Senators who wore T-shirts emblazoned with the words “West Philippine Sea” and the national flag at the basketball game between the Philippines and China said they were sending a message to Beijing.
“They came out with the 10-dash line, so this wearing of a T-shirt with the words is a statement that West Philippine Sea is ours,” said Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri, who was at the 2023 FIBA World Cup cheering the Pilipinas Gilas team, which crushed China 96-75 on Saturday to end a losing streak.
He was joined by Senate Majority Leader Joel Villanueva and Senators Christopher Go, Ronald Dela Rosa, Sonny Angara and Pia Cayetano, who all wore the black T-shirts.
“This was the most important game of all! For our pride and for our motherland the Philippines,” Zubiri said.
“We showed the bully in the north that we shall not be allowed to be bullied in our own home and that we rallied together as a nation to pray and cheer for our Team Gilas!”
The Philippines has rejected the 2023 version of China’s map which features a new 10-dash line that includes the West Philippine Sea as part of its territory.
The map, published by Beijing’s state-owned newspaper, Global Times, covers a large part of the South China Sea, including the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the West Philippine Sea.
Go, Senate sports committee chairperson, said in wearing the West Philippine Sea T-shirt, they wanted to show that they are one with all the Filipino people in supporting Gilas.
“We own the West Philippine Sea. This win is ours,” he said.
“I salute the players, coaches and even the fans since the ‘never say die’ attitude prevailed. We did not lose,” Go said.
Equally important, Go said, is that this win over China’s team is a morale-boosting win for every Filipino, especially amid China’s aggression in the West Philippine Sea.
Dela Rosa said they wore the WPS T-shirt with the Philippine flag to awaken the patriotic spirit of Gilas Pilipinas and to motivate them to exhaust all their remaining talents, skills and teamwork in oto secure the victory, which is symbolic for Filipinos in light of the recent developments in the West Philippine Sea.
Senator Imee Marcos suggested that after Gilas Pilipinas’ win against China by 21 points, “I propose we re-draw our map too to encompass the new 21-dash line of the Philippines.”
The senators were called out by some social media users, who said politics should not intrude on sports.
“I’m all for protesting and asserting our rights in the West Philippine Sea. However, I don’t think that sports is the right venue. Those are Chinese athletes, not the Chinese Communist Party,” one social media post said.
“Apart from wearing those t-shirts, what have you done to protect our territory in the West Philippine Sea,” another said in a Facebook post.
Others pointed out that Villanueva and Dela Rosa had echoed former President Rodrigo Duterte’s pro-China stance in the past.
“The act of these three idiots does not shed light on the actual problem we’re facing in the West PH Sea. It is not a political statement. They are well-known dogs of the past admin and balimbing,” another user said.