Tolentino says Duterte-Xi deal binding sans Senate nod but admits being unaware of details

The Senate does not need to formally concur with President Rodrigo Duterte's verbal agreement with Chinese president Xi Jinping allowing Chinese fishermen to fish in the West Philippine Sea in order for the agreement to be binding, Senator Francis Tolentino said Monday.

In a privilege speech, Tolentino said nations sometimes used informal international agreements to enable them to act quickly and quietly to meet particular needs.

He pointed out that the deal to remove missiles from Cuba during the Cuban missile crisis was crafted "through an exchange of letters, supplemented by oral promises."

Tolentino said oral obligations are "binding, as long it is clear from the language employed that there is an intention to be bound."

"As the chief architect of the nation's foreign policy, the President can enter into executive agreements with other nations for the execution and implementation of the laws crafted by Congress as well as treaties entered into by the state. These executive agreements, with all due respect, do not require Senate concurrence," said Tolentino, one of the President's closest allies in the Senate.

"There is no need for this Honorable Body to concur to the alleged oral agreement between our President and Xi Jinping because it is merely an implementation of the provisions of UNCLOS, the Straddling Fish Stocks and Highly Migratory Stocks Agreement, and the Food and Agricultural Organization Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries, among others."

Anecdotal reports

Senator Franklin Drilon, however, challenged Tolentino's conclusion, pointing out that senators don't even know the parameters of the verbal agreement between Duterte and Xi.

When questioned over the details of the agreement, Tolentino, who used to be Duterte's political adviser, conceded that his conclusions were based on "several anecdotal reports" and that he did not have records of the oral agreement itself.

"How can we say it is valid under international law, that it is valid under our Constitution, when we do not even know what are the parameters of this agreement? Before we get into this debate, what exactly are we debating on?" said the Senate Minority Leader.

Senator Richard Gordon meanwhile pointed out that the President needed to inform the Senate of agreements concerning national interest and natural resources.

"Dapat lahat ng gagawin dito sa West Philippine Sea klarong klaro sa Filipino people," said Gordon. "The clarification I would really expect is if this is considered an agreement, then the Senate has right to find out ano ang pinag usapan ninyo, hanggang saan ba yan, the boundaries. We should be told that."

Drilon chimed that it was within the Congress' power to call on the Department of Foreign Affairs to explain the verbal agreement.

Senator Koko Pimentel, chair of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, said he was open to conducting a hearing to shed light on the details of the agreement. — DVM, GMA News