President Rodrigo Duterte is “privately” dealing with China’s incursions into the West Philippine Sea (WPS), his spokesman said on Thursday. Harry Roque Jr. issued the statement after the National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea reported that at least 240 suspected Chinese militia vessels were lingering in the disputed waters. “Kung ano man ang ginagawa ng Presidente, hayaan nating gawin niya iyon sa isang pribadong pamamaraan dahil hindi naman po dapat inaanunsyo sa publiko ang mga diplomatic initiatives o hakbang na ginagawa ng Pangulo (Whatever the President is doing, let us allow him to do it in a private manner because diplomatic initiatives and efforts the President is doing need not be announced),” Roque said.

Valente, C. S., Depasupil, W. B., & Calalo, A. O. (2021, April 16). 'Duterte is dealing with China intrusion'. The Manila Times, pp. A1, A8.