Rep. Harry Roque said, President Rodrigo Duterte succeeded in getting Filipino fishers access to Scarborough Shoal, a feat his predecessor failed to do.
"President Duterte’s new engagement with China led to the resumption of our fishermen's livelihood," Roque said.
"Clearly, the opposite tack pursued by President Benigno Aquino III and [Foreign Affairs] Secretary Albert del Rosario did not work. Del Rosario should give credit where it is due particularly since he and President Aquino failed where President Duterte succeeded," he said.
Duterte went to China for a state visit last month. He said when he returned that he had discussed the issue surrounding Scarborough Shoal with China President Xi Jinping.
Filipino fishermen have been denied access to the area by Chinese coast guards after a standoff in 2012 when a Navy ship attempted to arrest Chinese poachers in the shoal.
The Philippine Navy pulled out the BRP Ramon Alcaraz from the area to defuse tension two days into the standoff. The Philippines instead sent a Coast Guard vessel and a ship owned by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources to monitor the area.
Roque also said that the return of Filipino fisherman was a "sovereign decision."