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By Raïssa Robles

Transport Secretary Art Tugade has vehemently denied going to China in June this year, as departing US Ambassador Philip Goldberg alleged, in order to pave the way for the signing of billions of dollars worth of investments in China.

Tugade, now in Japan with President Rodrigo Duterte, sent the following text to Rappler and to Nic Gabunada:

I was curious to find out if Goldberg had indeed made a serious mistake when he told ANC:

“I actually wasn’t all that surprised [about the huge deals sealed in China]. I do know that the Chinese Ambassador and others in the Chinese business community were visiting [then] President-elect Duterte quite often in the month of June,” Goldberg said. “I also know, and I don’t think this has been revealed publicly, but I know, that Senator Cayetano, President Duterte’s running mate, made an unpublicized trip to China in June along with Secretary Tugade. All of this actually were in train, I think. There were already discussions going on.” “I don’t think Senator Cayetano’s role was fully known publicly but he was actually starting this process way back June.”

Cayetano has since acknowledged that he did go to China, but not with Tugade.

But Tugade has denied it.

Could the US Embassy with its vast resources have committed such a terrible faux pas?

So I googled it.

At first, nothing came out. But after a time, reports from two well-known pro-Duterte sites came out. Both trendtitan.com and philnews.ph reported exactly the same quote from Duterte:

“Art Tugade has to go to China, not to talk about war, not to talk about irritations there, but to talk about peace.”

You can read the entire report by clicking here.

And here.

A foreign news website – msn.com – carried the same news:

In the same event, Duterte said incoming Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade will head to China to discuss the railway projects. “Art Tugade has to go to China not to talk about war, not to talk about relations there, but to talk about peace and how they can help us,” he said. Duterte also said China has pledged to support the Manila-Bicol and Manila-Batangas railways. “They have not asked for anything because at that time I was not comfortable to discuss,” he said.

You can read the entire report by clicking here.

ABS-CBN had also tweeted on Twitter:

The website of local radio station bomboradyo also posted the same on its website:

Tugade biyaheng China para sa PH railways By Bombo Reymund Tinaza Posted in Top Stories Wednesday, 22 June 2016 07:37 Nakatakdang ipapadala umano ni incoming President Rodrigo Duterte si presumptive Transportation Sec. Art Tugade sa China sa lalong madaling panahon. Sinabi ni Duterte na biyaheng China si Tugade para hindi makipag-away o pag-usapan ang West Philippine Sea kundi para pag-usapan ang kapayapaan at pangakong railways system ng China sa Pilipinas. Ayon kay Duterte, kabilang sa pangako ng Chinese ambassador sa kanya ay pagtatayo ng railways mula Manila papuntang Clark at Tutuban papuntang Bicol region. Malaya naman daw ang mga kaharap na negosyante na sumali sa bidding pero kung hindi kayang tapatan ang nasabing offer, ibibigay nito ang kontrata sa China.

You can read the entire report by clicking here.

So did tribune.net.ph –

DU30’s transport chief bound for China for pledged railway project Written by Tribune Wires Thursday, 23 June 2016

By Joyce Ann L. Rocamora Incoming Department of Transportation and Communications (DoTC) Secretary Arthur “Art” Tugade is bound for China to discuss agreements on the railway project that has been promised by China to the next President Rodrigo Duterte. This stated agreement between China and the Philippines apparently had already been promised by China, but which neither Duterte nor Tugade, nor even the presidential spokesman nor the Presidential Communications Office chief, Martin Andanar, bared to the media which appears to belie the Duterte claim of a transparent government.

As of now no detailed information on this reported project is available but the railway projects are reported to be built within routes of Manila-Bicol and Manila-Batangas. The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) through a text message said they can’t confirm anything yet, saying they “are not privy to the meeting with the Chinese Ambassador so (they) can’t comment on it.”

In a business forum in Davao Tuesday, Duterte also said that China has not yet stated its demands, “they have not asked for anything because at that time I was not comfortable to discuss the issue,” he said.

You can read the entire report by clicking here.

So, did Tugade actually go to China?

Perhaps Tugade’s China trip did not push through in June, as Duterte had announced.

Perhaps it pushed through a bit later.

To my mind, the news reports from the month of June actually have some interesting implications.

This means, Duterte was already entertaining China’s overtures even before the decision of the Arbitral Court on the South China Sea dispute had come out. The Court decision came out on July 12.

In June, Duterte had already been proclaimed the winner of the presidency but had not yet been sworn into office.

Even at that time, Duterte was keenly aware that he had to navigate a dangerous path. If the Philippines won the arbitration suit, China might vent its anger on Manila. If the Philippines lost, China might pounce on more Philippine-owned features in the West Philippine Sea.

But why is Tugade denying the trip to China? Why not just say he went later, but not in June? Or he sent someone else.

And THAT needs further explanation, why suddenly, the Duterte government is so defensive about this.