Arroyo: I did not promise China BRP Sierra Madre will be removed from Ayungin

Former President and now Deputy Speaker Gloria Macapagal Arroyo on Saturday broke her silence on the issue regarding the BRP Sierra Madre, which China claimed was promised by the Philippines to be removed from the Ayungin Shoal.

"I have been asked to comment on claims that the Philippine government had promised China to remove BRP Sierra Madre from Ayungin Shoa.... I never made such a promise to China or any other country. Second, I never authorized any of my government officials to make such a promise," said Arroyo in a statement. 

Arroyo made the statement days after her former spokesperson, Rigoberto Tiglao stood by his claim that it was former President Joseph Estrada who promised China that the BRP Sierra Madre will be removed from the Ayungin Shoal. 

Arroyo, for her part, said she was unaware of any talks about the BRP Sierra Madre. 

"I only became aware of such claims recently when the matter surfaced in public discussions," added Arroyo. 

The former President further noted that she would not make any further comment to allow the foreign affairs officials to deal with the issue "with a minimum of distraction".

Tiglao has claimed that the commitment with China was made during the Estrada Administration in 1999, the same year the rusting Navy ship was installed at the shoal.

Tiglao also said he has enough evidence to prove his claim. 

Estrada's camp denied this claim, as his son, Senator Jinggoy Estrada, said it would have been "illogical" for him to make the promise.

The younger Estrada also said former senator Orly Mercado "confirmed that there was no agreement or promise to the Chinese government." 

Mercado, who served as Estrada's defense secretary, earlier stated that the Estrada administration made no such promise. 

President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. also said he is not aware of any such agreement but that if one exists, he is now rescinding it. 

The National Security Council (NSC) has also dismissed the claim of Tiglao.

China's claim over the supposed promise of the Philippines came after the China Coast Guard fired water canons on four Philippine vessels on their way to Ayungin Shoal to resupply the servicemen stationed at the Sierra Madre.

The Armed Forces of the Philippines has also called on China not to interfere in its next resupply mission to the BRP Sierra Madre.

“They should not interfere in our RoRe (rotation and resupply) mission,” said AFP spokesperson Colonel Medel Aguilar in a News Forum in Quezon City.

Asked what the military would do should China Coast Guard do not heed their call, the AFP spokesperson said, “We will see what will happen.”

In 2016, the Philippines triumphed in a landmark ruling by an international tribunal that invalidated China's massive claims to nearly the entirety of the South China Sea, including the West Philippine Sea, or the waters within the Philippines' exclusive economic zone. —Sherylin Untalan/ VAL, GMA Integrated News