Panelo called out for 'misleading' remarks on 'protest' over Chinese ships
MANILA, Philippines — Former Solicitor General Florin Hilbay, a candidate for senator, called out presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo for allegedly misleading the public in his statement on the presence of Chinese vessels in the West Philippine Sea.
On Monday, Panelo announced that the Department of Foreign Affairs has filed a diplomatic protest over the presence of hundreds of Chinese vessels in the vicinity of Pag-asa Island.
"I would just like to start by calling out Secretary Panelo for misleading the press yesterday and the other day about the news that the Philippines has filed a protest against the presence of Chinese vessels near Pag-asa Island," Hilbay said in a press briefing.
The presidential spokesman said this information was from the Armed Forces of the Philippines' Western Command, a military area command that does not handle foreign affairs.
When Panelo met with Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Zhao Jianhua Monday afternoon, the Chinese envoy told him that he has not received any protest.
On Tuesday, Panelo said that the DFA has yet to file a note verbale.
No protest yet
"Normally, the protocol is it's the Department of Foreign Affairs that issues the diplomatic protest and then yesterday Panelo admitted that there has been no protest," Hilbay said.
Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. said any diplomatic protest made against the presence of Chinese ships in Philippine waters would not be made public.
RELATED: Filing protests against China like 'throwing paper at a brick wall' — Locsin
Hilbay, who was the Philippines' main agent during the arbitration at a United Nations-backed tribunal, reiterated the need to call out Panelo for "lying" to the public and the media.
"First of all, something as basic as whether or not a diplomatic note or protest was filed is so basic that we should argue if it was filed or not," the senatorial candidate said.
"Second, any protest should be made public so that the people would know," Hilbay said, adding that he is not aware of any diplomatic protest filed under the Duterte administration.
In 2018, then Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano said that the Philippines had filed "50-100" diplomatic protests with China. Pressed for details, he said that he did not have an exact number.
"Those are estimates but I explained to them that when the president (Rodrigo Duterte) talks to President Xi (Jinping), that is a protest. When I talk to my counterpart and tell them, that is a protest," Cayetano said at a Senate hearing in August 2018.
Hilbay: Pag-Asa has own territorial sea
The senatorial bet also pointed out that Pag-asa Island, which is under the jurisdiction of the municipality of Kalayaan in Palawan, is a rock that has its own territorial sea.
The presence of Chinese vessels within the territory of Pag-asa Island would be considered as invasion as it is within Philippine territorial waters, according to Hilbay.
"They're no different from China going into Manila Bay because Manila Bay is territorial waters from the coast of Luzon. Pag-asa is an island that has its own territorial waters and the presence of Chinese vessels within the territorial sea of Pag-asa is a form of invasion," Hilbay said.
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