by Paterno Esmaquel II / Originally Posted at Rappler /10:14 AM, June 21, 2019

MANILA, Philippines – Hours before he was held at the Hong Kong airport, former foreign secretary Albert del Rosario slammed the proposed joint Philippines-China investigation of the sinking of a Filipino boat in the West Philippine Sea.

“The plan for a joint probe by the Philippines and China is the worst news yet. It redounds to a potential partnership between one party (Philippines who is out to seek the truth) against another party (China, the bully) who is out to suppress it,” Del Rosario said in a statement sent shortly before 6 am on Friday, June 21.

Del Rosario was reacting to the proposal of China and key Duterte officials for Manila and Beijing to jointly investigate the sinking of Filipino fishing boat Gem-Ver in Recto Bank (Reed Bank) in the West Philippine Sea.

President Rodrigo Duterte is open to this joint investigation, but Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr is opposed to it. Read more…