Florin Hilbay, former solicitor general, in his Facebook post, called “some of the narration of facts” in my book Rock Solid: How the Philippines Won Its Maritime Case against China “false.” He titled his post, “Rocking Hard on Fake News” (posted on October 2, 2018. See below for the full post).
It is ironic that Hilbay dismisses an account of events that do not put him in a good light as “fake news,” the same way the president he so despises reacts to reporting that is critical of him. He trumpets his version of the truth—and everything else is false. Indeed, Hilbay has reached rock bottom.
Here are the facts:
1. Hilbay declined to be interviewed for the book. This was his response to my request for an interview in an email dated May 11, 2017:
Dear Marites,
thanks for the invite. appreciate it.
fyi, though, i (w/ justice francis) am also writing about the same topic. our efforts, though, are much more limited to our role as agents in the case so we can deliver a more personal, first-hand narrative. i hope you understand my (i don't know about j. francis) preference to narrate the (for my part, predominantly positive) experience myself.
if you want to read parts of our individual accounts, you might want to check out the special issue (March 2017) of the ateneo law journal on the award. i look forward to your book, as always. and congratulations in advance.
best,
florin
He wrote that he is “more than happy to confront with facts anyone who would insist on a different narration of events.” Huh? Hilbay is being
dishonest.
2. “I consider my treatment of Itu Aba as a significant contribution to the case I helped win as its official representative,” Hilbay wrote.
Let’s review the sequence of events.
Hilbay took over as acting Solicitor General in August 2014. By that time, the Philippines had already filed its memorial with the international tribunal. It was Francis Jardeleza, then Solicitor General, who presided over this process. The memorial was a vital document that laid out the arguments of the Philippines and explained its case substantively and thoroughly.
On pages 198-208 of Rock Solid, readers can find a discussion of Itu Aba, its importance to the case and how the lawyers, led by Paul Reichler, demolished Taiwan’s arguments, backed by impeccable research.
And the following pages, 209-220, tell the story of a government painfully divided over Itu Aba’s inclusion in the memorial.
Hilbay came in after all these had happened and was Solicitor General during the time of the oral arguments (The transcripts can be accessed here). In the two sets of oral arguments at The Hague, it was Reichler and the lawyers from Foley Hoag plus legal academics who brilliantly argued for the Philippines. The transcripts show that Hilbay spoke merely to introduce the speakers from the Philippines and the flow of the presentations.
In Hilbay’s words:
“…as the Agent of the Republic of the Philippines, my principal task today is to introduce our speakers and tell you the order of presentations to follow the rest of this afternoon and tomorrow.” (page 6, July 7, 2015 transcript)
and
“ …my principal task today is to describe the order of presentation that the Philippines will follow during the first round.” (page 7, November 24, 2015 transcript)
In an email in 2016, one of the key foreign lawyers of the Philippines described Hilbay as a mere “figurehead Agent,” having “contributed absolutely nothing to the Philippines’ case” both in content and strategy. It turned out “he did not write a single word” in the submissions.
Clearly, he hyperinflates his importance in the case.
3. On the subject of joint development with China which, Hilbay said, he fought against, nowhere in the following documents is joint development mentioned:
- 300-page memorial;
- transcripts of oral arguments; and
- questions of the judges and written answers of the Philippine lawyers.
In short, it was not part of the case.
4. On the meeting of the lawyers in The Hague, before the oral arguments on merits (pages 218-219)...
...the information recounting Hilbay’s instruction to Reichler and the team not to answer questions from the judges on Itu Aba was checked with 4 sources. At least 2 emails of the legal team wrote of Hilbay’s “completely counterproductive instruction to refuse to answer the Tribunal's questions about Itu Aba.”
5. On his meeting with Justice Antonio Carpio also on the same issue, with a witness present: Carpio narrated this to me, as quoted in the book. The witness confirmed this.
What Hilbay lacks is the humility to admit that he committed errors.
I rest my case.
“Rock Solid: How the Philippines Won Its Maritime Case against China” is now available as an ebook on Google Play Books and the Ateneo Press website.
https://www.facebook.com/notes/ateneo-university-press/response-to-florin-hilbay-by-marites-da%C3%B1guilan-vitug/982267851982586/
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