Binay calls for sobriety in resolving Sabah standoff

Vice President Jejomar Binay. FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines – Vice President Jejomar Binay on Thursday called for “sobriety” in handling the Sabah standoff, saying that President Benigno Aquino III was on top of it.

“President Aquino is on top of the situation in Sabah. The Department Foreign Affairs is exerting all effort and using all diplomatic avenues to arrive at a peaceful resolution of the Sabah controversy. That is the President’s priority. Let us not second guess the President,” Binay said in a statement.

“The President should be allowed to make decisions without pressure from personalities or groups. He will decide based on what is best for the national interest and the safety of Filipinos in Sabah,” he added.

Binay issued the statement after Senator Antonio Trillanes IV, a former Navy officer, called on the Aquino administration to disclose its policy on the country’s claim to Sabah  and on the standoff between  Malaysian security forces and a group of armed followers of the sultan of Sulu in the eastern Malaysian territory.

Trillanes had helped the government negotiate with China over a territorial dispute in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea).

But Binay, presidential adviser on Overseas Filipino Workers’ concerns, said the Sabah situation was “delicate” and should be handled with “sobriety.”

“This is a very delicate issue that needs to be handled with sobriety.  We are very much concerned about the safety of Filipinos in Sabah, primarily our OFWs there,” he said.

“For this alone, a peaceful resolution is imperative and that is the goal of our President,”  the Vice President added.