Carpio: Lawmakers can discuss, oppose foreign policy

MANILA, Philippines — Nothing should stop lawmakers from issuing statements on foreign policy, retired Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio said as he scored the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) for admonishing officials actively calling out Beijing’s encroachment on the West Philippine Sea.

“Members of Congress are free to discuss foreign policy, even oppose the foreign policy of the President and present an alternative foreign policy to the nation,” Carpio said in a statement this week.

He reminded the DFA that the Philippines “is not a dictatorship like China,” but rather “is a democracy with three independent and co-equal branches of government.”

“While the President is the chief architect of foreign policy, state policy is set by law passed by Congress which the President under the Constitution is expressly bound to ‘faithfully execute,’” he added.

He said the DFA “wants to comply with China’s demand for the ‘Philippines to strengthen its control over relevant personnel and issue a rational and unified statement on its China policy.’”

He made the remarks in reaction to DFA’s chastising unnamed officials critical of China’s sea claims and asking them to “align with the President’s policy directions.”

In its statement, the DFA said it is “regrettable that recent public commentary made by certain government officials have incorrectly merged three distinct elements: documentary evidence, public rhetoric and official diplomatic messaging.”

It said public statements against China’s provocations “risk eroding the country’s credibility in international affairs and project an image of internal division that external parties can exploit. Such actions can ultimately weaken the Philippines’ negotiating position.”

Armed Forces of the Philippines spokesman for WPS issue Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad stressed that the Philippines is not picking a fight with China but is merely standing up for the country’s maritime entitlements, sovereign rights and sovereignty.

“By merely standing up for what is rightfully and legally ours, we are not fighting any other country. That is the mandate of the DND and AFP,” he explained.

Trinidad said the AFP “would like to ensure that the next generation of Filipinos will inherit a country that is free. And all those maritime entitlements within the EEZ (exclusive economic zone) will be for them to benefit.”

“Every citizen of this country has a moral obligation to stand up for our national interest, regardless of being an individual citizen, a government employee or an elected official. The Arbitral Tribunal of 2016 is a legal landmark that upheld the maritime entitlements of the Philippines,” he added when asked about Duterte’s statements abroad that the Philippines should not be picking fights and instead assert the country’s rights over the WPS, he added.

‘Concerning’

Rep. Leila de Lima found the DFA’s message alarming.

“DFA’s most recent statement is concerning. It seems that what the DFA is saying is to leave the talking solely to them on the issue, and for everybody else to defer to their position,” De Lima said.

The House senior deputy minority leader emphasized that issuance of statements by officials – particularly from the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine Coast Guard – against China’s aggressive acts and provocations “should not cease and should not be discouraged.”

“This is crucial in promoting transparency and informing the Filipino people and the world about what is really happening in the WPS,” De Lima of the Mamamayang Liberal party-list added.

“The WPS and China are not DFA’s exclusive concern. Clearly, we must not veer away from the Philippines’ transparency initiative in the WPS, which has proven to be an effective means of countering false narratives and fake news propagated by China to amplify their baseless claims,” she pointed out.

“This issue matters to all our leaders and to every Filipino,” De Lima said. “We must all speak up for our country and our countrymen, especially those who are being harassed and deprived of their livelihoods in our territories,” she added.

“Instead of allowing ourselves to be divided on this matter, we should maintain and strengthen our united front in defending what is rightfully ours,” she maintained.

“The WPS is ours and we should not let ourselves be subservient to China,” De Lima said.

Bayan pushes diplomacy

The militant Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) has called out the Marcos administration for its “militaristic rhetoric” in dealing with China on the WPS issue, saying diplomacy should be given priority.

Bayan said that while the Philippines must assert its maritime rights, it should always purse negotiations and other peaceful ways to resolve disputes with Beijing.

“Defending our sovereignty does not require joining the US warmongering chorus. Pursuing diplomacy does not mean surrendering our sovereignty,” the group said.

The group said China’s island-building activities, incursions and harassment of Filipino fisherfolk must be opposed, but warned against turning the WPS into a flashpoint in the US-China rivalry.

“The Filipino people want neither Chinese coercion nor US aggression,” Bayan said. — Delon Porcalla, Pia Lee-Brago, Mark Ernest Villeza