Palace: China can expect 'harsh words' if proven to be dumping human waste in West Philippine Sea

MANILA, Philippines — China can expect "harsh words" if the report about its supposed dumping of human waste in the West Philippine Sea is true, Malacañang said Thursday.

Presidential spokesman Harry Roque maintained that the government has always been against the entry of garbage from other countries. He cited the Duterte administration's decision to return the containers of garbage sent by Canada.

"Our position on the entry of waste and garbage is clear," presidential spokesman Harry Roque said at a press briefing.

"Kung mapapatunayan po 'yan, kung hindi mapapabalik ang duming iyon, eh talaga naman pong makakarinig sila ng mga maaanghang na salita at isang babala na dapat itigil 'yan dahil hindi nga po kubeta ang Pilipinas ng kahit na sino (If proven, if the wastes are not returned to their source, they can hear harsh words and a warning that they should stop it because the Philippine is not a toilet of anyone)," he added.

Roque said the government is now verifying the report, which was released by US-based technology firm Simularity on the fifth anniversary of the arbitral ruling that voided China's expansive maritime claim in the South China Sea.

According to Simularity, human activity in the Spratly Islands is damaging the coral reefs that supply food for millions of people in the region. Satellite imagery has verified that hundreds of ships anchored in the Spratlys are dumping raw sewage into the reefs they are occupying, the technology firm added.

"The excess nutrients in sewage are causing elevated concentrations of Chlorophyll-a, leading to a cascade of reef damage that can take decades torecover from even with active mitigation," Simularity said in a reported dated July 12.

"Damaging these reefs directly affects the fish stocks of the entire South China Sea and can lead to a hunger crisis in coastal regions and a collapse of commercial fishing in the South China Sea. This is a catastrophe of epic proportions and we are close to the point of no return," he added.

Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana has ordered the military to verify the supposed dumping of wastes in the West Philippine Sea. The defense chief, however, has said that without any confirmation of the Simularity report, the reported dumping of waste is "not true." Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin, Jr. has described the report as "fake."

Simularity has said it would welcome any investigation into its research.

Roque ready to go to Panatag

At the same press briefing, Roque accepted the challenge of fishermen group Pamalakaya to go to the Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal to see for himself the situation in the area. The shoal, a traditional fishing ground off Zambales, has been under China's control since 2012.

"I do not need anyone to challenge me because I have been longing to go there," Roque said.

Roque then asked his undersecretary to arrange a trip to the Panatag Shoal, which is known to locals as Bajo de Masinloc, and to the Kalayaan municipality in Palawan.

"I hope this happens before the end of the President's term. But I will go there because I want to go there, not because somebody challenged me to do so," he added.

Pamalakaya challenged Roque to go to the Panatag Shoal after he disputed the claim of some fishermen that Chinese vessels are blocking their access to the area.

To dispel notions that Filipino fishermen are being barred from going to the Panatag Shoal, Roque released photos of fishermen fishing in the area. The photos, which Roque claimed were taken last Wednesday, also showed coast guard personnel accompanying the fishermen.  

"Hopefully, the photos will put an end to the controversy which stemmed from the claim that our fishermen are not allowed to fish there. As they say, pictures don’t lie," the Palace spokesman said.

Roque was also mum on the statements of the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines (FOCAP) and the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP), who have criticized the way he treated a BBC reporter who had sought his comment about the fishermen's claim that they do not have access to the shoal's inner lagoon.

FOCAP has said that there is no justification for Roque's insinuations that the BBC team is out to destroy the government. NUJP, meanwhile, said that while government officials are free to debunk news reports, it should be done in a "civil manner expected of the office of the presidential spokesperson."

 "I do not have a reaction. I am a lawyer. Truth is our natural advocacy. We just want to ferret out the truth. The Philippine Coast Guard, the mayors of the towns of Masinloc and Bolinao, Pangasinan, and the owners of fishing boats agreed," Roque said.  

Roque also described as an "old tune" the remark of former foreign affairs secretary Albert del Rosario that the Duterte administration has been too soft with regard to the South China Sea row.