‘Duterte may be impeached if he fails to protect EEZ’

MANILA, Philippines — Failure to protect the Philippines’ territory is a basis for the impeachment of President Duterte, former foreign affairs secretary Albert del Rosario said yesterday.

The President’s remark allowing China to fish in the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) because of friendship between the two countries will embolden Chinese fishermen and worsen the situation in the West Philippine Sea, according to Del Rosario.

Duterte also stated that the Philippines cannot drive away China from the disputed waters.

Not stopping China from fishing in Philippine territorial waters, he said, is a clear violation of the Constitution that mandates the President and the military to defend the country’s territory.

“To be able to violate that is really a basis for impeachment of the President. He can be impeached,” Del Rosario said in an interview on ANC’s “Headstart.”

“The fact that we are giving this away in some form or another, it diminishes the position that we have been given in terms of the arbitral tribunal outcome,” he said.

Del Rosario explained that Duterte may have prejudiced the outcome of the investigation on the sinking of the Philippine fishing boat by a Chinese ship near Recto Bank when the latter called it a “little maritime incident” and the boat was only “sideswiped” and not intentionally rammed.

“It’s difficult to say whether the Philippine government has done enough in terms of probing this in an independent, objective way because there’s a sense that the President had prejudiced the outcome by saying this is a ‘little maritime incident,’” he stressed.

Former ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales asserted the Philippines has sovereignty over its EEZ, as provided in the Constitution, contrary to Duterte’s remark that no country in the world has that right.

Morales rejected a joint investigation, noting the Philippines has exclusive jurisdiction over Recto Bank.

“What does the Constitution say? The Philippines has sovereignty over the exclusive economic zone, so whether other countries have no such similar provision, that’s another question,” she said.

From his firsthand experience as the Philippines’ top diplomat, Del Rosario said China “cannot be trusted.”

Even with “full accommodations” being granted to China by the Philippine government, Del Rosario pointed out that Beijing continues its unlawful actions on Filipinos.

In March, Del Rosario, Morales and a group of Filipino fishermen filed a complaint against Chinese President Xi Jinping before the International Criminal Court for “atrocious” actions in the disputed sea and within Philippine territory, constituting crimes against humanity.

 ‘No change in story’

The Filipino fishermen did not change their story on how a Chinese vessel rammed their boat and left them while it was sinking near Recto Bank on June 9, Vice President Leni Robredo said yesterday.

In an interview with GMA News, Robredo said the story that the fishermen told her when she visited them last week was the same as the initial story they told immediately after the incident.

“It was similar to the initial story that before the (vessel) hit them, it flashed its lights at them,” she said in Filipino.

“That’s what they felt, that they were already seen. In fact, they said that after they were hit, the vessel again flashed its lights and saw that their boat was already sinking. They even thought… that they would help but it left them,” she added.

Robredo visited the fishermen on June 22, a few days after they seemingly changed their story following a closed-door meeting with Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol.

Initially convinced that a Chinese vessel deliberately rammed them, the boat’s captain later said in a press conference with Piñol that he is now confused as to what really happened.

Meanwhile, the Vice President clarified that she did not press on the matter during her visit as her interest was their welfare.

Her office has provided the fishermen P50,000 each from partners who donated through her flagship development program Angat Buhay.

Exclusive for Filipinos

In the same interview, Robredo countered President Duterte’s earlier claim that the Chinese can fish within the country’s EEZ.

“Our Constitution – the 1987 Constitution – has a very specific provision that our exclusive economic zone is for the exclusive use and enjoyment of Filipino citizens,” she said.

“That’s why if you say that you will allow non-Filipinos to fish there, then that is against the Constitution,” she added.

During her visit to the Filipino fishermen, Robredo said they lamented that China’s continued harassment of Philippine fishing vessels in the areas within the country’s EEZ has greatly affected their livelihood.

“They have nothing against the Chinese fishing vessels. They cannot fish properly even if there is a constitutional provision that that should have been exclusive for the use and enjoyment of Filipino citizens,” she said.

Gratitude

Robredo expressed gratitude to Vietnam for the help their citizens provided to the 22 Filipino fishermen.

Robredo conveyed the message to Vietnamese Ambassador Ly Quoc Tuan during his courtesy call at her office in Quezon City on Wednesday.

“If you listen to the stories, they were really very thankful to the Vietnamese,” the Vice President told the ambassador.

“They kept on repeating that were it not for them, they would have died already… Thank you not just on behalf of the fishermen, but in behalf of the people of the Philippines,” she added.

During the visit, the two officials also discussed the relationship between the Philippines and Vietnam, which the Office of the Vice President (OVP) said has stayed firm through several decades.

“Ambassador Ly told VP Leni how Vietnam’s economy grew from 1986 to the present and what their government has done to improve its agricultural sector,” a statement from the OVP read.

“VP Leni, in turn, discussed the strides the Philippines has taken in terms of healthcare, such as the passage of the Universal Healthcare Law,” it added.

The Vice President also expressed her hope that the friendly relations between the people of the Philippines and the people of Vietnam would continue to deepen in the future, according to her office.

The courtesy call was the first meeting between Robredo and Ly.

‘Insenstive’

The Vice President described as insensitive the remark made by Senate President Vicente Sotto III over the possibility that fish from China are in the waters inside the Philippine EEZ.

“I think he is a little insensitive because we have fishermen whose rights were violated,” Robredo said in Filipino.

“For me, at this point, what we have to make sure is that our fishermen won’t feel that they were left behind; that they feel that we are working together to seek justice for what they experienced,” she added.

Sotto had earlier claimed that exclusivity may be difficult to determine underwater, noting that there may be fish exclusive to China that are migrating to Philippine waters.

Plant and animal species are not identified with nationalities, but may be described as “endemic” if they are found only in a particular region or area. Its presence in another location removes or may expand the coverage of its “endemism.”

‘Zero-sum’ outcome

Meanwhile, no two superpowers would go to war simply because of its “zero-sum” outcome, Sen. Panfilo Lacson said yesterday

Lacson described as a good development that the President has subsequently corrected himself by saying that he cannot prevent incursions of foreign fishing vessels within the EEZ because even if he wants to, “we don’t have the capability nor the capacity to do it, not to mention that the arbitral ruling is unenforceable in the first place, and that the Philippines merely exercises sovereign right, not sovereignty over the areas within the EEZ.”

“Maintaining a balance of power in the West Philippine Sea will prevent rather than ignite a war,” Lacson said in a text message.

“Further, calling on the US… to help check China in the (disputed waters) is proper given the prevailing circumstances, contrary to some narrow-minded critics that such move is a sure formula for war,” he added.

Grounds for impeachment

For detained opposition Sen. Leila de Lima, Duterte has committed three of the six grounds for impeachment – culpable violation of the Constitution, treason and betrayal of public trust – by allowing the Chinese to fish in the Philippines’ EEZ.

De Lima said if it is eventually proven that his motivation for this grossly unconstitutional act is his acceptance of a generous bribe from China, whether in the form of campaign donations or a share in Chinese business interests in the Philippines, then that would also include bribery and graft and corruption, or five out of the six grounds for impeachment.

“But the Duterte-controlled Congress is not expected to hold Duterte to account for these impeachable offenses anytime soon, even if the 1987 Constitution’s provisions on impeachment seems to have been tailor-made to fit Duterte and the infinite number of impeachable crimes he has committed since he assumed office three years ago,” De Lima added.

No other president has probably committed more impeachable offenses than Duterte, according to the opposition senator.

“The mechanism for a remedy is there, but it has been ill-suited for a political culture that values patronage and power over and above the rule of law, sovereignty and national pride,” De Lima said.

Threat to environment

A militant fisherfolk group has warned of the implication of Duterte’s statement allowing Chinese fishing vessels to operate in the Philippine EEZ to the environment and livelihood of Filipino fisherfolk.

“Giving a go signal to Chinese poachers to enter our fishing waters is a threat to the marine resources and environment because compared to our fishermen, China uses destructive and large-scale method of fishing. Also, Chinese poachers are after the high-value and endangered marine species, including sea turtles and giant clams (taklobo), which are both considered as environmental indicators,” Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamalakaya ng Pilipinas chairman Fernando Hicap said.

Fish catch of Filipino fishers, according to Hicap, will further decline because advanced and sophisticated Chinese fishing technology will have an advantage over the backward and traditional fishing gear of Filipino fisherfolk.

“Aside from being unconstitutional, allowing foreign poachers to operate within our EEZ rubs salt to the wounds of our fishermen who endure China’s antagonistic incursion on a regular fishing expedition basis,” he said. – With Janvic Mateo, Cecille Suerte Felipe, Rhodina Villanueva