Palace does not need Del Rosario’s advice
Credit to Author: Tempo Desk| Date: Mon, 27 Jan 2020 08:31:51 +0000
Malacañang advised former Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario to just enjoy his retirement as President Duterte does not need the advice of someone who lost part of the country’s territory to China.
Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo made the statement after Del Rosario advised Duterte to accept President Trump’s invitation to visit Las Vegas, Nevada in March for the US-ASEAN Summit.
In his Monday press briefing, Panelo said Duterte does not need Del Rosario’s advice.
“I suggest he stays retired. The President knows what he is doing,” he said.
“He doesn’t need advice from those who have failed in their term as government officials, especially from the one who lost the West Philippine Sea to the Chinese government,” he added.
According to Panelo, Duterte does not need to attend any special summit to tell the US about his concerns.
“These issues can always be brought up between countries that are affected by it. You don’t need a special summit for that,” he said.
How important is the summit?
Communications Secretary Martin Andanar said in a press briefing in Malacañang that the summit between the United States and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) was for both parties to build stronger relations.
He explained that both countries can benefit from each other, saying that the US is a big market for the ASEAN, and the US can benefit from the more than 600 million people living in the Southeast Asian region.
“So if you have good relations, you can have good trading, good security, everything na pwedeng pakinabangan ng America sa atin at tayo naman kung ano ang pwedeng mapakinabangan sa kanila (that American can get from us and at the same time what we can benefit from them),” Andanar said Monday.
President Duterte announced last week that he would decline the Trump’s invitation to visit the US following the cancellation of the visa of Senator Ronald Dela Rosa weeks after Trump signed their budget law containing the provision that bars the entry of Filipino officials allegedly behind the arrest and continued detention of Senator Leila de Lima.
In his press briefing, Andanar said that Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. can represent the country in the summit.
“Kung hindi naman pupunta si Presidente Duterte (If President Duterte will really not come), I’m sure he will assign someone to go there. Usually its the DFA Secretary,” he said.
Not a knee-jerk reaction
Panelo, meanwhile, said that Duterte’s decision to skip the US-ASEAN Summit and to terminate its visiting forces agreement (VFA) with the US was not a knee-jerk reaction following the cancellation of Dela Rosa’s visa.
“The cancelation of the Senator Bato’s visa was the last straw that broke the camel’s back. It was an accumulation, a series of disrespectful acts by some of the US Senators,” he said.
“It’s not as expressed by some a decision on a whim. It is a studied response to acts the President deems to be not only an intrusion but an assault to the sovereignty of this country,” he added.
Panelo cited as an example the demand of some US senators to release De Lima was one of the reasons, saying it was an intrusion and insult to the country’s judicial system. He also listed down the controversial travel ban provision in the US 2020 budget.
He, likewise, mentioned the US Senate resolution condemning the alleged human rights violations based on the “baseless and exaggerated lies” peddled by the critics and detractors of the President.
“These are the reasons why the President decided to terminate the visiting forces agreement. You must remember that this VFA is a special grant of privilege agreement,” Panelo said.
One-sided agreement
Panelo also explained how the VFA was only beneficial for the United States.
Under the VFA, the Philippines cannot assume jurisdiction over crimes committed by US miltiary personnel unless a particular crime is of particular importance to the Philippines. And even in those cases where the Philippines can assume jurisdiction, the VFA require
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