House leaders to consult FVR, Carpio on sea row

MANILA, Philippines – The leadership of the House of Representatives under Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez intends to consult the expertise of former president Fidel Ramos and Supreme Court Justice Antonio Carpio on issues surrounding the West Philippine Sea that is being claimed by China.

Quezon City Rep. Feliciano Belmonte Jr., chairman of the House special committee on the West Philippine Sea, said he needs the inputs of Ramos and Carpio regarding the country’s position in the highly sensitive territorial and geo-political issues.

“They are experts and very knowledgeable on the topic. Former president Ramos even led a series of annual conferences on various issues held in a city in China and he has a good relationship with China,” Belmonte said.

Ramos now serves as President Duterte’s special ambassador to China.

As for Carpio, Belmonte said he would be consulting him in a “private capacity.”

“If I talk to him or tap him (as adviser), it will be on a private basis and not as a SC justice because he is a very knowledgeable person on this. In fact, he was in The Hague during the hearings there,” Belmonte recalled, referring to the Arbitral Tribunal proceedings.

During his stint as speaker of the previous 16th Congress, Belmonte was a member of the Philippine delegation to The Hague in the Netherlands during the proceedings of the country’s case against China.

Last July 12, the UN-backed tribunal ruled in favor of the Philippines’ maritime dispute with China.

The Arbitral tribunal invalidated Beijing’s nine-dash line, and at the same time upheld Manila’s 200-mile exclusive economic zone under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea to which China is also a signatory.

Other potential and likely advisers Belmonte had in mind were former Magdalo representative Ashley Acedillo, former Cagayan de Oro City representative Rufus Rodriguez and incumbent Rep. Jesulito Manalo of party-list Angkla who are proficient on the issues.

Belmonte added he would also tap some retired military generals, as he vowed to protect the country’s interests on the territorial row with China over the disputed South China Sea.

House Majority Leader Rodolfo Fariñas said earlier the Belmonte committee could help Ramos in his efforts to start informal negotiations with China over the long-standing maritime dispute.