The plot thickens

Editorial

Noynoy yesterday broke his silence on the Antonio Trillanes back channel imbroglio, obviously in a bid to extricate himself from the big mess Noynoy himself created when he authorized the senator to hold secret talks with the Chinese officials.

He now says it was China that had initiated moves to get Trillanes to open backchannel talks in the Scarborough Shoal standoff.

Noynoy was quoted as saying to reporters on the sidelines of the inauguration of the Aquino-Diokno Memorial in Nueva Ecija that “What I remember is that I was contacted by Senator Trillanes who was in China at that time. Trillanes said he was approached by these Chinese officials on the possibility of his (Trillianes) becoming the backchannel negotiator.”

Noynoy said that he had quickly agreed to Trillanes’ proposal, since there was the absence of any other options for backroom negotiations, adding that he had nothing left to lose if he gave Trillanes the job.

“So, in the absence of any other channels that were existing beforehand, and in our desire to peacefully resolve the situation in Scarborough Shoal, what do we lose if we listen to what the Chinese officials want to convey to us?,” Noynoy told reporters.

That was certainly one of the dumb decisions Noynoy has made as he made no counter checking, nor questioned the fact that it was the Chinese choosing who the Philippine backchannel should be. That alone should have raised suspicion.

Certainly something is amiss in that,  considering that, from what Noynoy had stated, he okayed what Trillanes had claimed to him about the Chinese wanting to have him as a backdoor negotiator on the Scarborough standoff right then and there, without even checking out Trillanes’ claim, which can also mean that Noynoy had given the senator blanket authority, since no parameters were given, save for what Trillanes had told him about the Chinese wanting him as a backchannel negotiator.

If Noynoy merely wanted to know just what the message the Chinese wanted to convey to him through Trillanes, why then did it take Trillanes 16 times to meet with the Chinese officials clandestinely?

It doesn’t take that long for a message from the Chinese to be conveyed and the withdrawal of both the Chinese ships and Philippine vessels from the Shoal shouldn’t have taken 16 secret  meetings between Trillanes and the Chinese officials, one of whom was said to be the former Chinese ambassador to the Philippines.

What is difficult to understand is why, of all people, the Chinese, according to Trillanes, would want him to be the backdoor negotiator. Is it China who dictates who should be a backdoor channel negotiator for the Philippine side?

What is usual is for a president to send a special envoy of his choice as a backchannel, if that was what the Chinese wanted, and this should be done through a hand-carried note, which would signify that the chosen special envoy is authorized to hold secret talks by the president. Trillanes himself admitted that he had nothing by way of presidential authorization in black and white. That is strange too.

In this instance, it is Trillanes who says that the Chinese want him as a backchannel negotiator, which certainly is highly suspicious since that would make Trillanes a Chinese agent, out to protect China’s interests and not the Philippine interests. It has also been noted that Trillianes told then Ambassador Sonia Brady not to take down any notes, which means Noynoy was not given official reports from the DFA and its ambassador, as all reports were verbal and coming solely from Trillanes who could then claim what he wants to claim.

That Trillianes may have been a Chinese agent of sorts can perhaps be gleaned from the notes of Brady read by Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, where Trillanes was reported to have not only badmouthed the Foreign secretary, Albert del Rosario, but that he had also virtually sold the nation and the country down the Chinese river with his treasonous comments.

It is being proved, yet again, that indeed we do have a grade school student council government, led by the absolutely inept student councilor, Noynoy.