Chiz: OSG should file petition for recognition of 2016 Hague ruling

Senate President Francis "Chiz" Escudero on Wednesday said the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) should file a petition asking a local court to recognize the 2016 Hague ruling favoring the Philippines over China so that it becomes part of the country's laws.

"Ang tanging legal na basehan ngayon niyan ay 'yung arbitral award na hinihiling ko nga rin sana sa OSG, binanggit ko ito sa kanila, na mag-file ng petisyon kaugnay ng recognition of foreign judgment para 'yang desisyong 'yan ay maging parte na ng batas natin sa Pilipinas," Escudero said at the Kapihan sa Manila Bay forum.

(The only legal basis for that now is the arbitral award, which I also requested from the OSG, and I mentioned this to them, that they should file a petition for recognition of a foreign judgment so that decision becomes part of our law in the Philippines.)  

The purpose of this petition, he said, is to ensure that the assertion of Philippine sovereignty over the West Philippine Sea, which is being claimed by China, will not depend on the sitting president.

"Bakit [kailangan nito]? Upang sa gayon, 'di na puwedeng magbago-bago pa ng posisyon sino man ang magiging pangulo ng ating bansa sa darating na panahon," he said.

(Why is this necessary? So that in the future, no one can change the country's position whoever the president may be.)

According to Escudero, this petition should be filed before a local court.

For his part, Solicitor General Menardo Gueverra said that while there are existing rules promulgated by the Supreme Court on the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments, "there are hardly any mechanisms for their enforcement."

Guevarra said the rules on this are usually applied in private cases such as divorce, support, and money judgments.

He also mentioned that Escudero's request to the OSG is to study if there's a need for a law for the recognition and enforcement of a foreign judgment on the Philippine-China Arbitration Case.

"The OSG is currently studying it," he said.

In 2013, the Philippines challenged China’s legal basis for its expansive claim in the SOuth China Sea, which includes portions Manila refers to as West Philippine Sea, before the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, Netherlands.

The Philippines won the case in a landmark award in 2016 after the tribunal invalidated China’s assertions.

China rejected the ruling, saying its claims have historical basis and are "indisputable." —KBK, GMA Integrated News