows his business,” the president said.

 

“I have placed my entire trust in him,” he added.

 

The basis of the rumors about supposed plans to remove Yasay from his post remains unclear. The speculation, however, was raised by ABS-CBN anchor Karen Davila during her interview with the Foreign Affairs chief Tuesday in her show “Headstart.”

 

In the interview, Yasay said he has not heard the rumor but maintained that he serves at the pleasure of the president.

 

Days before the issuance of the ruling of the arbitral tribunal, Yasay was quoted by the Agence France-Presse as saying that the Philippines is ready to share natural resources with China in the West Philippine Sea.

 

Yasay drew flak for the comment, prompting him to clarify that the government would wait for the ruling and study its implications.

 

“As the ruling will not address sovereignty and delimitation, it is possible that sometime in the future, claimant countries might consider entering into arrangements such as joint exploration and utilization of resources in disputed areas that do not prejudice the parties’ claims and delimitation of boundaries in accordance with UNCLOS (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea),” he said. — with reports from Natasha Isidro and Lorenzo Acuña