THE lawmaker, who accused President Rodrigo Duterte of high crimes in an impeachment complaint on Tuesday urged the Chief Executive to name him as head of an army that would battle the Chinese if the dispute over the West Philippine Sea and Benham Rise leads to war.
The President’s accuser, Magdalo Rep. Gary Alejano, said he had one request from Duterte—that the President let him use the unused jet ski that he said he would use to plant the Philippine flag on the disputed territories held by China when he was still campaigning for the presidency.
“In the very remote and unlikely event the continued incursions of China in Philippine territories lead to war, [I am] more than willing to fight for the country,” Alejano said.
“Every Filipino should be ready to defend the country as mandated by the Constitution, including myself. This would have been the best opportunity to strengthen our reserve force and reinstitute mandatory ROTC among the youth of the land,” he added.
Earlier, the Duterte dismissed Senator Antonio Trillanes IV and Alejano, both unsuccessful mutineers who failed to topple President Gloria Arroyo, as being cowards who surrendered without firing a shot.
Duterte also said Alejano should lead the troops against China if he wanted to make that an issue in his impeachment complaint.
He also chided the Magdalo for doing nothing for the country but cause trouble.
The insults seemed to hit home for Alejano, a former captain in the Marine Corps.
“Service to the country is nothing new to me. I am more than willing to fight for this country, to lead our troops against China, or any other foreign intruder,” Alejano said in a statement.
He cited his various combat and rescue operations against the Abu Sayyaf Group and other bandits in Western Mindanao.
He also said he was wounded in the campaign to capture Camp Abubakar and awarded various medals, including the Distinguished Conduct Star.
“We support the President in his desire to subscribe to an independent foreign policy. We, in the Magdalo maintain that an independent foreign policy is vital in the pursuit of development and the territorial integrity of the country based on clearly stated principles and practices. We respect the national interest of other countries such as China, however, if their interest conflicts with ours, then by all means we should prioritize ours,” Alejano said.
Alejano maintained that the administration should use the United Nations arbitral tribunal decision favoring the Philippines over China in the maritime dispute over the resource-rich West Philippine Sea as a bargaining chip in asserting the Philippines’ rights over the disputed waters.
Alejano said he supports the continued engagement of the Philippines with China economically and culturally.
However, the congressman insisted that this engagement should hinge on a clear principle of respect and recognition of the country’s rights over WPS and Benham Rise.
“We should also be wary of any economic deal or economic development to prosper in exchange to forfeiting our rights over the disputed waters,” added Alejano.
Alejano also warned the President that the more the Philippine economy is exposed to China, the more the economy becomes dependent on them, the less its power to assert will be pertaining to territorial conflicts in the WPS, and now Benham Rise.
Alejano said he believed that the Mutual Defense Treaty with the United States would kick in if China resorts to military confrontation.
“The US and Japanese militaries are already more than a match for the Chinese which is the main reason why China is resorting to bully tactics and bluffing with its civilian maritime agencies so as not to provoke a military response from other regional and global powers,” Alejano said.
Alejano said he also expects the President to show the same resolve in defending national interest and territorial integrity that he shows in the war on drugs.
“He should be brave when confronting the Chinese about our territory, not his fellow Filipinos who he is killing. He should remember that most of our illegal drugs come from China,” the Magdalo party-list congressman said in Filipino.
Reacting to Duterte’s pronouncement that the Philippines cannot stop Chinese activities in the WPS, Alejano cautioned the President against making statements portraying the Philippines as “helpless and defenseless.”
Such statements, he said, may invite aggression or intrusion from foreign countries like China.
“This is a defeatist narrative fitting squarely to what China wants us to feel,” Alejano said.
The opposition lawmaker said he believes there were many options that the Philippines could exercise to assert its rights and defend its territory, contrary to the President’s position.
“It is not true what our President says that there is nothing we can do. In truth, there are many non-military and non-confrontational options. He just doesn’t want to do them,” he said.