(Eagle News)–Senator Panfilo Lacson on Tuesday, June 18, said President Rodrigo Duterte’s comment on the Recto Bank incident “left us heartbroken.”
According to Lacson, Duterte, after all, “forgot to explore all resources available before exercising his last option of surrender.”
“The MDT is one yet untapped weapon,” he said, referring to the Mutual Defense Treaty signed between the Philippines and the United States.
The MDT, signed in 1951, states that the US and the Philippines would assist each other when either one is attacked by a foreign force.
“As South China Sea is part of the Pacific, any armed attack on Philippine forces, aircraft, or public vessels in the South China Sea would trigger mutual defense obligations under Article IV of our Mutual Defense Treaty,” US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a visit to the Philippines in March.
Lacson added he was “not suggesting WW3 but at least it can make China feel the balance of power in the WPS.”
Lacson issued the statement a day after President Duterte ordered the Philippine Navy to “stay out” of the Recto Bank incident, noting that what happened was a “little maritime incident.”
“Banggaan lang ng barko yan. Do not make it worse,” Duterte had said.
He added he would refrain making statements on the matter until the results of the probe into the incident were released.
