YOU NEED TO BE ONE TO FIND A BRILLIANT ONE and VICE VERSA

The dispute in the West Philippine Sea is not the occupation or intrusion, or worse, invasion by China of our territory, but the obstruction of the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). With this, the Philippine Legal experts filed a case before the International Arbitral Tribunal (IAT) regarding the activities of China. China brilliantly chose not to submit jurisdiction and the IAT promptly decided in favor of the Philippines that in substance, China’s argument of ‘nine-dash line’ was not valid. Then, what now?

Sec. Lorenzana is correct that the decision of the IAT is an “Empty Victory” and I subscribe with him. IAT is not actually a court on the ground that it cannot dispose of the action or suit by applying the law applicable and is able to settle the issues involve between and among the parties fully, completely, and definitely that nothing else can be done except the execution of the decision after it became final and executory. Besides, the IAT has no coercive powers.

Reacting to a survey that said nine out of 10 Filipinos want the Philippines to retake what it has lost, Sec. Lorenzana said there are no islands to retake. China did not take any of our occupied nine islands. They took over unoccupied reefs and turned them into islands. We are still in control and in the occupation of the nine Islands in the WPS. So, was there sovereignty violated? We have the sovereign right to exploit the resources but the WPS is not our sovereign territory. Panatag Shoal, thanks to the arbitral ruling, is now the fishing ground not exclusively of the Filipinos but of Chinese, Vietnamese and Taiwanese as well. Now, DND Sec. Delfin Lorenzana was able to enlighten everybody including me in the issue of West Philippine Sea (WPS).

Analyzing how the dispute was handled by the legal team of the Philippines, with all due respect, the procedure had been turned on its head and what had been started wrongly ended up in catastrophe. The message that leaps to the eye is that before embarking on a legal contest of different dimension, make sure that the first step you make is the best one. The Philippine Legal team started on the wrong foot and everything ended wrongly including the dissemination of the news by the media.

The decision of the IAT has no smoking gun—there’s no bullet, there’s no gun, and you see how these people are blaming the DU30 administration. They had flip and flop and flailed. What they have from the IAT Decision is an Impotent howl of rage, it’s just like a helpless howl to the moon like a wolf in mouse clothing. These people are all the time in vain because they always report inaccurately, exaggeratedly; they twist or report the half-truths. Sort of Endor days feeling, almost literally saying the same thing, operating in a uniform land with gumdrop rainbows and fairy skies. They always sound like a house of cards that they’re just trying to build which won’t last.