PERSONA NON GRATA TAG FOR CHINESE AMBASSADOR UNDER REVIEW – DFA

THE Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Monday said declaring Chinese Ambassador to Manila Huang Xilian as persona non grata (PNG) must be seriously reviewed.

DFA spokesperson Teresita Daza issued the statement amid the call of lawmakers to declare the Chinese envoy persona non grata following the two water cannon incidents in the West Philippine Sea over the weekend

“When an ambassador assumes, he is accepted by the accrediting host government. If you do something or say something that is unwelcome, then you can be subject of what they call persona non grata but with this case, I think it’s something that will have to be seriously considered whether the incidents or the series of incidents merit having him be a persona non grata,” Daza said in a media briefing in Malacanang.

“I did not say that we’re considering it, I said that it is something to be considered whether it merits to have an ambassador be considered a PNG,” Daza stressed.

She said declaring an envoy persona non grata is an extreme measure that will have intended and unintended consequences.

Lawmakers earlier sought for the expulsion of the Chinese ambassador following the twin incidents in the West Philippine Sea over the weekend.

China’s coast guard and maritime militia deployed water cannon attacks against Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) vessels.

Senate President Migz Zubiri said Huang should be sent back to China since he has “done nothing” despite increased tensions in the West Philippine Sea,

Daza, meanwhile, explained that under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, when a diplomat is declared persona non grata, the sending State can either recall them or terminate their functions. If the sending State refuses or fails to carry out the declaration, the host State may refuse to recognize the person concerned as an ambassador.

Daza called on Huang to perform his duty to bring the Philippines and China closer.