Tarriela hits Paolo Duterte for ‘obvious defense of China’ vs AFP chief

Philippine Coast Guard Commodore Jay Tarriela, spokesperson for West Philippine Sea.INQUIRER FILE PHOTO / RICHARD A. REYES

MANILA, Philippines – Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesperson Commodore Jay Tarriela lashed back at Davao Rep. Paolo “Pulong” Duterte for causing “paranoia” about the country’s defense partnerships by questioning the deployment of US military assets in the Philippines.

Tarriela responded on Sunday to Duterte’s statement against Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief Gen. Romeo Brawner, who said that a US-deployed Typhon weapon system in the country has a range that could reach mainland China.

“So is this now our idea of defense? Showing off for America even if it’s clear that Filipinos will be the first to burn from another nation’s retaliation? Who are you really serving? The Philippines or the CIA (Central Intelligence Agency)?” Duterte’s statement on social media read.

Tarriela, the PCG’s spokesperson on West Philippine Sea affairs, said Duterte causes “paranoia about vital defense partnerships,” noting that such alliances were for the protection of the country’s sovereignty.

“Let us set the record straight: these alliances are not gambles with Filipino lives; they are calculated steps to safeguard our sovereignty against real and escalating threats,” Tarriela said in a social media post.

READ: AFP chief: PH still a ‘target’ even without Edca sites

Tarriela also said Brawner was not boasting about the missile system’s ability to reach China, explaining that the AFP chief himself said on Friday that the military assets are not “aimed at any one nation.”

Furthermore, the commodore accused Duterte of defending China, saying the congressman’s statement is similar to those who downplay China’s aggression towards Philippine troops and fishermen.

“Your insinuations of CIA puppetry? That is not patriotism; that is deflection, bordering on the conspiratorial.  If anyone is gambling with Filipino lives, it is those who pretend these threats are imaginary while cozying up to Beijing. Your rhetoric is not about peace—it is an obvious defense of China, echoing the very regime that views our exclusive economic zone as its backyard,” Tarriela said.

Tarriela also addressed Duterte’s remark accusing Brawner of “gambling [with] Filipino lives” and “making ordinary Filipinos collateral damage.”

Tarriela said joint exercises with coast guards from different countries were “not about offering Filipinos as collateral damage,” but were being staged to prepare local troops should China escalate its aggression.

“The Filipino people deserve better than this divisive noise. They need leaders who unite against external bullies and internal rot, not those who weaponize misleading narratives and pro-China lines to mislead and divide us,” he added.

“Congressman Paolo “Pulong” Duterte, your impassioned words carry the weight of a family legacy in public service—one that too often seeks to mislead Filipinos into believing that standing up against China’s bullying is wrong. The entire country knows your family’s side stays silent on every harassment in the West Philippine Sea,” Tarriela also said.

Meanwhile in another separate statement, Duterte clapped back at Tarriela, this time attacking him by claiming that the commodore was “climbing ranks by licking boots and attacking those against” the Marcos administration.

He then defended this initial statement, stating that it was not about China.

“My statement was never about China or any nation but one that is borne out of concern for Filipino lives. A matter which this government has failed miserably to protect both locally and internationally,” said Duterte.

“Statements which provoke rather than avoid military confrontation is never a good idea especially if a nation cannot afford one,” he added.

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The congressman is the son of former President Rodrigo Duterte, whose administration sought warmer ties with China, a policy that was reversed under his successor, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

Under the Marcos administration, the deployment of two US missile systems and joint patrols and military exercises with the US and other nations in the WPS came to fruition, angering China.

Despite the 2016 arbitral award upholding the Philippines’ sovereign rights in parts of the South China Sea, Beijing claims sovereignty over almost all of the sea, citing historical rights within the “nine-dash line” – a boundary which is not recognized by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. /jpv