Lacson: Chinese Website Shows How Marcoleta’s WPS Narratives Mirror China’s Position

A Chinese website shows how the narratives of Sen. Rodante Marcoleta on the West Philippine Sea align with those of China, Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo “Ping” M. Lacson said Tuesday.

Lacson said Marcoleta’s statements, including those on the Kalayaan Island Group, appeared to mirror those posted on the website of China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

“Curiously, Mr. President, these narratives align with those of the Chinese narratives, plucked directly from the People’s Republic of China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ official website, Mr. President,” Lacson said in a privilege speech.

“Kitang kita natin kung anong sinabi ng website ng Ministry of Foreign Affairs ng People’s Republic of China, yan din ang kanyang sinasabi (We can see clearly that what the website of China’s MOFA says, that is also what he says),” he added.

In Filipino: Lacson: Chinese Website, Ibinuking kung Paano Sinasalamin ng WPS Narratives ni Marcoleta ang Posisyon ng China

These include Marcoleta’s insistence in a Senate hearing last Feb. 24 that Tomas Cloma did not discover what is now the KIG. The MOFA website said the Philippine government “did not know about Cloma’s activities or give him the consent before he took his moves.”

Lacson noted Marcoleta also claimed he was all wrong when he said the Spratly Islands were discovered and consequently occupied and owned by lawyer-businessman Tomas Cloma, citing the principle of terra nullius or res nullius. “It was, for him, a historical distortion,” he said.

Another statement by Marcoleta that the KIG is not a case of terra nullius as there were a lot of discoveries of the KIG before Cloma declared it Freedomland in 1956 echoed those of the MOFA that the claim that KIG is “terra nullius” discovered by the Philippines is “groundless.”

On the other hand, Lacson said Marcoleta’s statement suggesting that the Philippines “give up” the KIG “is not merely suggestive, ito ay kasing kintab ng bumbunan na nasinagan ng tirik na araw sa tanghaling tapat (is not merely suggestive, but is as clear as a bald head reflecting the sunlight at noon).”

He cautioned against Marcoleta’s attempts to amend or correct the journal of the Commission on Appointments’ Committee on National Defense, where he made the remarks suggesting to give up the KIG.

“Mag-ingat po tayo dito Mr. President, sa gusto niyang mangyari (Mr. President, we must be careful on what he wants to happen). Your honor, being the Chairman of the CA and some of us here as members, we must study diligently the legal implications of Senator Marcoleta’s motion now pending before the CA,” he said.

Yet, Lacson said that when Marcoleta’s statements got negative reactions, he would blame Lacson for supposedly splicing his pronouncements.

“But if we backtrack the events that transpired in the past several months, one thing is crystal clear: when cornered by the fault of his own doing, he employs a diversionary maneuver, pathetically stretching the conversation, no matter how illogical, until people get drained and tired,” he added. “Just as a squid squirts ink to darken the water and blind everyone around while it swims away, a person may throw out irrelevant issues, fake scandals, or emotional outbursts to distract the public from the actual evidence or the main point of an investigation.”

This prompted Lacson to ask: “On the West Philippine Sea – which side of the South China Sea is Senator Marcoleta on?”

“I think we know the answers, Mr. President,” he added.

*****

Lacson: Chinese Website, Ibinuking kung Paano Sinasalamin ng WPS Narratives ni Marcoleta ang Posisyon ng China

Ibinuking ng isang Chinese website kung paano sumasalamin sa mga posisyon ng China ang mga pahayag ni Sen. Rodante Marcoleta tungkol sa West Philippine Sea, ayon kay Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo ‘Ping’ Lacson nitong Martes.

Ani Lacson, ang mga pahayag ni Marcoleta — kabilang ang mga komento nito tungkol sa Kalayaan Island Group — ay tila kapareho ng mga inilathala sa website ng Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China.

“Curiously, Mr. President, these narratives align with those of the Chinese narratives, plucked directly from the People’s Republic of China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ official website, Mr. President,” ani Lacson sa privilege speech.

“Kitang kita natin kung anong sinabi ng website ng Ministry of Foreign Affairs ng People’s Republic of China, yan din ang kanyang sinasabi,” he added.

Kabilang dito ang iginiit ni Marcoleta sa isang pagdinig ng Senado noong Pebrero 24 na hindi si Tomas Cloma ang nakadiskubre sa ngayon ay Kalayaan Island Group. Ayon sa website ng MOFA, hindi alam ng pamahalaan ng Pilipinas ang aktibidad ni Cloma o pumayag dito.

Binanggit din ni Lacson na sinabi ni Marcoleta na mali umano ang kanyang pahayag na ang Spratly Islands ay nadiskubre at kalaunan ay inangkin ng abogado at negosyanteng si Tomas Cloma, batay sa prinsipyong terra nullius o res nullius. Ayon kay Marcoleta, ito raw ay isang “historical distortion.”

Dagdag pa ni Lacson, ang isa pang pahayag ni Marcoleta—na ang Kalayaan Island Group ay hindi maituturing na kaso ng terra nullius dahil marami nang nakadiskubre rito bago pa ideklara ni Cloma ang Freedomland noong 1956—ay kahawig din ng pahayag ng MOFA na walang batayan ang claim na ang KIG ay “terra nullius” na nadiskubre ng Pilipinas.

Sa kabilang banda, sinabi ni Lacson na ang pahayag ni Marcoleta na tila nagmumungkahing “isuko” ng Pilipinas ang KIG “is not merely suggestive, ito ay kasing kintab ng bumbunan na nasinagan ng tirik na araw sa tanghaling tapat.”

Nagbabala rin si Lacson hinggil sa pagtatangka ni Marcoleta na baguhin o itama ang journal ng Commission on Appointments Committee on National Defense, kung saan niya umano ginawa ang pahayag na nagsusulong na isuko ang KIG.

“Mag-ingat po tayo dito Mr. President, sa gusto niyang mangyari. Your honor, being the Chairman of the CA and some of us here as members, we must study diligently the legal implications of Senator Marcoleta’s motion now pending before the CA,” aniya.

Gayunman, sinabi ni Lacson na kapag nakakatanggap ng negatibong reaksyon ang mga pahayag ni Marcoleta, sinisisi umano nito si Lacson sa umano’y pagputol o “splicing” ng kanyang mga pahayag.

“But if we backtrack the events that transpired in the past several months, one thing is crystal clear: when cornered by the fault of his own doing, he employs a diversionary maneuver, pathetically stretching the conversation, no matter how illogical, until people get drained and tired,” aniya. “Just as a squid squirts ink to darken the water and blind everyone around while it swims away, a person may throw out irrelevant issues, fake scandals, or emotional outbursts to distract the public from the actual evidence or the main point of an investigation.”

Dahil dito, inihayag ni Lacson ang tanong: “On the West Philippine Sea – which side of the South China Sea is Senator Marcoleta on?”

“I think we know the answers, Mr. President,” dagdag niya.

*****