Malacañang confident about merits of PHL case in sea row

A Malacañang spokesman on Sunday said the government is confident the United Nations arbitral tribunal will find merit in the Philippines’ case against China’s massive South China Sea claim, two days before the start of the oral arguments aimed at determining if the Netherlands-based panel has jurisdiction to hear the petition.

 

In an interview over state-run dzRB radio, Communications Secretary Herminio “Sonny” Coloma Jr. said the government is hopeful that the Philippines’ position on the territorial dispute with China is based on the principles laid out in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

 

“Nananalig ang pamahalaan sa katuwiran ng posisyon nito na nakabatay sa mga prinsipyo ng UNCLOS. Kung maging pabor sa Pilipinas ang desisyon ng arbitral tribunal, bibigyan ng pagkakataon ang bansa na ihain ang mga oral arguments hinggil sa merito ng petisyon,” he said.

 

Coloma said the presence of top Philippine government officials as observers at the oral arguments shows the executive, legislative and judiciary are united in showing support for the Philippines position on its claim over portions of the South China Sea.

 

Solicitor General Florin Hilbay, as agent of the Philippines, together with the country’s counsels from Washington DC-based law firm Foley and Hoag headed by lawyer Paul Reichler will present the country’s position during the hearings scheduled in The Hague from July 7 to 13.

 

Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte confirmed that Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr., Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin and Usec. Emmanuel Bautista of the Cabinet security cluster will be present at the start of the arbitration court proceedings next week.

 

Joining the delegation from the executive branch are House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr., Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio, and Associate Justice Francis Jardeleza.

 

Senate President Franklin Drilon was also supposed to be part of the delegation, but he has begged off, according to a member of his staff.

 

The Philippines decided to seek international arbitration to resolve its territorial row with China in 2012 after a standoff between the two countries at the disputed Panatag Shoal, located 124 nautical miles off Zambales province.

 

China, which has refused to participate in arbitration proceedings, claims “indisputable sovereignty” over the entire South China Sea. — JDS, GMA News