Locsin to Roque: Leave foreign affairs matters to me

‘There is only one voice on what’s ours: mine. Period…. I speak for the President on this subject,’ says Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr after Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque’s wrong claim regarding Julian Felipe Reef

Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr reiterated that only the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) should speak on the country’s foreign policy, including China, after Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque claimed that Julian Felipe Reef was “outside” the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

“There is only one voice on what’s ours: mine. Period. Not even the military has any say. I speak for the President on this subject,” Locsin said in a tweet on Tuesday night, May 11.

In series of tweets, Locsin said the DFA had “exclusive remit” on the issue and that only the DFA could speak for President Rodrigo Duterte on foreign affairs matters.

The tweets were triggered by Roque’s claim that the Philippines “cannot do anything” about the Chinese vessels in Julian Felipe Reef since it was supposedly not within the Philippines’ EEZ.

In response, Locsin tweeted, “What can we do? Let’s try this: Drop the subject and leave it entirely to the Department of Foreign Affairs under ME, the only expert on the subject bar none.”

He added: “This is my last warning. When it comes to foreign affairs the Department of Foreign Affairs has the exclusive remit.”

https://www.rappler.com/nation/locsin-statement-harry-roque-foreign-affairs-matters