SENIOR Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonio T. Carpio on Monday advised President Duterte to avoid issuing statements that “impliedly waives Philippine sovereignty to any Philippine territory in the contested West Philippine Sea”.
In a statement, Carpio reminded Duterte that being the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces, he is mandated by the Constitution to defend the country’s territory.
Carpio reiterated that under Republic Act 9522, or the Philippines’s baseline law, Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal is part of the Philippine territory.
“This will preserve for future generations of Filipinos their natural patrimony in the West Philippine Sea,” Carpio said.
Carpio issued the statement after Duterte said he cannot stop China from implementing its plan to build structures on the disputed Panatag Shoal for now.
Even the United States, according to Duterte, was not able to stop China from building structures in the West Philippine Sea.
In 2012 China seized Panatag Shoal after a standoff between Chinese and Filipino vessels.
China denied Filipino fishermen access to its rich fishing stock.
The Permanent Court of Arbitration ruled that Panatag Shoal is a “common fishing ground” of fishermen not only from the Philippines but also from China and other countries.
Duterte said, “If the US was not able to stop China, what can the Philippines do?”
Although the Philippines is inferior compared to China’s military capabilities, this should not stop Duterte fulfilling his mandate under the Constitution, Carpio said.
One of the steps that Duterte can do is to file a strong formal protest against the Chinese building activity.
“This is the least that the President should do,” Carpio said.
He said what the Vietnamese did recently when China sent cruise tours to the disputed Paracels.
Carpio added Duterte can also send the Navy to patrol Panatag Shoal.
If the Chinese attack the Philippine Navy ships, Carpio said the country can invoke the RP-US Mutual Defense Treaty, which provides an attack on one will be considered an attack on the other.
Duterte can also ask the US to declare that Scarborough Shoal is part of Philippine territory for purposes of the RP-US Mutual Defense Treaty, since the shoal has been part of Philippine territory even during the American colonial period.