“Pawang Kasinungalingan”
Ito ang sinabi ni retired Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonio Carpio nang sabihin ni Pangulong Rodrigo Duterte na hindi binding sa China ang 2016 Arbitral Ruling dahil hindi naman ito naging bahagi ng arbitration proceedings.
Muling binanggit ni Carpio ang mga “magandang salitang” binitawan ni Pangulong Duterte sa kanyang huling State of the Nation Address (SONA) na ang arbitral award ay bahagi na ng international law.
“This is what he said, ‘What will I do with the document that does not bind China because they were never part of the arbitration. There was no really arbitration at all because it was only the Philippine side that was heard.’ This is totally false,” sabi ng dating mahistrado.
Iginiit ni Carpio na binigyan ang China ng lahat ng oportunidad sa arbitral tribunal na magprisenta.
Dagdag pa ni Carpio, ang China ay nagsumite ng position paper at sinabing hindi sila lalahok sa arbitration.
Sa mga pagdinig na isinagawa ng Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) sa The Hague, sinabi ni Carpio na binigyan ang China ng kopya ng transcripts ng bawat hearing pero sila ang tumanggi.
“President Duterte has remained faithful to the Chinese propaganda line that the arbitral award is a mere scrap of paper because China never participated in the arbitration. China and President Duterte are grossly mistaken,” ani Carpio.
Argumento pa ni Carpio, nang niratipikahjan ng China ang United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) noong 1996, sumang-ayon sila na susunod sila sa arbitration.
Hindi rin pwedeng pumalag ang China dahil malinaw na nakasaad sa UNCLOS rules na kahit hindi sila sumipot ay magpapatuloy ang arbitration.
“The jurisdiction of an UNCLOS Tribunal is conferred by law and not by the state parties. The jurisdiction of the arbitral tribunal in the South China Sea arbitration was conferred by UNCLOS, which is the law among all states that ratified UNCLOS. As state party that is sued under UNCLOS can’t oust the Tribunal from its jurisdiction by refusing to appear in the case,” paliwanag ni Carpio.
Mas pinili ni pangulong Duterte na tanggapin ang posisyon ng China kaysa sa posisyon ng Pilipinas patungkol sa validity ng arbitration.
