RP, China also into oil exploration in Palawan

MANILA, Philippines – Contrary to claims that the Arroyo government only signed a joint marine seismic agreement with China and Vietnam, it actually entered into an oil exploration agreement with China not only within the disputed Spratly islands but within Palawan as well in 2006, Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV disclosed yesterday.

In a statement, the detained senator said the administration was “again lying to the Filipino people” for saying that foreign countries or corporations would be limited to pre-exploration or studies of Philippine territorial waters.

Trillanes dared the administration to come out with the April 2, 2006 “farm-in exploration agreement” through a wholly owned subsidiary of the state-owned China National Overseas Oil Co., CNOOC International Limited and the Philippine National Oil Co.- Exploration Corp., a wholly owned subsidiary of the PNOC.

“Under this petroleum agreement, CNOOC International Limited acquired a 51 percent working interest in 7,200 square kilometers area located in and around the Calamian Islands in Palawan. The area is referred to in the agreement as Block Service Contract No. 57,” he said.

Trillanes said the agreement was in gross violation of the Constitution because it ignored the constitutional requirement that at least 60 percent of any company or entity which would be involved in the exploration, development, and exploitation of the country’s natural resources should be owned by Filipinos.

Likewise, Article 12 of the Constitution requires that agreements of this nature with foreign corporations should be reported to Congress within 30 days, Trillanes added.

“Once again, Mrs. Arroyo has proven that she will hot hesitate to violate our laws, including the Constitution, to serve her own selfish interests. Clearly, this is part of the treacherous deal she has entered into with China so she and her cohorts can profit from huge kickbacks from tainted loans from anomalous projects like the national broadband network, Northrail and Southrail projects, among others,” Trillanes said.

The Senate is set to conduct an inquiry into the Joint Marine Seismic Undertaking (JMSU) signed by the Philippines with China and Vietnam on March 14, 2005 and which is said to expire on June 30.

Trillanes, along with Senators Panfilo Lacson and Jamby Madrigal, said the President could be held liable for treason, as the JMSU was allegedly a “sellout” imposed as a precondition for the loan packages given by China to the Philippines.

China has denied the loans were related to the Spratlys deal.

Aside from violations of the Constitution that can cause her impeachment, experts say the President can be held liable for graft and other criminal offenses for entering into highly suspicious deals with China.