Carpio on China’s claims in PH: Only top officials can make binding acts

MANILA, Philippines — Former Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonio Carpio said only heads of state and foreign ministers can make binding unilateral declarations, after the Chinese Embassy in Manila presented a 1990 document asserting China’s claims over islands in Philippine territory.

The supposed declaration by a former Filipino diplomat that the Philippines does not have sovereignty over Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal is “not binding” and therefore holds no weight, Carpio said on Thursday during the turnover ceremony of the 1875 Carta General del Archipielago Filipino to the National Library of the Philippines.

This week, the Chinese Embassy in Manila presented a 1990 letter written by then Philippine Ambassador to Germany Benvenido Tan Jr., declaring that Scarborough Reef “does not fall within territorial sovereignty of the Philippines.”

The correspondence, dated Feb. 5, 1990, between Tan and German radio reporter Dieter Loffler, stated: “It is 10 miles off the line drawn under the Treaty of Paris; however, the area is within the 200-mile Philippine economic zone.”

But Carpio explained that “the rule in international law is that only the head of state or the foreign minister can issue a statement or letter binding the state. An ambassador or undersecretary may issue a statement, but it is not binding on the state.”

READ: DFA: 1990 doscument on Scarborough from Chinese ‘without value’

He also said there have been similar cases in the past, including when former President Rodrigo Duterte joked that he would simply give up the West Philippine Sea.

“(That’s why) I called up Secretary (Enrique) Manalo at the time. I said we have to take that back because that is binding on us,” he recalled. 

Rogelio Villanueva Jr., DFA’s current maritime affairs spokesperson, told a press briefing on Monday that the 1990 letter written by Tan has no value, especially since the unverified document came from a party with “vested interests.”

Carpio described the 1875 map as the “most complete,” as it depicts the inclusion of all islands within the Philippine archipelago ceded to the United States by Spain.

Created during the Spanish regime and later adopted by the United States, the map would serve as the country’s “answer” to China’s assertion that it has historic rights over islands within Philippine territory, Carpio noted. /mcm