The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) under President Benigno Aquino 3rd's watch, then headed by Albert del Rosario, practically offered to drop our decades-old claim over Sabah against Malaysia in exchange for Kula Lumpur's support in the Philippines' arbitration suit filed against China in 2013. This was disclosed by high-ranking former and current DFA officials involved in the preparation of suit. Since I started this series on the country's biggest foreign-policy fiasco that was the arbitration suit, these officials have been disclose details on how it was rushed, and how they abhorred it.

Tiglao, R. D. (2019, September 18). Aquino-del Rosario offered Sabah to Malaysia for its support in arbitration case vs. China: Fifth of a series. The Manila Times, pp. A1, A5.