A SENATOR of the republic said we should just give up our claims on the Kalayaan Island Group. He does not see the sense in laying down lives and endangering our future when the KIG is outside of our Exclusive Economic Zone, anyway.
Senator Rodante Marcoleta is one of the nine in the Upper Chamber who refused to sign a resolution condemning the statements of Chinese Embassy officials who insulted Philippine officials defending our established jurisdiction over the West Philippine Sea.
On social media, Philippine Coast Guard spokesperson Commodore Jay Tarriela said: “Every member of the uniformed services stationed in the KIG stands ready to lay down our lives and fight to the last drop of blood for these future generations and the people of the Municipality of Kalayaan.”
Tarriela took a swipe at Marcoleta: “If you are unwilling to defend it and are prepared to give it up—especially if you hold public office—you should remember the oath you swore when you assumed your position,” he wrote.
The PCG spokesman suggested Marcoleta join him in a Maritime Domain Awareness flight or sovereign patrol for a full experience in KIG. Tarriela extended the invitation to Marcoleta’s congressman son.
In response, Marcoleta challenged Tarriela to a “friendly debate” on the matter, even suggesting that former Supreme Court Justice Antonio Carpio and maritime law expert Jay Batongbacal be present.
Tarriela turned down this invitation.
“I believe that Justice Antonio Carpio, Professor Jay Batongbacal, and any Filipino who fully understands our strong legal position will likewise refuse to participate in such a debate. For us, this is not a debatable proposition; it is a matter of settled law, national interest, and patriotic duty. “The basis of Philippine sovereignty and sovereign rights in the West Philippine Sea—firmly established by the 2016 Arbitral Award, our Constitution, and domestic laws—is not open to negotiation or spectacle,” he wrote.
It is a wonder why Marcoleta, who as a senator should be one of the staunchest defenders of what is ours, is not in trouble already for his wrong pronouncements on the WPS. We agree with Tarriela who said that by framing the WPS issue as debatable, Marcoleta “risks undermining the very oath he took to preserve true faith and allegiance to the Republic and to support its Constitution and laws.”
Our sovereignty over the WPS has been established by international law including the 2016 ruling of the Permanent Court of Arbitration. It is a fact. There is no more room for debate. A senator must, of all people, be among the first to uphold this.
What a debate would achieve is to send the Chinese laughing in self-congratulation for sowing division among Filipinos instead. That we are divided on the issue would only embolden them to commit more transgressions of international law, because we would appear too busy quarreling among ourselves instead of facing their threats in a unified stance.
Someone tell Marcoleta to have some shame and stop collecting his salary from Filipinos, whom he betrays at every turn.
