Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. on Friday said Filipinos should not praise Chinese ambassador Jing Quan following his hostile remarks against the country.
Teodoro issued the statement after Sen. Robin Padilla praised Jing as educated, a gentleman, and a straightforward person. Padilla made the remarks despite calls from several sectors to declare the diplomat persona non grata due to a veiled threat against the nation.
Jing said that the Philippines is fortunate to have China as a neighbor, adding China would easily win if it used force in the West Philippine Sea. The ambassador emphasized, however, that China would not resort to force because it stands for peace.
“No Filipino should praise that person. Even though our senator said that I am against praising that person,” Teodoro said, referring to Jing.
“Should that person be praised? Is that person smart or educated?” he added.
Teodoro also reiterated his disgust over the interference of the Chinese embassy in the political system of the Philippines. Previous reports indicated that China was considering naming local politicians who deal with Beijing to highlight the country’s dependence on China.
“Let them disclose it so that we’ll know if that’s true or not or they are just destabilizing (the country),” Teodoro said.
He also said the threat means “they are already intervening in internal matters or worse they are already participating in the political systems of the Philippines, not covertly but overtly.”
“They will smear politicians, invent (activities). Surely, they won’t disclose those siding with them if that’s the case. That’s nonsense,” Teodoro also said.