Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. said Tuesday the Duterte administration is right not to take the 2016 landmark arbitral ruling on the South China Sea before the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) because it is already part of the international law and doing so would only risk turning Manila's loss of possession into Chinese right. But while already a part of international law, Locsin said the document "for now" cannot be used for the purpose of retaking possession of what China took from the Philippines, apparently referring to the Scarborough Shoal, "because we let it."

Locsin: PRRD correct not to take arbitral award to UNGA. (2021, May 20). SunStar Davao, p. 3.