EDITORIAL - Duterte’s silence

President Rodrigo Duterte has received strong criticisms regarding his silence on last week’s sinking of a Filipino fishing vessel by a Chinese ship in Recto Bank in the West Philippine Sea or the South China Sea.

Following the incident, Duterte made no public condemnation which his critics, especially the opposition, found unfortunate, since for them it is impossible for the president not to know the whole story from his advisers.

But Malacañang explained that Duterte has yet to receive the final results of the investigation into the incident. "He's (Duterte) not silent. He's waiting for the facts to set in before he makes any declaration," presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo was quoted by Philstar.com as saying.

As the Philippine and Chinese governments are separately investigating the incident, Panelo said the government never doubted the claim of Filipino fishermen who accused the Chinese of attacking and sinking their boat.

If it is true that a Chinese ship was really responsible for the sinking of the Filipino fishing vessel, then it is only appropriate for the Philippine government to demand justice from the Chinese government over the incident.

It’s good that a diplomatic protest has already been filed against China by the Department of Foreign Affairs before the International Maritime Organization (IMO), a first step toward knowing what really happened on June 9.

To explain his silence, it’s clear that Duterte is still calculating the issue. He seems to be not rushing to conclusions in the absence of the full picture in order not to preempt the ongoing investigation.

Yes, the president is expected to break his silence on the incident. But he cannot just issue a statement condemning China, as what his critics wants him to do, without really knowing the real score. To do so only adds fuel to the fire.