Bato: Duterte would be glad to shed light on gentleman’s agreement

Sen. Ronald Dela Rosa Senate PRIB file photo / Bibo Nueva España

MANILA, Philippines — Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa said there’s a possibility that former President Rodrigo Duterte would be elated should the latter be invited to a Senate hearing on his supposed “gentleman’s agreement” with China.

In an interview with reporters on Thursday, dela Rosa said it’s up to Duterte whether or not he would choose to shed some light on his side of the issue.

“Matagal-tagal na rin nung nag-usap kami. At hindi namin napag-usapan yan. Pero knowing him, kapag yan ay pinatawag, eh tuwang-tuwa pa yan pag pinatawag ninyo,” said dela Rosa.

(It’s been a long time since we talked and we never talked about that. But knowing him, if he gets invited he would be happy.)

“Eh, knowing his personality. ‘Guguluhin niyo ang pananahimik ko? Then sige, guluhin niyo at pupunta ako dyan!’ Kilala naman natin siya. Ganon ang kanyang personality, palaban ‘yan eh,” he added.

(Knowing his personality. ‘You’ll mess up my silence? Then okay, mess it up, and I will come there!’ We know him. That’s his personality. He’s a fighter.)

Senator Risa Hontiveros earlier filed a resolution seeking a probe on Duterte’s alleged pact with China, adding that if proven true, the former President’s unwritten agreement with China is “tantamount to a surrender of the Philippines’ sovereignty.”

READ: Hontiveros files resolution for probe into Duterte-China WPS deal

Former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque earlier claimed that Duterte’s “verbal agreement” with China indicated that the Philippines may only deliver water and food to the BRP Sierra Madre grounded in Ayungin Shoal, but not construction materials to be used for its repairs.

But Roque’s exposé was denied by former presidential adviser Salvador Panelo who claimed that Duterte “did not enter” any gentleman’s agreement.

In an interview with SMNI, Panelo said he talked to Duterte twice during Holy Week, and the former chief executive categorically denied having made such a pact with China.

READ: ‘Horrified’ Marcos summons Chinese envoy over ‘secret pact’

“I’ve been avoiding that Ayungin Shoal like a hot potato because I know it’s a very hot topic so I did not make an agreement with anyone,” said Panelo in a mix of English and Filipino, quoting Duterte.

President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., on the other hand, said he himself is horrified by the idea that the country’s sovereign rights in the West Philippine Sea might have been compromised by the supposed gentlemen’s agreement between Duterte and China.