The recent Social Weather Stations poll showing that four of five Filipinos rebuffed the government’s approach to the territorial dispute with China proved that President Rodrigo Duterte’s policy was contrary to the public’s position, acting Chief Justice Antonio Carpio said on Sunday. Carpio, who champions the country’s sovereignty over the West Philippine Sea — waters within the Philippines’ 370-kilometer exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the South China Sea — said the latest poll also signaled the need for the Duterte administration to rethink its stand on the dispute. “The Filipino people understand the situation that . . . we have to protect our sovereign rights and we should not allow another country to seize them. They are expressing it in the surveys,” Carpio told the Inquirer in an interview.

Ramos, M. (2018, July 16). Duterte stands on sea row needs review-Carpio. Philippine Daily Inquirer, p. A2.