“CONSTITUTIONALLY void” umano ang pinasok na “gentleman’s agreement” sa pagitan ni dating Pangulong Rodrigo Roa Duterte at China kaugnay ng pagdadala ng suplay sa BRP Sierra Madre na nakasadsad sa Ayungin Shoal sa West Philippine Sea (WPS).

Ayon kay House Deputy Majority Leader at Mandaluyong Lone District Rep. Neptali “Boyet” Gonzales II, na siya ring chairman ng House Special Committee on the West Philippine Sea, gaya ni Pangulong Ferdinand Marcos Jr. siya ay “horrified” din sa napaulat na kasunduan na nagkokompormiso sa karapatan ng Pilipinas sa WPS.

“Like the President, I am truly horrified by the idea that our country’s territory, sovereignty and sovereign rights may have been compromised by a deal guised as an “agreement” to maintain the peace and status quo in the WPS,” ani Gonzales.

“The so-called ‘agreement,’ if any, is constitutionally void since it is tantamount to the surrender of our country’s sovereign rights over our EEZ. Such an agreement will be equivalent to a new National Policy, which must be enshrined in a Treaty to be submitted to the Senate for ratification before it can take effect,” dagdgag pa nito.

Iginiit ni Gonzales na ang Ayungin Shoal ay bahagi ng exclusive economic zone (EEZ) ng bans at kinumpirma ito ng 2016 arbitral ruling sa South China Sea.

“Likewise, under Article 56 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), the coastal state, which in this case is clearly the Philippines, has the right to build and maintain structures within its EEZ,” sabi pa ni Gonzales. “This would clearly mean that our country has every right to protect and safeguard all features within our EEZ including the Ayungin Shoal.”

Kung totoo umano na mayroong kasunduan si Duterte at China hindi umano ito isang enforceable agreement.

“There are still some necessary criteria that we should satisfy before it is considered legally binding here in the Philippines. First, for the alleged ‘agreement’ to be enforceable, it must be in the form of an Executive Agreement. Since there is no official record under our records, the alleged ‘agreement’ may not be considered an Executive Agreement,” punto ni Gonzales.

Dahil ang kasunduan ay hindi umano sa porma ng isang treaty o Executive Agreement, ang sinasabing secret deal ni Duterte at China ay hindi umano dapat kilalanin ng Pilipinas.

“The more important question we should ask is whether it was even wise for anyone, no less than the President of the land, to even consider, much more agree to the conditions of this so-called ‘gentleman’s agreement,’” tanong ni Gonzales.

“We should ask if this supposed deal really have any value to the ordinary Filipino people. If there is truly an agreement, did it achieve its objective of peace and status quo?” dagdag pa nito.

Hinimok ni Gonzales ang mga Pilipino na huwag magpaloko sa mga ikinakalat na kuwento na ang Pilipinas ang may kasalanan kung bakit lumalala ang tensyon sa WPS.

“Since when do we blame a bullied person for being bullied? Also, if they claim that revealing this alleged secret agreement to the public is for the sake of transparency, then why do they cry foul when we expose their activities in our EEZ?” paliwanag ni Gonzales.

“No, we should already put an end to this. Instead, we should just diligently continue our duty to protect the interests of our country,” dagdag pa nito.

Naniniwala ang solon na totoo si Pangulong Marcos sa pangako nito na pananatilihin at ipagtatanggol ang bansa at ang Konstitusyon.

“And as the President said over and over again, he will do all in his power so that our proud nation will not lose an inch of its territory. This is evident through the President’s issuance of EO No. 57 creating the National Maritime Council to strengthen the Philippines’ maritime security and increase maritime domain awareness among Filipinos amid China’s aggressive tactics and threats in the WPS,” sabi pa ng kongresista.

“I believe that, in the end, upholding our territorial integrity and sovereignty in accordance with our constitution and with international law is what matters the most. Defending the dignity of the Filipino nation is more important than pondering about an agreement that may or may not have happened,” dagdag pa nito.