t’s up to President Duterte if he would actually raise the international arbitral ruling recognizing the Philippines’ sovereignty in the West Philippines Sea in his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping next week, Foreign Assistant Secretary Meynardo Montealegre said on Friday. Mr. Duterte, who had been criticized even by his political allies for adopting an appeasement policy in dealing with the country’s territorial dispute with China, had earlier said the time was ripe for him to bring up with Xi Manila’s historic win over Beijing in the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in The Hague. He will be flying to China on Aug. 28 to Sept. 1 for his fifth visit to Beijing and his eighth meeting with the Chinese leader since becoming President in 2016.

Ramos, M. (2019, August 24). DFA: Du30's call to discus Hague ruling. Philippine Daily Inquirer, p. A3.