ASEANEWS HEADLINE-ASIA GEOPOLITICS | MANILA: Senate adopts resolution vs China diplomats
Senate President Tito Sotto chats with Majority Leader Migz Zubiri during the chamber’s session on a resolution condemning statements made by Chinese diplomats who criticized Philippine officials over the WPS issue.
But no persona non grata
MANILA, Philippines — After two weeks of being held back by colleagues, senators pushing for a measure condemning Chinese diplomats for their hostile statements against Filipino officials have finally secured victory.
The Senate – without any objection – adopted yesterday Senate Resolution 256 condemning China’s diplomats for their insults against Philippine officials who voiced defense of the country’s sovereignty and maritime rights.
But the Senate rebuke fell short of the proposal to declare the Chinese embassy deputy spokesperson or any Chinese diplomat persona non grata, which means expulsion from the Philippines.
The resolution was filed by the majority bloc composed of Sen. Francis Pangilinan (sponsor), Senate President Vicente Sotto III, Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo Lacson, Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri and Senators Erwin Tulfo, Risa Hontiveros, Raffy Tulfo, Sherwin Gatchalian, Loren Legarda, JV Ejercito, Bam Aquino, Camille Villar, Mark Villar, Lito Lapid and the minority’s Jinggoy Estrada.
 |
It was approved “subject to style,” which means that while the substance of the resolution has been deemed final, the secretariat or the sponsor is authorized to make minor grammatical or formatting corrections to polish the text without altering its meaning.
While the adoption was not met with any objections on the floor, it was preceded by a lengthy debate between Pangilinan as sponsor and Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano.
The session had to be suspended twice due to heated debates.
During the debate, Cayetano insisted that Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman for West Philippine Sea Commodore Jay Tarriela had erred in using a caricature of Chinese President Xi Jinping in a speaking engagement.
|
|
Cayetano argued that Tarriela’s actions were diplomatically risky and that the Senate minority could not back him as far as the resolution was concerned.
Pangilinan, however, responded that Tarriela’s name was not mentioned in the resolution and that it was referring to China’s social media operations against government officials at large.
Pangilinan also countered that Beijing engages in exactly the same behavior, pointing out that Chinese state-controlled media outlets like Xinhua frequently publish caricatures of President Marcos.
The debate intensified when Pangilinan questioned why the minority leader appeared to be rationalizing China’s actions while criticizing a Filipino official.
“Why are we defending [them]?” Pangilinan asked, maintaining that attacks on Philippine officials through any channel are unacceptable.
Sen. Rodante Marcoleta had been staunchly against the resolution for the past two weeks, during which its adoption was deferred twice.
Denial
Marcoleta, whose remarks during his interpellations and those he made before the Commission on Appointments, delivered a manifestation during the period of amendments yesterday, reiterating that he had never told the government to just give the Kalayaan Island Group (KIG) away.
Before the session, Marcoleta rejected Tarriela’s challenge that he visit the KIG in the West Philippine Sea and issued a counter-proposal: a “friendly debate” with the country’s top maritime legal experts before the flight takes off.
Tarriela had offered to accompany the senator on a Maritime Domain Awareness flight to see the area first hand.
The invitation came after Marcoleta drew public backlash for suggesting at a Senate hearing that the Philippines should consider giving up the KIG, arguing it falls outside the country’s exclusive economic zone.
Marcoleta said he would want to have a friendly debate first with Tarriela, retired senior associate justice Antonio Carpio and UP Institute for Maritime Affairs and Law of the Sea director Jay Batongbacal before embarking on a trip to KIG.
|
|
Amid the controversy, Zubiri issued a strong rebuke against any suggestion of surrendering Philippine territory, asserting that the KIG is indisputably part of the country.
“We will not allow giving up the Kalayaan Island Group because it’s very clear that it’s part of Philippine territory under the Constitution, the UNCLOS (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea), as reaffirmed by the 2016 arbitral ruling,” Zubiri said.
He cited two landmark laws passed by the 19th Congress – the Philippine Maritime Zones Act (RA 12604) and the Archipelagic Sea Lanes Act (RA 12065) – which cemented the country’s jurisdiction over the area.
Consistency
Llamas on Cayetano: Saang multiverse niya nakuha ang kanyang mga pinagsasabi
WATCH VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a89TwzJVyL4
…
Malacañang, for its part, said Filipinos should be more
consistent in asserting the country’s territorial rights and maritime entitlements.
“What the President also wants is for everyone, every Filipino, to be able to convey what our rights are over our territory and what our interests are in the West Philippine Sea,” Presidential Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro said in Filipino at a press briefing.
She said while the Palace respects Marcoleta’s and other legislators’ freedom of expression, she warned against inconsistent messaging on sensitive issues. “We must also be consistent in what we say,” the Palace press officer said. “As the saying goes, those who sow the wind will reap the storm.”
The Armed Forces of the Philippines also blasted Marcoleta’s suggestion. “The constitutional mandate of the AFP is to protect national sovereignty, secure the integrity of the national territory and look after the welfare of the Filipino people. Throughout history, the Armed Forces has never wavered in performing this mandate, and we have proven it time and again,” Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad, AFP spokesman for the West Philippine Sea, said.
|
|
Philippine National Police chief Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr., meanwhile, assured KIG residents of protection, as he also cited his command’s close coordination with the AFP, the PCG and the local government. “We have personnel in the area to provide police service and assistance,” he said.
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), for its part, said it has appointed acting Deputy Assistant Secretary Rogelio Villanueva Jr., a former navy and coast guard officer, as spokesman for maritime affairs to ensure a unified government response to WPS issues.
Ties at rock bottom
In an interview with “Storycon” on One News yesterday, director Rommel Banlaoi of the Philippines-China Studies Center said that while there is “light at the end of the tunnel,” the Philippines’ bilateral ties with China have already reached “rock bottom” under the Marcos administration, from the “lowest moment” under the Aquino administration.
“This is one of the worst relationships with China under various administrations,” he added.
“Both parties are hardening their positions. If the two parties are hardening their positions on the disputed issues, then it’s very difficult to make a simple settlement,” he said.
|
|
“Somehow, both parties need to find ways to meet halfway. Because if they will continue this hardening of positions, then just expect the action and reaction to happen all over again,” he added.
Still, he said recent efforts of both the Philippines and China to ease tensions are positive developments.
“China is also opening its channels of communication with the Philippine government to sort things out. That’s a good sign,” he added. – Janvic Mateo, Ghio Ong, Pia Lee-Brago, Mark Ernest Villeza, Helen Flores
.
