The Duterte administration will respect the order of the Supreme Court to protect, preserve and rehabilitate the marine environment in the West Philippine Sea, Malacañang said on Saturday.
Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo made the remark following the Court’s issuance of a writ of Kalikasan compelling concerned government agencies to actively protect marine life in Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal, Ayungin Shoal, and Panganiban Reef.
While the Palace has yet to receive a copy of order, the Palace official said the Duterte administration remains “duty-bound” to fully implement all laws.
“We find no issue of enforcing our laws as well as performing such enforcement pursuant to our Constitution and principles of international law,” Panelo said in a statement late Saturday evening.
He said the Palace respects the Court’s decision, noting that the writ was “issued to prevent violations of our environmental laws in our territorial waters and in our exclusive economic zone located in the subject areas.”
“We have always respected the orders and decisions of the Judiciary, especially the Supreme Court, subject to the availment of possible legal remedies,” he added.
Panelo, however, protested the contention of government inaction in the Philippine-claimed territories, saying that the protection of the marine ecosystem in the West Philippine Sea has always been “a top concern and agenda of the government.”
“Our coast guards as well as other government agencies are performing their task in securing the subject of the writ,” he added, denying accusations that high-ranking government officials neglected their duties to protect the Philippine-claimed areas.
For Panelo, the government is just being careful in handling the issues in the disputed resource-filled waters as resorting to “provocative acts” may cause armed tension between countries, including China, which has made vast claims to the South China Sea.
“There have been concerns made with respect to security of the marine environment with allegations of certain unwanted incursions that have brought damage thereto, but we must remember that they have been made in contested areas,” he said.
“While we promptly made a series of diplomatic protests using the mechanism of diplomacy to assert our rights, we also undertook protective measures even as we are consciously cautious not to perform provocative acts that may trigger armed hostilities between the contesting countries which may risk the lives of our countrymen and cost irreparable damage to our land,” he added.
The Office of the Solicitor General will explain the government’s actions in this regard to the Supreme Court, Panelo said.
“Whatever the outcome of the petition, we assure the nation that this administration is committed to protect the sovereignty of our country and the protection of our marine environment against any and all who will attempt to assault or violate them,” Panelo said.
Amid Chinese incursions on the country’s islands in the West Philippine Sea, the Court on Friday issued a writ of Kalikasan sought by members of the Kalayaan Palawan Farmers and Fisherfolk Association and the Integrated Bar of the Philippines.
READ: 'Government must implement SC Kalikasan writ'