An aerial view shows the BRP Sierra Madre on the contested Second Thomas Shoal, locally known as Ayungin, in the South China Sea, taken on March 9, 2023. (File Photo)
MANILA, Philippines — Senator Jinggoy Estrada on Thursday finds “disappointing” and “utterly unacceptable” the claims of a former Palace official linking his father, former president Joseph Ejercito Estrada, to the alleged deal involving the removal of BRP Sierra Madre from Ayungin Shoal.
In an interview on Tuesday, Harry Roque, former spokesperson of ex-President Rodrigo Duterte, mentioned that the agreement to remove the grounded Navy warship in Ayungin Shoal is attributed to President Estrada.
READ: China claims PH has yet to remove BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal as promised
“Kung meron pong ganyan, hindi po yan sa administrasyon ni Presidente Duterte. Ang privy lang ako, doon sa mga kasunduan na pinasok ni President Duterte. Pero kung hindi ako nagkakamali, ina-attribute naman nila ‘yang kasunduan na yan sa administrasyon po ni President Estrada,” Roque said in a Politiko online interview.
(If there is such a thing, it is not during the administration of President Duterte. I am only privy to the agreements entered into by President Duterte. But if I’m not mistaken, they attribute that agreement to the administration of President Estrada.)
Sen. Estrada disputed this claim, noting that even his father’s then defense chief Orlando Mercado denied that the former president entered into such an agreement.
“Minsan ko nang pinanindigan sa isang privilege speech na walang kasunduan o pangakong binitawan ang aking ama, ang dating President Joseph Estrada, sa pagtanggal ng BRP Sierra Madre sa Ayungin Shoal…” Sen. Estrada said in a statement.
(I once affirmed in a privilege speech that there was no agreement or promise from my father, former President Joseph Estrada, with regards to the removal of BRP Sierra Madre from Ayungin Shoal.)
READ: Jinggoy: There’s no deal to remove BRP Sierra Madre during my father’s tenure
It was former President Estrada himself who ordered the grounding of BRP Sierra Madre in 1999.
“It’s disappointing, to say the least, and utterly unacceptable for former presidential spokesman Harry Roque to make such baseless claims when he’s not even privy to such information,” Sen. Estrada also said.
Ex-president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo also denied China’s assertion, but Sen. Estrada noted that there was a “relative peace” in the West Philippine Sea during the time of Arroyo, who, he stressed, “did not take any steps” about the matter.
“As I pointed out in my privilege speech last August, how is it possible that there was a period of relative ‘peace’ in the West Philippine Sea during the nine-year Arroyo administration?” the senator asked.
“The administration that succeeded my father was conspicuously ‘silent’ and did not take any steps to claim our territorial rights concerning the West Philippine Sea,” Sen. Estrada added.
Sen. Estrada, meanwhile, lauded the administration of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. for “taking concrete actions” in the West Philippine Sea.
READ: NSC: ‘Gentleman’s agreement’ on West PH Sea violates PH sovereignty
“Amid all these pronouncements, it’s praiseworthy that the Marcos administration is taking concrete actions to protect our sovereign rights and territorial integrity. Any efforts made to address this ongoing and escalating aggression by China should be supported and encouraged,” the senator said.
“We must remain firm and united in defending our sovereignty, and in safeguarding our maritime territories for the benefit of present and future generations,” he added.
Duterte pivoted to China but Marcos reversed this move, green lighting joint patrols and military exercises with the United States in the West Philippine Sea, as well as allowing Washington access to four more Philippine military bases under the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement.
The resupply activity in Ayungin Shoal and the humanitarian activities in Scarborough Shoal became the flashpoint of tension between Manila and Beijing.
Beijing asserts sovereignty in the entire South China Sea, including most of the West Philippine Sea, even if such a claim has been effectively invalidated by a July 2016 international tribunal ruling that stemmed from a case filed by Manila in 2013.