Pimentel: Duterte”s agreement with China not binding

Senate Minority Leader Aquilino ‘Koko’ Pimentel said any deals former president Rodrigo Duterte may have struck with China are not binding, suggesting government should look into what actually transpired.

In a Super Radyo dzBB interview on Sunday, Pimentel said that any agreements Duterte may have made were considered to be on a personal level.

“President sinabi niya sa kapwa niya president ng ibang bansa na para di magka-escalation sa lugar. Ang Pilipinas ay magsupply lang kagamitan, pagkain at tubig… It is obviously [a] personal agreement, therefore pagkatapos ng term ng taon na iyon, hindi na binding sa bansa iyon,” he said.

Furthermore, Pimentel said there was no need to escalate the issue as such an agreement is not considered an official treaty.

“Hindi na uso verbal agreement ngayong panahon… Pwede na sabihin ng executive branch na di na namin itutuloy, kasi nirespeto naman ng anim na taon nung dating president,” Pimentel said.

(A verbal agreement is irrelevant in this age… The executive branch can say that we won’t continue it anymore, because we respected it during the six years of the previous president.)

“Sa tingin ko tinupad ni [former president] Duterte ang commitment niya, pero tapos na po ang term nya at iba na ang president ngayon… Iwasan na natin pumasok sa verbal, unrecorded  at informal agreement. Iwasan na natin iyon, sa system natin at Constitution, most likely unconstitutional ang ganyan mga agreement,” he added.

(I think [former] President Duterte followed through with his commitment, but his term is over and we have a new president… Let’s avoid entering verbal, unrecorded and informal agreement. Let’s avoid that with our system and Constitution, most likely these agreements are unconstitutional)

Meanwhile, Pimentel discouraged the public from branding Duterte as a “traitor” for striking a deal with China and said that the meaning of the term changes in “times of war”.

Instead, he encouraged the government to try and nurture better economic relations with China.

“Ang point nya is to maintain the peace. Paano i-criticize ang tao gusto lang kapayapaan? Huwag natin gamitin mga ganyang salita. Loaded yan. Ang pinabalabas natin, nasa giyera na ba tayo with China?” he asked.

(His point is to maintain the peace. How can you criticize a person who just wants peace? Let’s not use these kind of words, they’re loaded. What do we intend to show, that are we already at war with China?)

The senator also encouraged former president Duterte and President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. to have a discussion to resolve certain issues.

“Democracy ito. (This is a democracy) We need checks and balances… We need, in a democratic situation, na may taga-puna, (someone to criticize)” said Pimentel.