MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. said he is “horrified” by the idea of the so-called gentleman’s agreement between China and the Philippines regarding the country’s territory.
According to Marcos, his administration also has no information or idea about the agreement.
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“We don’t know anything about it; there is no documentation, there is no record. We were not briefed. When I came into office, nobody told me that there is such agreement,” Marcos said in an ambush interview after the Bagong Pilipinas Town Hall Meeting held in San Juan City.
“Kung ang sinasabi sa agreement na ‘yan na kailangan tayong magpermiso sa ibang bansa para gumalaw sa ating sariling teritoryo, mahirap sigurong sundan ‘yung ganyang klaseng….I am horrified by the idea that we have compromised into a secret agreement the territory, the sovereignty, and the sovereign rights of the Filipinos,” he added.
(If the agreement states that we must get permission from another country just to navigate within our territory, it would be difficult to follow that kind of thing. I am horrified by the idea that we have compromised the territory, sovereignty, and sovereign rights of the Filipinos into a secret agreement.)
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Marcos noted that he still needs to clear up the issue with the Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Huang Xilian.
“We still have to clear it up, we are waiting for Ambassador Huang from Beijing,” he said.
“Kahit saan ka tumingin, walang records, so sikretong ginawa lahat ito. Bakit nila ginawa? Kung gagawin man nila, bakit pa nila ginawang sikreto? Nakakapagtaka nga eh; it’s not a good situation,” he added.
(No matter where you look, there are no records, so it was all done in secret. Why did they do it, if they did why did they keep it a secret? It’s quite perplexing; it’s not a good situation.)