There’s no way President Duterte will change his policy on the West Philippine Sea or apologize for it, his spokesman said yesterday, at the same time blaming the previous Aquino administration for triggering the militarization of Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal. “When we had a confrontation with the Chinese, they drove us away from Panatag. Let’s not forget it was president Aquino who militarized it. He sent the Navy so the Chinese never left,” Roque said in Filipino at a press briefing in Cagayan de Oro City. He was referring to a standoff at Panatag Shoal in 2012 that ended up with China taking control of the shoal and preventing Filipinos from fishing in the area.

Romero, A., & Cervantes, D. (2018, June 26). Palace: Rody won't change SCS policy. Philippine Star, pp. 1, 3.