Hontiveros calls fake govt's 50-100 diplomatic actions vs. China

"A total fakery. Non-existent. A figment of their imagination."

This was the conclusion arrived at today by Akbayan Senator Risa Hontiveros on Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano's claim that his office undertook 50-100 diplomatic actions against China in the past two years.

Hontiveros, who grilled Cayetano on issues surrounding the West Philippine Sea during the DFA's budget hearing at the Senate on Tuesday, said that the foreign affairs secretary's responses to her queries regarding the details of the so-called diplomatic actions were "vague, evasive and fallacious."

"I simply asked Secretary Cayetano the nature of his so-called 50-100 diplomatic actions against China, the exact dates and times when these diplomatic actions were made, the channels and platforms that were used and how many times the Chinese government responded. These were all basic questions that the Secretary failed to answer," Hontiveros said.

It was reported that Cayetano refused to answer Hontiveros' questions, saying that his office is willing to divulge the details of the "diplomatic actions" only in an executive session. He said that he doesn't want to publicly disclose the government's foreign affairs strategy.

"How could divulging the exact number of his diplomatic actions against China, the dates and times they were made and the nature of these protests compromise our national security? It is absurd. You don't need an executive session for that. I was not even asking the content of these protests but simply the basic features of his claim," Hontiveros said.

Hontiveros said that Cayetano is obviously dodging the issue.

"Kung totoo ang mga protesta, kung nagsasabi siya ng totoo, madaling makakasagot si Secretary Cayetano sa mga simpleng tanong. Pero hindi niya ito nagawa. Obviously, his claim that the government made 50-100 diplomatic actions against China is a figment of their imagination. The diplomatic actions are fake and non-existent," Hontiveros concluded.