SENATOR Francis Escudero on Tuesday declared that funding for new facilities at Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal and Kalayaan Island, the country’s frontline posts in the West Philippine Sea (WPS), is “a done deal in the Senate.”
He noted that senators are unanimous in putting funds in next year’s budget for building structures “meant not for aggression but for the welfare of our soldiers stationed there,” Escudero said.
In August, Escudero was the first senator to propose the construction of a floating wharf at Ayungin that will also serve “as a bad weather refuge for vessels regardless of the flag they are carrying.”
He recommended an initial P100 million for the project, to be booked under the Department of Transportation (DOTR) or the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) “to underscore its peaceful purpose.”
But other senators suggested a bigger appropriation, such as the P1 billion put forward by Senator Jinggoy Estrada.
Noting that Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri had also backed his proposal, “I would now hold them to their assurance, and the best proof would be in the 2024 appropriations bill.”
Escudero said he will also insist that the infrastructure budget for the country’s “biggest real estate” in the WPS, the 37-hectare Kalayaan Island, which hosts air and naval stations, should be increased.
“Why did the administration propose in the 2024 national budget P80 million for two small projects in Kalayaan? They should back up their rhetoric with resources. Anger is good but appropriations are better,” Escudero said, referring to the proposed two-story military barracks and an igloo-type ammunition storage each costing P40 million and lodged under the budget of the DPWH.
“WPS is a hotspot. Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you cannot miss what’s happening there. These are large blips in our radar but these escaped detection by those who prepared the budget,” he said.
“It’s a natural formation, not reclaimed by man, and what is expected of us is to protect it from being eroded. We don’t have to spend billions,” he added.
Fund augmentation, Escudero said, should go to the improvement of the Rancudo Airfield and the Liwanag Naval Station on the island.
In the House, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said the decision of the House to realign P5.768 billion in confidential funds from civilian agencies to those dealing directly with national security would have a “tremendous impact” on the country’s ability to defend its interests in the WPS.
“I think the intention of the House of Representatives and also with the Senate to boost our funding would definitely support our operational capability in performing our role in the WPS,” PCG spokesperson Commodore Jay Tristan Tarriela told a House panel led by Mandaluyong City Rep. Neptali Gonzales II.
Speaker Martin Romualdez had asked Gonzales to conduct a hearing to shed light on the series of incursions by Chinese Coast Guard and militia vessels in the WPS.
“Our committee is committed to safeguarding the interests of the Philippines and its people,” Gonzales said during the hearing.
“We called this meeting to serve as a platform for open dialogue, ensuring that we address the challenges head-on and work towards a peaceful, cooperative future in the [WPS],” he added.
Gonzales advised the security agencies to keep communication lines open while budget deliberations are ongoing in Congress.
“The combined amount [of realigned funds ] may not be enough to cover all your needs so it is very important for us to know…which of these needs are more in keeping to your immediate priorities,” he said.
Gonzales said that frequent incidents involving Chinese vessels in the WPS were “a serious cause for concern.”
Aside from PCG, representatives from the Department of National Defense (DND), Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), and National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea (NTF-WPS) also attended the hearing.
Like Tarriela, DND Undersecretary for Strategic Assessment and Planning Ignacio Madriaga viewed the realignment of funds as very favorable.
“Of course sir, any addition to our resources or allocation would be a welcome development for us and you can be sure, sir, that these additional resources will be put to good use in defending our sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction and our national integrity,” Madriaga said.
According to the latest Octa Research survey conducted between Sept. 30 and Oct. 4, the majority of Filipinos favored the House decision to transfer the confidential funds of civilian departments to security agencies.
The survey showed that 57 percent of respondents strongly supported the House leadership’s firm action to realign the confidential funds while only 14 percent opposed it.
In the same House hearing, Madriaga said Chinese incursions and harassment of Filipino maritime vessels and fishers inside the Philippine exclusive economic zone (EEZ) increased after the country kicked out the US military bases in the 1990’s.
Madriaga was responding to a question from Rizal Rep. Wowo Fortes if the presence of the bases, particularly the US Navy base in Subic Bay and the US Air Force’s Clark Air Base, served as a deterrent to Chinese aggression in the West Philippine Sea.
“If we look at the behavior of the Chinese, they started claiming those islands particularly within our territory when the US bases left the country,” Madriaga said.
“Although there have been some [incidents involving the Chinese] claiming the islands with Vietnam in the Paracel Islands… they took the opportunity when the US forces left the country. So, it can be assumed that [the US bases] also provided a deterrent [against] Chinese incursions within our EEZ,” Madriaga said.
Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro, meanwhile emphasized that all operations being carried out by the Philippines in its maritime territories, including the WPS, are rules-based.
“We are merely asserting our rights which the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and relevant Philippine laws secure to us and these operations are done within areas where the Philippine government has every right to operate,” Teodoro said on the sidelines of the dedication ceremony of Basa Air Base’s newly-rehabilitated runway in Floridablanca, Pampanga.
The DND chief said Manila is not looking for conflict by asserting these rights. With PNA