Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez on Tuesday turned the tables on former Senate President Franklin Drilon and said it was the senator who asked her legal opinion on a bilateral agreement between China and the Philippines on the disputed Spratly Islands.

Gutierrez made this clarification after Drilon disclosed that she allegedly sought his advice regarding the controversial agreement.

"Why should I ask for his opinion? I have my legal staff to do that for me," she said.

Based on Gutierrez’s account, Drilon called her when she was still the acting justice secretary to inquire about the bilateral agreement involving exploration on the reportedly oil-rich Spratly Islands.

She said she told Drilon that the exploration deal between the two nations was unconstitutional, thus, it was changed into a “Joint Marine Seismic Undertaking (JMSU)."

She said under this agreement, the exploratory activities on the disputed island chain would be limited to seismic work or data gathering only.

Gutierrez also denied saying that the approval of the agreement could be used to impeach President Arroyo, saying she could directly raise this issue to the President “if I had that problem.”

No role in JMSU

She also maintained that she could not be pressured into making any decision amid claims by Drilon that former speaker Jose de Venecia Jr. had pressured her into approving the bilateral agreement.

She clarified that she no longer had a role when the bilateral agreement was signed in Sept. 1, 2004 because she was later appointed as chief presidential legal counsel.

"It was my first day as chief presidential legal counsel. I was no longer privy to the negotiation, to the discussion. I was no longer the acting secretary of justice," she said.

When asked by reporters if Drilon was lying, Gutierrez said: "It's up to you to say."

Gutierrez assured the public that her office will investigate the matter if a complaint is filed before the Office of the Ombudsman.

The three-year JMSU provides for "joint acquisition of seismic data in order to assess the petroleum resource potential" of the area covered in the study, according to a press statement on the Philippine National Oil Co. (PNOC)-Exploration Corp. Web site. It later included another claimant, Vietnam, on March 14, 2005.

Drilon earlier revealed that the Philippine government signed the Spratlys deal in exchange for development assistance projects from China.

Speaking on the ANC program "The Big Picture", Drilon said his own government sources had told him that “unless the Spratly deal is signed, there is no North Rail contract.”

China provided a $400 million loan for the North Luzon Railways Project, which involves build an initial railway between Caloocan to Malolos, Bulacan.

Drilon also disclosed that then Acting Justice Secretary and Presidential Legal Counsel Merceditas Gutierrez advised President Arroyo against the JMSU since it would violate the Constitutional provision and would “open up the President to an impeachment case before Congress” for “gross violation of the Constitution.”  

Drilon said the Department of Foreign Affairs “had also very serious reservations about the agreement.”

In his blog, ANC news anchor Ricky  Carandang said that after the Spratly deal was signed, “the Chinese government committed $2 billion in official development assistance a year to the Philippines until 2010, when Arroyo is supposed to step down from office.”

He said:  “My sources tell me that the Spratly deal was an explicit precondition to the loans.”

House probe

Several Filipino congressmen have already called for an inquiry into the agreement, which they said might have compromised the Philippine government's claim on the Spratlys.

The House committees on foreign affairs, national defense and security and energy will begin its investigation on Thursday. Those invited to attend are reportedly former PNOC president Eduardo Mañalac and officials of the Department of Foreign Affairs, Armed Forces of the Philippines and Office of the Government Corporate Counsel.

Bayan Muna Rep. Satur Ocampo said the JMSU clearly violated Article 12, Section 2 of the 1987 Constitution that provides, "the exploration, development and utilization of natural resources shall be under the full control and supervision of the State."

Ocampo said President Arroyo also failed to inform Congress about the agreement 30 days after it was implemented.

The party-list congressman also dismissed claims by executive officials that the agreement was mere “pre-exploration,” saying that seismic studies are part of the exploration process.

Deputy Minority Leader Roilo Golez said the House inquiry will look into the territorial integrity, national security and energy security of the country.

Citing the report by People’s Daily Online on Nov. 20,2005,  the Parañaque congressman pointed out that the seismic data acquisition process in South China Sea has already been completed.

He also wondered why the Philippines has to employ a Chinese subsidiary to do the data gathering.

On the part of the Senate, detained Senator Antonio Trillanes IV has filed a resolution seeking to investigate the Spratlys deal, which the neophyte solon said was made allegedly in exchange for loans attended by bribery and corruption.