Duterte has gone into a waiver of Philippine sovereign rights but China demands explicit surrender of these rights

Hugo Francisco
December 8, 2018

Statement by Jose Maria Sison
NDFP Chief Political Consultant
December 8, 2018

Justice Carpio is overoptimistic and wrong that China will accept a mere service contract to give up China’s baseless claims over the West Philippine Sea and recognize the sovereign rights of the Philippines in accordance with the UNCLOS and the legal victory of the Philippines before the Permanent Court of Arbitration in July, 2016.

Former Solicitor General Hilbay is correct that the Duterte regime has already treasonously and stupidly made a waiver of Philippine sovereign rights by falling silent on these and putting these at par with the false claims of China in the MOU on the joint China-Philippine joint exploration and development of the oil and gas resources under the West Philippines Sea.

But China itself is not yet satisfied with the mere waiver by implication of the Duterte regime’s falling silent on the Philippines’ sovereign rights and putting these at par with the false claims of China. China wants an explicit and categorical surrender of Philippine sovereign rights to China.

Thus, China is using as leverage Duterte’s own inane obsession with getting high interest loans worth USD 9 to 24 billion for some 29 overpriced infrastructure projects. After more than two years since Duterte’s trip to China in October 2016, China has started no more than two infrastructure projects worth far less than USD 1 billion.

Even at this stage, Duterte cannot be sure that he can benefit from his false and stupid calculation that the burdensome and exploitative Chinese loans will buoy up his regime and the Philippine economy.

Even if the Chinese pledge of USD 9 to 24 billion loans were realized, these would further deteriorate the Philippine economy in conjunction with the accumulated loans from the traditional lenders whose interest rates are now rising rapidly in line with the US-initiated policy of quantitative tightening.

The Duterte regime is already moving into the second half of its 6-year term. These are lameduck years for Duterte amid the rising mass movement for his ouster, the bankruptcy of the reactionary government, stinking corruption of the bureaucracy and the military and a growing split between pro-US and pro-Duterte factions within the AFP and PNP.

The isolation and detestation of Duterte by the broad masses of the people are the result of the tyranny and brutality of the regime, rampant corruption, the rising unemployment and dwindling incomes, the mounting tax burden and soaring prices of basic goods and services, the treasonous sell-out to China and other major causes.