Jardeleza: There’s way to make China pay for WPS damage

Updated @ 9:45 p.m., May 10, 2024

MANILA, Philippines — Retired Supreme Court Justice Francis Jardeleza suggested on Friday a mechanism for the Philippine government to make China pay for the damage it caused to Filipinos and areas in the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone.

In a radio interview, Jardeleza said it could only be done once the Philippines had filed a follow-up arbitration case against China — this time to claim damages.

READ: File new arbitration case vs China

But if the arbitral panel decides to favor Filipinos, how would the Philippine government claim payment from China?

“If we file a new case and we win, what we will do there is we will have to execute it against assets of the Chinese government. My suggestion is not to do it in the Philippines because it is a bit too complex here,” Jardeleza said, speaking in a mix of Filipino and English, in an interview over AM radio station DZBB.

“China’s assets here are small. My suggestion is that we should execute it on Chinese assets outside the Philippines so that it is not too chaotic and it’s also bigger. For example, you go to New York: China has many assets there,” he added.

Citing Friday’s paper, Jardeleza said the estimated cost of the damage that China has caused is around P216 billion a year.

READ: Jardeleza: China must pay for damage it caused to PH, in areas within EEZ

INQUIRER.net contacted Jardeleza for additional details on his proposal, but he has not responded as of this writing.

But in a phone patch interview also on Friday, Jardeleza told INQUIRER.net that the amount will depend on what the actual damage is.

He pointed out that a study would have to be conducted to determine the actual cost.

“Now to get at our claim, we have to have experts – they will measure [and] they will say their opinion…. So what I’m saying is there is still some work to be done,” he said.

Jardeleza served as a solicitor general during the administration of President Benigno Aquino III and was an agent for the Philippines in landmark South China Sea arbitration against China.