President Rodrigo Duterte has asserted that the previous administration lost control of the Scarborough Shoal in the West Philippine Sea in a showdown with China when then-Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert Del Rosario ordered a retreat of local forces without the permission of then-President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III. In his weekly televised public address Monday night, Duterte said that for him, the people who allowed China to enter the WPS were Del Rosario and his predecessor’s government and included in the blame now-retired Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonio Carpio. “For me, the people who allowed China to enter the West Philippine Sea—that is them because the Philippines retreated. It was the order, as a matter of fact, of Albert (Del Rosario). Sources say that he never got the permission from the President at the time, President Aquino,” Duterte said.

Barcelo, V. (2021, May 5). Du30 blasts Del Rosario, clears Noy in Shoal row. Manila Standard, pp. A1, A2.