Acting Chief Justice Antonio Carpio has rejected the Duterte administration’s proposed joint exploration of the West Philippine Sea with China, saying it cannot be allowed unless it complies with the country’s laws.
Carpio made the statement even as he insisted that there is no way the government will give up its claims in the West Philippines Sea.
“There’s absolutely no way under the Constitution for the government or for us to concede,” Carpio said, in an interview.
“If China’s national offshore companies will secure a contract with the Philippine government under Philippine law, there is no problem,” Carpio said.
However, Carpio warned that if the joint ventures would be with the Chinese government, it cannot be allowed because it would mean conceding half of the WPS belongs to China.
“That cannot be done because that is our exclusive economic zone. We cannot concede our sovereign rights,” he said.
“Even the President cannot concede our sovereign rights in the EEZ,” he added.
The senior Supreme Court justice also cited the ruling of the Arbitral Tribunal upholding the country’s exclusive sovereign rights over the EEZ west of Palawan.
The Philippine government has been asserting its sovereign rights over the West Philippine Sea in the disputed South China Sea, where Beijing has asserted expansive claims and fortified artificial islands.
On Wednesday, President Rodrigo Duterte said that joint exploration with China may be likened to co-ownership of the disputed territorial waters.
However, the Palace clarified that the President was just trying to simplify the term “joint exploration” when he used the term “co-ownership.”
For his part, former solicitor general Florin Hilbay said that Duterte’s statement may constitute an impeachable offense.
“A clear example of culpable violation of the Constitution and betrayal of public trust. The West Philippine Sea is exclusively ours. He’s giving it away,” Hilbay said on Twitter.
Carpio and Hilbay were part of the government legal team that sued China before an international tribunal to assert Philippine claims in the West Philippine Sea. China refused to participate.
In 2016, the United Nations Arbitral Tribunal ruled in favor of the Philippines, invalidating China’s nine-dash line claim over the SCS and upholding the country’s exclusive sovereign rights over the West Philippine Sea.
But China rejected the arbitral decision, asserting it “indisputable sovereignty” over nearly all of the resource-rich waters.
