This combination file photos show retired Supreme Court Justice Antonio Carpio and President Rodrigo Duterte. INQUIRER and PRESIDENTIAL FILE PHOTOS
MANILA, Philippines — Will President Rodrigo Duterte walk the talk?
Retired Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio posed this question Monday after Duterte affirmed before the United Nations General Assembly the Philippines’ 2016 arbitral victory against China over the South China Sea.
“It’s something that we wanted him to say and he said it very clearly before the UN. But that’s why I am saying we must adopt that as a national policy and apply it in all fronts in the code of conduct, in the protection of exclusive economic zone and in gathering support from other nations in the world,” Carpio said in an interview with ABS-CBN News Channel.
“He stated it, will he walk the talk? I think we have to push him to do that because we don’t have any choice. He is there already and we will hold him to account for his words,” he added.
READ: Duterte affirms arbitral win vs China before UN: It’s now part of international law
READ: Carpio hopes Duterte’s assertion of arbitral win would be made national policy
Caprio also pointed out that the loans and investments the Philippines was expecting from China may not be coming anymore, and that only under five percent of the $24 billion in loans and investments promised by China to the Philippines actually materialized less than two years before Duterte’s term ends in 2022.
“Sec. Roque said nothing has changed really in terms of policy but the policy of setting aside the arbitral ruling was because we wanted loans and investments from China but that is not coming anymore,” said Carpio.
“There will be no tourists from China for the next 12 months or more and Pogos have been stopped already, they are going back to China. So what else do we expect? Don’t expect anything anymore. We just have to attend to the national interest now because all of these promises have not materialized,” he also said.