Q: The Chinese Embassy in Manila confirmed that a gentleman’s agreement was reached during the Duterte administration over the Ayungin Shoal, and said that it was not followed during the early days of your administration. Your reaction to this, and have you been briefed about this said gentleman’s agreement. And was it ever discussed in this trilateral meeting?
PRESIDENT MARCOS: Ok, on the issue of this gentleman’s agreement. I
always have had three questions: number one, is there such an agreement?
Because we do not know anything about it. Even during the transition from
the Duterte administration to my administration, wala silang sinabi sa amin
na mayroong ganito, na kailangang pakinggan, kailangan nating sundan dahil naipangako natin sa kaibigan natin sa China - sa mga kaibigan natin sa China. So, now, with the confirmation of the Chinese Embassy. We now know that there was a secret agreement. Now, this is, the second question that I have, is what is contained in the secret agreement?
Ano ba ang pinangako ng Duterte administration sa China? Dahil hindi pa natin alam eh kung - ngayon lang pa lang natin talaga - ngayon lang tayo
nakakatiyak na mayroon talagang, mayroon pala talagang agreement. Tawag nila is gentleman’s agreement, tawag ko diyan, secret agreement.
Hindi namin alam, walang dokumento. Hindi ko nga maintindihan, very
experienced lawyer si president Duterte. Ang abogado lahat gusto nila
nakasulat lahat ‘yan. Bakit walang nakasulat na kahit isang papel? Bakit
walang video? Bakit walang announcement? Nothing. Bakit hindi nila sinabi - kung gusto nilang i-sekreto, bakit hindi nila sinabi sa
amin noong kami pumasok? Sabihing mayroon kaming usapan, dapat sundan natin. And, for whatever reason, ‘wag mong sasabihin sa taumbayan. And that’s my third question: why is it secret? Why is it secret? Because, don’t tell me it was just an oversight na hindi nasulat. Eh, deliberate ‘yung hindi sinulat. Deliberate ‘yun. Some, it was decided and in the last administration that we will not record this. It was decided in the last administration, we will not announce it to the Filipino people. Therefore, it is a secret agreement. My question is, why was it a secret?
So, that’s my, we have only answered, with the statement of the Chinese
Embassy, we have only answered the first of those three questions. Now, it’s very clear that there was in fact an agreement, a secret agreement.
Secondly, now the second question that I’d like to get answered, is what is
the agreement? Because si PRRD sinasabi niya walang agreement, walang
gentleman’s agreement. Sabi naman ng Chinese mayroon, confirmed naman na because PRRD is trying to characterize it, hindi status quo lang. Hindi, may agreement eh.
Kaya pinipilit ng Chinese na sinasabing “may agreement tayo, may usapan
tayo,” eh ang sagot ko naman, wala, kami, tayong dalawa, wala tayong
usapan at ‘yung nakaraang administrasyon, walang sinasabi sa amin tungkol diyan.
So, papaano namin magagawa, kung gusto naming sundan, kung ayaw
naming sundan, hindi pa rin, hindi namin alam. So, whatever foreign policy
we undertook vis-à-vis South China Sea, West Philippine Sea was just
continuing our foreign policy of maintaining the peace and promoting the
national interest. It - the secret agreement, gentlemanly, or otherwise was not, was not, we were not informed about it. So, you should - can you please, I ask members of the-all our media, can you go to the former officials in the Duterte administration and ask them.
Who were the Cabinet Secretaries, who knows about this, what was the
process and what happened, paano nangyari ito? Kung talagang nangyari. Eh kasi, sa akin, in my mind mayroon talagang silang secret na, patago na
usapan. Maliwanag para sa akin, maliwanag na para sa akin may tinago - may usapan sila na tinago nila sa taumbayan, number one.
Ok, that’s why I say that the first question that I have still, so, now we need
to know what did you agree to? What did you compromise? Ano ‘yung
pinamigay ninyo? Bakit nagagalit sa atin ang mga kaibigan natin sa China
dahil hindi kami sumusunod. Ano ‘yung dapat naming gawin? Anong laman nung secret agreement na ‘yan? At, Pangatlo, bakit secret? Pagka-masagot natin ‘yang tatlong ‘yan, magiging mas maliwanag ang isyung ‘yan.
13 апр 2024
