Pro-Aquino officials going back to the ICC

Last night, we had very strong rains affecting Cebu City that the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) woke us in the middle of the night with loud alarms to inform us that we were experiencing a red rainfall and warned us of possible flooding. With a rain that strong, there was no question that many parts of Cebu City must have experienced some kind of flooding, especially in low lying areas.

The news as of 3 p.m. Tuesday said that the low-pressure area was spotted 75 kilometers north-northwest of Coron, Palawan, as reported by the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration  (PAGASA). It was forecasted to intensify into a tropical depression within the next 12 hours and will be locally named Leon. PAGASA pointed out that the low-pressure area and the southwest monsoon would continue to bring scattered rains and thunderstorms over Metro Manila, Ilocos Region, Cordillera Administrative Region, Central Luzon, Bicol Region, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, the Visayas and Mindanao as well as the provinces of Quirino, Nueva Vizcaya and Isabela today.

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On another issue, I don’t know why this is making news that retired Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio would be joining former Foreign Affairs secretary Albert del Rosario and former Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales in their complaint against China before the International Criminal Court (ICC). Del Rosario confirmed this latest development at a virtual forum organized by Stratbase ADR Institute on Wednesday.

We already know that the ICC has no jurisdiction over China’s “crimes” in West Philippine Sea as earlier announced by China. So why is the former DFA chief saying that they will be submitting additional information to the ICC within the week. I would like to know if this has the approval of President Rodrigo Duterte because this trio belonged to the previous administration? Again, while China refuses to submit to the jurisdiction of the ICC, it has become the biggest violator in the South China Sea where many nations are claiming sovereignty.

The recent speech by US Sectary of State Mike Pompeo warned China that the South China Sea is not its maritime territory. This is why the US Seventh Fleet is currently patrolling the SCS with almost all the nations of the Associated South East Asian Nations (ASEAN). Even nations at odds with the Chinese Communist Party (CPP) like India have joined this naval patrol with the US Naval Fleet. Mind you, America has already changed a lot since the start of World War II, when Pearl Harbor was bombed and a day later the Japanese Imperial Forces bombed Cavite and invaded Hong Kong and Singapore. This was due to the fact that there were not huge American Naval vessels patrolling the area.

Foreign Sec. Teddy Boy Locsin clearly said that if China starts bullying the Filipino fishermen or those of the ASEAN nations, he would call for help from the American fleet. So what is happening in the SCS today doesn’t really worry me because I don’t think that the CPP would commit to an armed conflict between China and the US. Really, I don’t know if the trio of retired Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio, former Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario and former Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales would have any impact on the current situation in the SCS.

Corollary to this issue, he boasted to be super friendly with Carpio and even asked me to interview him. However, I told him that this case was already a done deal and if there was anything that I needed from retired Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio or those pro-Aquino officials, it was their opinions on the more recent assertion of foreign Secretary Locsin on the Philippine ownership of Sabah. This friend of mine told me that he resented my calling the former Justice Carpio as a pro-Aquino and that he was going to write an article on Sabah. That was supposedly last Friday, but that did not come out.

Why am I asking Carpio for his stand on Sabah? Because this would prove to us that he is just too pro-Aquino for his sake. Lest you already forgot that the late Ninoy Aquino tried to negotiate a deal with Malaysia on Sabah. And yet the 1987 Constitution no longer includes Philippine sovereignty over Sabah.

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