Castro asks House to have hearings on alleged promise to remove BRP Sierra Madre

MANILA, Philippines — ACT Teachers party-list Rep. France Castro has asked the House of Representatives leadership to schedule hearings on a Philippine president’s alleged promise to China that BRP Sierra Madre would be removed from Ayungin Shoal.

Castro on Tuesday asked that House Resolution (HR) No. 1216 — which she and other Makabayan bloc lawmakers filed last August 2023 — be scheduled so that the House can determine the veracity of the promise.

READ: House probe formally sought over China’s claim PH vowed to remove BRP Sierra Madre 

The lawmaker is speculating that former president Rodrigo Duterte was responsible for this promise, given that he was supposedly known to have close ties with China.

“This should be urgently investigated to uncover what else he [Duterte] has promised to China. Duterte should be held accountable for betraying the Philippines,” Castro claimed.

“Former President Rodrigo Duterte, known for his ‘pivot’ to China, is said to have made this agreement with China, ensuring that the Philippines would not bring in large-scale building materials to Ayungin Shoal,” she added.

In August 2023, when tensions were high over the disputed portions of the West Philippine Sea, the Chinese Foreign Ministry maintained that Ayungin Shoal always belonged to China, claiming that the Philippines illegally occupied the area by running BRP Sierra Madre aground.

China claimed a former Philippine president promised to remove BRP Sierra Madre from Ayungin.

READ: China claims PH has yet to remove BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal as promised 

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. then responded that he is not aware of any deal — adding that if such an agreement existed, it is now rescinded.

After these details unfolded, Makabayan lawmakers filed HR No. 1216 to call for an investigation into the issue.

“While China has yet to show any proof that such an agreement happened, this warrants a thorough investigation to ascertain if the claim is true or China is only making this up,” the lawmakers said in HR No. 1216.

“If there is indeed truthfulness to the claim, Congress, as representatives of the people, should identify the traitors in the Philippine government that compromised our sovereign and territorial integrity, and join the call to punish him/her/them according to law,” they added.

INQUIRER.net has contacted former president Duterte’s former officials and spokespersons to shed light on Castro’s claims, but they have not yet responded as of posting time.