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ALBERTO A. ENCOMIENDA[/caption]
PRESIDENT Rodrigo Roa Duterte is visiting China toward the end of August to “take up” with President Xi Jinping the July 12, 2016 ruling of the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague (The Hague PCA) pertaining to Philippine sovereign rights in the South China Sea (SCS) or West Philippine Sea. The President had temporarily “set aside” the ruling, promising to “invoke” it at the proper time. Differing from quarters that were pushing the President to work on the enforcement of the ruling from day 1 of his administration, we had thought then that the administration should be given ample time to study the implications of the ruling to the national interest and to establish a friendly bilateral setting conducive to a sober and constructive consideration of the ruling. With those things given, the proper time has come. And there will be enough time left in the Duterte administration for any necessary follow-up action.