Palace: China envoy spat could be a distraction from Duterte probe

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Malacañang on Wednesday reiterated that President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. is not backing down in the country’s claim in the West Philippine Sea (WPS), saying that any heated discussion should not distract from a key issue at hand: Vice President Sara Duterte allegedly accepting foreign funds.

Chinese Envoy to the Philippines Jing Quan garnered widespread criticisms from various Philippine officials and government agencies after he seemingly threatened Manila with Beijing’s military force should tensions escalate in the WPS.

“Ang nais lang natin muna ay sa mga ganitong maiinit na palitan ng mga salita, huwag din tayong maligaw. May issue pa tayong dapat na kaharapin. Kung totoo bang nagbibigay ng pondo ang ibang bansa sa Bise Presidente,” Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said in a media briefing.

(What we want is that, with these heated exchanges, let us not get lost. We have an issue we need to face. If it is true that the Vice President was given money by another country.)

“Baka dahil sa ingay na ito, naliligaw tayo, nililigaw tayo. So huwag nating kalimutan na dapat pa maimbestigahan ang isyu na ito dahil kapag nagkaroon ng katotohanan ito, tama ang Bise Presidente na issue ito ng national security,” she added.

(Maybe with this noise, we are getting lost. So let us not forget that this issue needs to be investigated because once the truth gets found out, the Vice President is right that this could be a national security issue.)

Asked if Castro was implying that Quan’s issue was being used as a smokescreen for Duterte, the Palace exec said it was best for the public to judge.

However, she said that while there are statements that need to be answered, there are still matters that need to be confronted.

Not backing down

Lawmakers from both chambers of Congress have already filed separate resolutions urging Marcos to declare Quan persona non grata.

Senator Francis "Kiko" Pangilinan had challenged Marcos to send the “hooligan” Quan back home. Asked about Pangilinan’s plea to Marcos, Castro maintained that Marcos was not backing down on the WPS.

“Ang nais ng Pangulo, unang-una ay walang umagaw sa ating teritoryo, malinaw iyan. Ayaw ng Pangulo, na mayroon umagaw sa interes sa West Philippine Sea, malinaw iyan. Hindi po iyan inaabandona ng Pangulo. Tuloy-tuloy ang pagpapalakas ng ating puwersa para tuloy-tuloy ang pagprotekta sa ating teritoryo at maritime rights,” Castro said.

(What the President wants, first off, is to make sure no one steals our territory, that is clear. The President does not want anyone to steal our interests in the West Philippine Sea, that is clear. The President did not abandon that. Efforts continue to strengthen our forces to protect our territory and maritime rights.)

Quan and the Chinese Embassy have openly been argumentative with various government officials following the envoy’s comments.

The Chinese Embassy had even published a list of lawmakers who are not allowed in China after they called for Quan’s expulsion.

Castro said it was difficult to pin blame on these officials.

“Hindi natin sila masisisi, dahil nakikita natin, ang bisita natin, bisita natin ay mukhang hindi itinuturing na maayos ang mismong nakatira sa bansang ito. So, doon sa mga opisyal na hindi na welcome sa China, itanong ninyo doon sa mga hindi welcome sa China, kung gusto ba nilang pumunta sa China,” Castro said.

(We cannot blame them, because we can see that our visitor, this visitor is not treating the residents of this country well. So, for the officials that are not welcome to China, you should ask them if they even want to go to China.) — BAP, GMA News