(FILE PHOTO) Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio listens as her father then President Rodrigo Roa Duterte delivers his speech during the opening ceremony of Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) Annual Conference 2018 at the BFA International Convention Center in Boao, People’s Republic of China on April 10, 2018. SIMEON CELI JR./PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Sara Duterte’s “no comment” remark on China’s continued harassment in the West Philippine Sea echoes her “dangerous depths of her allegiance” with Beijing.
Akbayan President Rafaela David on Monday slammed Duterte again over the latter’s lukewarm response about the matter.
READ: VP Duterte maintains her silence on West Philippine Sea territorial row
“Vice President Sara Duterte’s ‘no comment’ remark on China’s acts of violence and harassment against Filipinos in the West Philippine Sea epitomizes the most traitorous two words uttered by the second highest leader of the land,” David said in a statement.
“It echoes the dangerous depths of her allegiance to China over the well-being and dignity of the Filipino people,” she also said.
Duterte, when asked about China’s continuous harassment, said: “No comment. I think Congressman Paolo’s statement is already comprehensive. That should be answered by the Department of Foreign Affairs and [the] secretary of national defense.”
She echoed her brother’s Davao City 1st District Representative Paolo Duterte statement, which he made in response to David’s tirades last month against the vice president’s silence in the West Philippine Sea response.
READ: Rep. Duterte tells group to ask WPS questions from DFA, DND, not from VP
David said that Sara’s latest remark is unfortunate as the country marks the Day of Valor on Tuesday, April 9.
“VP Sara’s ‘no comment’ remark means ‘no love’ for the country and our people,” David said.
“A day before we mark ‘Araw ng Kagitingan’ (Day of Valor), we will remember these two words as a shameful testament to VP Sara’s abandonment of duty and patriotism,” she added.
The resupply activity of BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal and the humanitarian mission in Scarborough Shoal the flashpoint of tension between Manila and Beijing.
The latest water cannon incident in Ayungin Shoal on March 23 seriously injured three Navy personnel.
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.