Marcos 'horrified' by Duterte's 'gentleman's agreement' with China

President Ferdinand ''Bongbong'' Marcos Jr. on Wednesday said he was "horrified" by the supposed gentleman's agreement entered into by former President Rodrigo Duterte with the Chinese government regarding the BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal in the West Philippine Sea.

''Ang sinasabi sa agreement na 'yan ay kinakailangan tayong magpermiso sa ibang bansa para gumalaw sa ating sariling teritoryo. Mahirap siguro sundan 'yang ganyang klaseng agreement," Marcos said in an ambush interview.

(What that agreement is saying is that we need to seek permission from another country to move in our own territory. That kind of agreement is hard to honor.)

"I am horrified by the idea that we have compromised into a secret agreement the territory, the sovereign rights of the Filipino,'' he added.

He said he is waiting for Chinese Ambassador Huang Xilian to return to the Philippines and explain the said agreement. 

"We still have it to clear it up, we are waiting for Ambassador Huang to come back from Beijing, umalis siya and I asked to see him. Baka siguro sa pagbalik niya, at ipaliwanag niya, sino ba ang kausap mo, sino ba talaga ang kausap mo, ano ang pinag-usapan niyo, ano ang pinag-agreehan niyo?'' Marcos said. 

(We still have it to clear it up, we are waiting for Ambassador Huang to come back from Beijing. He left and I asked to see him. When he returns, he should explain... who did he talk to and what did they talk about and what was agreed upon?)

Marcos said his administration has no idea or record about such deal, and that he and his officials were not briefed about it.

''It turns out it's a secret agreement, we don't know anything about it, there is no documentation, no record, there is no... we were not briefed, when I came into office, wala pong nagsabi sa amin na may ganoong usapan (nobody told us about such agreement),'' he said.

Asked if he is going to talk to Duterte about the agreement, Marcos said his administration has been talking to officials of the previous administration but they have not received any straight response from them.

''They are talking to his former officials. Maybe not the President himself but his former officials. Tinatanong namin, ano ba 'yan? Paliwanag niyo naman sa amin para alam namin 'yung ginagawa namin," he said.

(We're asking them, what is this? Explain the agreement to us so we will know what to do.)

He also said that "it's not a good situation" that the agreement has been kept secret.

The agreement was bared by former presidential spokesperson Atty. Harry Roque but its existence was denied by Atty. Salvador Panelo, the chief presidential legal counsel during the Duterte administration.

Sought for comment, Roque said Marcos "did not understand the agreement" and maintained that the deal "succeeded in maintaining peace and resulted in increased investment, trade and tourist [arrival] from China."

"[The] President is [the] chief architect of foreign policy. PBBM [Marcos' initials] could formulate his own. Certainly, FPRRD's policy did not result on the mess that we're in now with China," Roque added. 

'No agreement'

Panelo, for his part, maintained that there was no gentleman's agreement between Duterte and the Chinese government.

''Three former Cabinet members, namely former  Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea, former  Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana and former DILG Secretary Eduardo Año already made separate statements that no such agreement, whether formal or informal regarding the West Philippine Sea, Ayungin Shoal or the the BRP Sierra Madre, was entered [into] by FPRRD,'' Panelo said in a message.

''I was present in the state visit made by FPRRD in China as well as in the dialogue between the Chinese President and FPRRD. No such agreement was made between the two,'' he added.

Panelo said Duterte would never ''enter into any agreement that is against our national interest, sovereignty and territorial integrity.''

He added that Marcos could have been misinformed or has been misled by the alleged non-existent gentleman’s agreement

''People should be wary of spreaders of false news and bogus narratives,'' Panelo said.

Opposition lawmaker and Albay Representative Edcel Lagman, meanwhile, backed Marcos regarding the supposed agreement, saying in a statement that "[t]here can be no 'gentlemen's agreement' with a chronic aggressor like China in the West Philippine Sea." 

According to Lagman, the agreement was "a grave mistake and indeed compromises Philippine sovereignty. This has no binding effect." 

—with Llanesca T. Panti/KBK/RSJ, GMA Integrated News