MANILA, Philippines — Handa na ang 48-man delegation team ng Pilipinas para sa unang round ng oral arguments sa Permanent Court Arbitration sa The Hague, Netherlands para sa pinag-aagawang teritoryo nila ng China.
Pangungunahan ni Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario delegasyon ng Pilipinas na kinabibilangan ng mga kinatawan mula sa tatlong sangay ng gobyerno.
"Solicitor General Florin Hilbay and principal counsel Paul Reichler briefed the Philippine delegation on the expected flow of the proceedings for the hearing days, assuring that we are fully prepared to present our case to the Tribunal," pahayag ni Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Abigail Valte.
Magsisimula ang pagdinig sa arbitration case na inihain ng Pilipinas sa arbitral tribunal sa Nobyembre 24 hanggang Nobyembre 30.
Ilan sa mga kabilang sa delegasyon ay sina :
- Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio,
- Associate Justice and former Solicitor General Francis Jardeleza,
- Representative Rodolfo Biazon, Chair of the Committee of National Defense and Security of the House of Representatives,
- Solicitor General Florin Hilbay,
- Political Affairs Secretary Ronald Llamas,
- Security Cluster Executive Director Emmanuel Bautista, and
- Deputy Executive Secretary Menardo Guevarra.
Nauna nang nanawagan si Pangulong Benigno Aquino III sa China na respetuhin ang rule of law kasunod ng pagtatayo ng artificial islands sa pinag-aagawang teritoryo.
"As the arbitration process we have entered into continues to its logical conclusion, we are hopeful that China would honor its word and respect the rule of law," wika ni Aquino sa 10th East Asia Summit sa Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.