Ex-SolGen Jardeleza favors OSG study on legal options over WPS issues

Retired Supreme Court Justice Francis Jardeleza on Thursday said it should be the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) that should be again in charge of a new complaint that may be filed against China with the Permanent Court of Arbitration.

This came after Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra said Wednesday that the OSG is “in the midst of a full-blown study on our legal options regarding the West Philippine Sea, including the filing of a new complaint with the Permanent Court of Arbitration,” considering the reported damage to corals in the Rozul Reef and Escoda Shoal.

Jardeleza, a former Solicitor General himself, said it was the OSG that led the Philippines’ first complaint against China before an international arbitral tribunal in The Hague in 2013.

This resulted in the Philippines’ victory in 2016 when China's nine-dash claim over the South China Sea was junked.

“Tamang hakbang [ito]. Ang Office of the Solicitor General ang tamang government office na dapat manguna dito, kung mag-kaso man tayo ulit, sapagkat ang Office of the Solicitor General ang nanguna nung unang kaso natin,” he said in a Super Radyo dzBB interview.

(This is the right step. The Office of the Solicitor General is the right government office that should take the lead if ever we file a case again because it was also the OSG that led in our first case.)

“Kasamahan namin ang nagdulog ng kaso noon eh. Marami pa kaming kasamahan na may kakayahan tsaka maraming magigiting na mga bagong abugado diyan. Alam na alam nila kung anong gagawin,” he added.

(Our colleagues were the ones who led the case then. We still have many talented lawyers and many brave new ones there. They know exactly what to do.)

Jardeleza said the Philippines should also no longer seek help from foreign lawyers in filing the possible complaint so as to reduce the expenses.

The Philippine Coast Guard earlier confirmed "severe damage" to the marine environment and coral reef in the seabed of Rozul Reef and Escoda Shoal in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) after several Chinese maritime militia vessels were earlier spotted there.

Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr., meanwhile, said the reported destruction of corals at the WPS was still being verified.

Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla, meanwhile, said the Department of Justice (DOJ) is recommending the filing of cases against China concerning instances of extensive coral harvesting in the WPS. —KBK, GMA Integrated News