The fishing deal in the West Philippine Sea forged between President Duterte and Chinese President Xi Jinping remains valid and legally binding even though it is only an informal agreement, Malacañang asserted on Monday.
Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo admitted that the two leaders did not sign any formal document in 2016 but reached a verbal agreement on not barring any Filipino and Chinese fishermen to venture in the disputed waterway.
The President earlier declared that Chinese fishermen could not be barred from fishing in the country’s exclusive economic zone following a mutual agreement with Xi back in 2016. The agreement reportedly included China’s commitment not to block Filipino fishermen from Panatag Shoal. Asked about the legal basis of such fishing arrangement, Panelo invoked Article 2, Section 4 of the Constitution that states “The prime duty of a government is to protect and to serve the people.”
“Dati-rati ‘di ba, hindi tayo pinapayagan sa Scarborough. They were being shooed away. Nagkakaroon ng mga prakaso. Pero after that, wala na [Before we were not allowed to fish in Scarborough. They were being shooed away. There were fracases. After the agreement, there was none],” he added.
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