Hontiveros: Joint probe on Recto Bank case will be literally ‘lutong Macau’

Senator Risa Hontiveros. INQUIRER file photo / RICHARD A. REYES

MANILA, Philippines — Senator Risa Hontiveros on Saturday said that the proposed Philippines-China joint investigation on the Recto Bank incident will be “quite literally, lutong Macau.”

“Any joint probe with an evasive Chinese government will be, quite literally, ‘lutong makaw,’” Hontiveros said in a statement, in reference to an old Filipino saying that means “something was rigged.”

This comes after China proposed a joint investigation regarding the alleged “hit-and-run” between a Chinese vessel and a Philippine fishing boat.

READ: China proposes joint probe of PH boat sinking

Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said that President Rodrigo Duterte agrees with the proposal, saying that a third “neutral” country should join the investigation.

READ: Duterte wants Recto Bank incident jointly probed by Philippines, China and neutral country

“If China only intends to whitewash the incident and is unwilling to bring her erring citizens to justice for their acts, then any joint probe will be an exercise in futility,” Hontiveros said.

Hontiveros added that China’s pronouncements on the issue “do not inspire confidence that it will be a cooperative partner in seeking justice for our aggrieved fisherfolk.”

The senator also agreed with Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr.’s call to reject the proposal.

“I support the call of Secretary Locsin for China and the Philippines to conduct their respective investigations. I also welcome his effort to raise this issue before the International Maritime Organization and the United Nations,” she said.

“The Philippines should not be a willing party to any joint investigation whose goal is to deny that an injustice has been committed against our people within our territorial waters,” the senator added. (Editor: Jonathan P. Vicente)