Around 220 Chinese militia vessels were spotted moored at Julian Felipe Reef in the West Philippine Sea last March 7, 2021. (NTF WPS)
MANILA, Philippines — As the word war between President Rodrigo Duterte and retired Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio rages, the president of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) called for a dialogue first and added that China must be rejoicing by seeing the country’s leaders and sectors bickering over the West Philippine Sea issue.
“Tuwang-tuwa ang Tsina pag debate tayo ng debate. Tuwang-tuwa ang Tsina kung nag-aaway ang ating mga leaders at iba’t-ibang sektor kasi nga watak-watak tayo,” IBP president Domingo Cayosa said in an interview on ABS-CBN’s Teleradyo Friday morning.
(China is rejoicing when we are always debating. They are rejoicing seeing our leaders and sectors quareling.)
Cayosa made the remark after Carpio accepted Duterte’s challenge for a debate on the West Philippine Sea issue, particularly the 2016 ruling of the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague that favored the Philippines over China.
Cayosa, however, believes it would be better to have a dialogue first before a public debate to avoid politics and misunderstanding.
Asked about what the public could get from a debate between Duterte and Carpio, Cayosa said: “Mayroon siguro. We will be entertained. Maaari din na may mga facts at soundbite na maririnig natin na pwede naying ipang-kantyaw o ipang-unawa.”
(There may be. We will be entertained. We can have facts and soundbites that we can use to poke fun at or make others understand.)
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“Pero habang dun ang ating focus, ang panalo dito Tsina. Tsina ang panalo kasi tuwang-tuwa sila kung ang ating mga leaders, iba’t-ibang sektor nag-aaway habang ang Tsina, unified ang kanilang intention to grab what is legally ours.”
(But while we focus on the issue, the real winner here is China. China is the winner because they are rejoicing seeing our leaders and sectors fighting while China is unified with their intention to grab what is legally ours.)
Cayosa said that a dialogue would allow all parties to get pertinent details, information, and data that would clarify the premises of each party’s arguments.
Further, Cayosa said that the discussion should not only be limited to Duterte and Carpio as the issue also concerns other sectors.
“Debate is healthy but at this time, mas maganda siguro unahin muna yung dayalogo at diskusyon na wala muna yung nakatutok yung mga camera para maiwasan yung pamumulitika o grandstanding o hindi pagkaka-unawaan,” Cayosa said.
(Debate is healthy but at the same time, it would be better to have a dialogue and discussion first without the cameras to avoid politics, grandstanding, and misunderstanding.)
In his pre-recorded briefing that aired on Wednesday (May 5), Duterte said he had only two or three questions for Carpio: Who made the Philippine Navy retreat from the area? What did the administration of then-President Benigno Aquino III do about it? You filed a case and we won. Can we enforce that?
In accepting Duterte’s debate challenge, Carpio also dared the President to be true to his word that he will “resign immediately” if anyone can prove that he was lying when he said that the magistrate was involved in the decision to withdraw Navy ships from the West Philippine Sea.