DEFENSE Secretary Delfin Lorenzana on Monday, June 11, blamed the past administration for the “mismanagement” of the disputed West Philippine Sea (South China Sea).
"The handling is, tingnan niyo, anong nadatnan ni Presidente namin, nung pumasok kami ni Presidente? Kasi nga medyo mainit 'yung kwan noon eh, nong nadatnan natin. Wala tayong trade with China. 'Yung ating mga product hindi nila binibili. Walang tourist na pumupunta rito. Hindi tayo nakakapangisda doon sa Scarborough Shoal. 'Yung ating mga tropa hina-harass nila,” he said.
(When President Rodrigo Duterte assumed office, there was no trade with China, no tourists and our fishermen could not go fishing in Scarborough Shoal. China harassed our troops.)
“Ngayon we sell our bananas there; they buy all our bananas. Tourist nila dito nag-doble. We can fish there and 'yung ating mga tropa hindi na hina-harass, except 'yung very isolated incident 'yung sa Ayungin," Lorenzana said further.
(Now, we sell bananas in China. Chinese tourist arrivals have doubled. We can fish in Scarborough Shoal and our troops are not harassed, except for that isolated incident in Ayungin Shoal.)
"So is that mismanagement? We have managed it very well through the President's leadership. Hindi mismanaged 'yon. Ang nag-mismanage 'yung previous administration dahil nagkagulo-gulo rito (It was the previous administration that mismanaged the situation, hence the conflict)," he added.
The government has been criticized for not acting on pressing issues in the disputed territory.
Earlier, President Rodrigo Duterte blamed President Benigno Aquino III for not confronting China despite winning the arbitration case.
The Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, Netherlands ruled in July 2016 that China has no legal basis to claim historic rights over the bulk of the WPS. The ruling invalidated China's nine-dash-line claim.
“Nanalo kayo nandiyan pa si Aquino... Bakit hindi niyo pinuntahan at sinita?” he said.
(You won the case while Aquino was still in power. Why did you not go there and confront the Chinese?)
The arbitral ruling was issued on July 12, 2016, or 12 days after Duterte was inaugurated as President on June 30, 2016.
Duterte has refused to assert Philippine rights over the disputed area to "avoid misunderstanding" with China. (SunStar Philippines)