Duterte: ‘It’s not mine to give’

The number of businessmen who have registered to join the state visit of President Rodrigo Duterte to China is already at 450 to 500 – ranging from big to medium and small businessmen. This will probably be the biggest business delegation ever in the history of Philippine presidential trips. However, we were told that only 150 are technically accredited by the Chinese government to attend official meetings and other activities during the four-day visit, with the rest either hangers-on or just simply “usi” (short for usisero or usyoso) or kibitzers.

No doubt, some of the country’s biggest businessmen are joining the state visit, among them Hans Sy of the SM Group, “El Kapitan” Lucio Tan, PLDT’s Manny Pangilinan, San Miguel’s Ramon Ang, ICTSI chairman Ricky Razon and Alliance Globals’ Andrew Tan, with most of these business tycoons likely flying in their own private jets to join the business delegation.

A lot of official activities have been lined up but the most important one will be the state banquet to be hosted by Chinese President Xi Jinping. We don’t know how many will be going or will be invited to that special event, but it’s most likely that the 150 Philippine businessmen will also be included because China is now really “open for business.”

No doubt the state visit will be a big production number since it is an opportunity for China to show President Duterte how welcome he is, and demonstrate how eager Beijing is to establish warmer relations with the Philippines. It will likewise be a chance for Duterte to prove that what he is doing is the right approach in dealing with our giant neighbor.

Both state leaders will probably tiptoe around the issue of the Permanent Court of Arbitration’s ruling on our territorial claims in the South China Sea. However, the President has assured Filipinos earlier that he will not compromise the sovereignty of the Philippines – which would be the right move and the right thing to say at the moment. The president also expressed agreement with Senior SC Associate Justice Antonio Carpio who warned that giving up our country’s sovereignty with regard to the PCA ruling will be a violation of the Constitution and hence, an impeachable offense.

“I cannot give what is not mine,” said the President, reiterating that “we cannot barter something that belongs to the Filipino people.”

CIA ‘assassination plot’ outdated

All this information being floated about the Central Intelligence Agency plotting to assassinate state leaders is totally outdated, becoming fodder for myths and legends perpetrated by spy thrillers. The cloak and dagger days involving the CIA is long gone, seeing its end during the time of John F. Kennedy as president with the disastrous Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961 and the failed attempt to assassinate Fidel Castro – a plan that was hatched during the time of Dwight Eisenhower as president.

The subsequent internal investigation ordered by Kennedy resulted in a housecleaning, with the investigating committee reaching the conclusion that covert operations had to be isolated from the intelligence and analysis component of the agency. Over the years, the CIA has been transformed into an agency focused on intelligence gathering and analysis primarily on terrorist organizations.

Our good friend Norb Garrett, who was the CIA station chief in the Philippines during the 1980s, confirmed to us that the agency is now purely an intelligence-gathering outfit, focusing on terrorist organizations especially after 9/11, with the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act signed by George W. Bush in December 2004 that restructured the intelligence community.

The high value of the CIA is in gathering information that it shares with friendly governments to combat terrorism and transnational crimes. The Philippines of course is considered a friendly government, and the CIA’s intelligence input played a large part in capturing notorious Abu Sayyaf terrorist Ghalib Andang alias Commander Robot in 2003. It was the CIA’s intel network that accurately pinpointed the whereabouts of al-Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden, leading to his death in May 2011 when US Navy Seal Team Six stormed his stronghold in Abbottabad, Pakistan.

Outgoing US Ambassador to the Philippines Philip Goldberg succinctly sums it when he said that rumors claiming that the CIA is plotting to overthrow or assassinate President Duterte have no foundation and are totally untrue – very wrong information that is being fed to the President. Besides, according to the Ambassador, the Philippines is a friend and ally of the United States.

The Firm voted “Best Litigation Firm”

Villaraza & Angangco Law – more popularly known as “The Firm” – established itself as the top litigation outfit during the recent Asian Legal Business (ALB) awards at the Fairmont Hotel in Makati. The Thomson Reuters-owned ALB, a leading print and online legal news provider, recognized the contribution of outstanding law firms in changing the legal landscape in Asia. The win didn’t really come as a surprise since The Firm – founded by Pancho Villaraza and SC Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio – has among the best young legal minds in its roster of associates (some of whom are in photo displaying the award).

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