The 2016 UN Permanent Court of Arbitration ruling upholding the Philippines' legal claims in the West Philippine Sea is unenforceable, presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said Tuesday. Roque made the response a day after President Rodrigo Duterte said that his going to the West Philippine Sea to assert the Philippines' claims was useless, that such an undertaking could only be done by force, and such an action would only be triggered if China started drilling for oil. “It's not a policy [not to enforce the 2016 Hague ruling]. It is reality in international law. Our dilemma is that we do not have an international police or sheriff,” Roque said in a Palace briefing.

Barcelo, V., Requejo, R. E., & Ramos-Araneta, M. (2021, April 21). Palace: Hague ruling unenforceable. Manila Standard, pp. A1, A2.