He knew all along

This is what President Duterte seems to be saying when he mentioned that China informed him of ships to be sent to Benham Rise. Does that make it all right? Does informing the highest official of the land make it enough for the Chinese to send ships, for whatever reason only they know, to an area on the other side of the ocean which they claim almost ninety percent of? An area where the country has exclusive economic rights to? And to add to that question, is that even legal?

No one else seems to know about the supposed communication between Duterte and China regarding Benham Rise. Not even his defense secretary or his national security adviser. Sec. Lorenzana may have gotten the intel from the Americans, who intently watch over China's activities in the region. But then again, this seems to be the style of President Duterte, to micromanage everything. Never mind that Congress exists for check and balance. Never mind the courts. If he wants to say or do something, he will say or do it.

The Senate recently came out with its report and recommendations regarding the killing of Albuera Mayor Rolando Espinosa Sr. To no surprise, the report states that the killing of the mayor was "premeditated and with abuse of authority" by the CIDG team of Supt. Marvin Marcos. But Duterte would have none of it. Even a thousand committee reports would not change his mind and support for the raiding team. Does that mean whatever case or cases filed against Marcos' raiding team already have a foregone conclusion?

Then comes this Benham Rise issue. To my knowledge, informing the president is not enough for a foreign country to sail into waters where we have exclusive economic rights to. The president has to inform his Cabinet and Congress about the request, and decide, based on the Constitution whether to allow it or not, or at the very least, monitor closely what they want to do in the area. Informing only the president allowed China to quietly sail into Benham Rise, only attracting attention when they stayed there for months for no visible reason, even dropping anchor for a month at a particular place. Duterte was quick to point out that "things are going great" between the two countries, and would rather not rock the boat.

This seems to be the usual tact of the president; offering concessions in exchange for something. In this case, China has been quite generous in offering monetary help to the country, some that have yet to come into fruition. President Duterte also said that if Mighty Corp. would double its tax payment deficiency to three billion pesos, then "he'll forget about it", or to offer a crude interpretation, all is forgiven. But some say that Mighty Corp. owes the government at least fifteen billion in taxes. So paying three billion pesos to be off the hook is a steal, which Mighty has already accepted. Are they really off the hook just because the president said so? 

It is very obvious to China that this administration will not make a fuss with regards to territorial or sovereign rights, and that they are free to do whatever they want. They recently praised Duterte for handling the Benham Rise issue. We may see the day when China starts to build on Scarborough Shoal so close to the country. When that day comes, will the president have another revealing statement, explaining, or even rationalizing what the Chinese are doing?