2nd Senate resolution filed to declare China envoy unwelcome

MANILA — Another senator has filed a resolution to declare Chinese Ambassador Jing Quan persona non grata, or unwelcome, in the Philippines over remarks that government officials have called hostile and threatening.

Sen. Risa Hontiveros, who filed the resolution, said that under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, a receiving state can notify a sending state that its head of mission is persona non grata. 

The receiving state does not have to explain the declaration and the sending state is obliged to recall its envoy, she said.

In the same resolution, Hontiveros also proposed that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. request that Beijing recall Jing.

Marcos has said he does not want to declare Jing persona non grata at this time.

The Foreign Affairs Department has meanwhile said the Philippines reserves the right to take further diplomatic action over Jing’s remarks if warranted.

Hontiveros also cited a Chinese Embassy statement that effectively dared lawmakers to just make the declaration.

Sen. Erwin Tulfo filed an earlier resolution urging the DFA to recommend the declaration.

He said relations between the Philippines and China “must be anchored on mutual respect, constructive engagement, and peaceful dialogue.”

Resolutions express a body’s sentiment or position but cannot compel the executive branch to act on them.

Sen. JV Ejercito, meanwhile, clarified that he is “against the actuation of this ambassador” and not China or the Chinese people.

“As a diplomat, you try to repair, you try to improve the relationship between your country and your host country,” he said. — RG Cruz, ABS-CBN News