Marcos admin rejects imaginary narratives – Nat'l Security Council

From the Philippine News Agency (Apr 20, 2024): Marcos admin rejects imaginary narratives – Nat'l Security Council (April 20, 2024)

President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. (PNA photo by Joan Bondoc)

MANILA – The Marcos administration on Saturday disowned "unsubstantiated or imaginary promises" of alleged secret non-binding gentleman agreement or deals which aim to create distractions, divisions, and conflict.

National Security Council (NSC) Adviser Eduardo Año said in a statement Saturday that President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has been very clear that his administration is not aware of any secret or gentleman's agreement regarding its territories.

"If there was such done under a previous administration, the same has been rescinded," Año said.

Any such agreement, if proven to be true, are inimical to the national interest and the constitution, he said.

"If there is any such agreement, it is the responsibility of those responsible for it to explain it before the Filipino people but it is not and will never be binding upon this administration," Año said.

He called on all Filipinos to stand their ground and push back against "corrosive narratives" that seek to undermine the national interest.

"We should not fall into a trap which clearly seeks to sow division in our country and weaken our resolve in asserting our sovereignty, sovereign rights, and jurisdiction in the West Philippine Sea," he said.

At the Saturday News Forum in Quezon City, NSC Assistant Director General Jonathan Malaya said the Chinese government's insistence that Marcos has knowledge about deals on how to manage the West Philippine Sea obviously aims to divide the nation.

“Obviously, itong mga ganitong statement ‘no (these statements), have the purpose of pagsabungin iyong ating mga leader at pagsabungin iyong ating mga kababayan (making our leaders and the people clash),” Malaya said.

He assured the President has the full support of the police and the military.

“Ang panawagan po ng (The call of the) National Security Adviser is let us insulate our Armed Forces and the Philippine National Police from partisan political activities. Huwag po natin silang gagamitin (Let us not use them) because in any democracy, the Armed Forces is supposed to be neutral and apolitical -- kahit po sino magpalit-palit ng administrasyon, iyon po ‘yung (even if the administration changes, it is just the) commander-in-chief,” Malaya said.

“Hindi sila magbibitaw ng mga salita to (They will not) withdraw support from the President just because someone asked them to do so. They are professionals, they know the chain of command and they respect the rule of the military hierarchy and they have loyalty to the current Commander-In-Chief, President Bongbong Marcos,” Malaya added. (PND/PNA)

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1223063