Duterte scraps jet ski ride in PH Rise, son Baste takes his place

ONBOARD BRP Davao del Sur – President Rodrigo Duterte will no longer be riding a jet ski during his visit to the Philippine Rise on Tuesday.

Special Assistant to the President Christopher “Bong” Go said presidential son Sebastian “Baste” Duterte would be riding instead.

Go said he would also join Baste in riding a jet ski.

President Duterte visited the resource-rich continental shelf to celebrate the first anniversary of his renaming the underwater plateau from Benham Rise to Philippine Rise.

Before his presidential victory, the then Davao City mayor said he would ride a jet ski going to the Spratly islands and other disputed areas and plant the Philippine flag there.

But he later said the public should not expect him to do it, saying his remark was just a hyperbole to illustrate his stance that the Philippine government, under his leadership, would not give up any of its claims to disputed territories in the South China Sea.

The Philippines won a landmark ruling from the United Nations arbitral tribunal in July 2012, invalidating China’s expansive claims in the South China Sea.  /muf