Duterte can no longer be charged over 'gentleman's agreement' — Carpio

Charges can no longer be filed against former President Rodrigo Duterte over his supposed gentleman's agreement with China as he is no longer a public official, retired Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio said Friday.

"Unfortunately, wala na siya sa position ngayon. He's not a government official. Kasi impeachable 'yan, no? Culpable violation of the Constitution. Eh, hindi na siya presidente, hindi na siya ma-impeach,” Carpio said on Unang Balita.

(Unfortunately, he's no longer in position right now. He's not a government official. That would have been an impeachable offense, a culpable violation of the Constitution. But he's no longer president, so you cannot impeach him anymore.)

Carpio was asked if Duterte could still be charged over the agreement, which supposedly barred the country from sending repair materials to the BRP Sierra Madre in the Ayungin Shoal.

Supposedly, only delivery of food and water supplies to Filipino troops on the decrepit ship was allowed.

Asked for comment, former Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque agreed that a former president can no longer be impeached.

“In any case, thats a foreign policy decision of which the President is chief architect. Courts will never interfere,” he told GMA News Online.

Former President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday evening said he conceded nothing to Beijing during his administration. However, he adverted to a "status quo" in which neither the Philippines nor China would make any move that would disrupt the South China Sea—including the bringing of construction materials to the BRP Sierra Madre.

Carpio previously said that the agreement was a "disguised surrender" of the country's exclusive economic zone (EEZ) rights as it gave China veto power over the Philippines' exclusive right to erect structures on Ayungin Shoal.

"Nakalagay doon sa arbitral award, 'yung Ayungin Shoal is part of the EEZ of the Philippines. Kapag EEZ natin, tayo lang pwedeng maglagay ng estruktura… Ang tibay ng hawak natin. Bakit pinamigay niya? Kasi kapag sinabi mong hindi mo na i-repair, mawawala ang outpost," he said.

(The arbitral award states that Ayungin Shoal is part of the Philippines' EEZ. If it is within our EEZ, we can place whatever structure we want… Our legal basis is solid. Why did he give it away? Because if he said that it would no longer be repaired, the outpost would be gone.)

"Kaya talagang dehado tayo doon. Talagang it's against national interest," he added.

(That's why it was really disadvantageous for us. It's against national interest.)

Meanwhile, Carpio said that the Philippine government could bring China to a tribunal of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) should the latter build a naval base within the Philippines' EEZ.

The National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea previously said it was not aware of any agreement between the Philippines and China, and has not seen any document from the former administration that validates or confirms the deal.

For his part, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has said that he was “horrified” over the supposed agreement. Marcos said he was waiting for Chinese Ambassador Huang Xilian to return to the Philippines and explain the matter. — VDV, GMA Integrated News