Malacañang spokesman Ernesto Abella seemed confused when pressed about the Chief Executive’s public statements on Benham Rise, which showed Duterte’s confusion between the seismically active undersea plateau off Aurora province and the West Philippine Sea. “Well, let me just refer you first to the President’s statement where he said that… ‘There was no incursion and the only agreement was research and there was no…’ In fact, he said, ‘Inimbita ko nga ‘yung mga Russian battleships, so walang incursion’ (I even invited the Russian battleships. So there was no incursion),” Abella said. Duterte met the National Security Council at Malacañang on Monday after a press briefing where he said he consented to a research mission by Chinese ships in Benham Rise.

Mendez, C., & Sy, M. (2017, March 17). No incursion in Benham? Palace not sure. The Philippine Star, pp. 1, 14.