MANILA: Malacañang yesterday asked Senator Antonio Trillanes IV to stop talking about the country’s affairs with China and consider national interest first, especially since he was not given blanket authority to deal with Beijing in his Palace-sanctioned back-channel talks.
Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda reiterated the country’s policy toward China was unchanged, with Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario having the full trust and confidence of President Aquino.
“When we met with the President, the request was made very clear to him (Trillanes). He spoke to Secretary Del Rosario and asked him to refrain from making further statements. He texted Senator Trillanes and he also asked him to refrain from making further statements. That’s where it is right now,” Lacierda said.
“The position taken by Senator Trillanes is that he is a senator of the Republic. We respect that. …the reason why the President is not making any statements is precisely to settle these things and clear the air,” he said.
Lacierda said the President had asked Trillanes and Del Rosario to refrain from making further comments to limit the fallout over the issue.
He said it would be up to Trillanes to explain why he decided to speak out on certain matters about his backdoor negotiations with China.
“I suppose the point of view of the President is: Does it help solve the issue if a party keeps on talking? And that’s the reason why the President has asked both parties to refrain from making any statements. We would certainly hope that the senator would refrain from making further statements,” Lacierda said.
“In the bigger picture, what will really be good for us?”
Despite Trillanes’ tirades against Del Rosario and Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, Lacierda said there was no confusion as to how the Philippines would go about its foreign policies and that the foreign affairs chief was still in charge.
He said the bickering between Trillanes and Del Rosario was an “unnecessary nuisance” to the country’s diplomatic tack.
Lacierda clarified he was not referring to the exchange between Trillanes and Enrile.
Del Rosario, for his part, deferred comment on the issue.
The Philippine Star
