Unsettling. This was how Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo “Ping” M. Lacson described Wednesday the prospect of a Philippine lawmaker echoing the position of China on territorial disputes, especially amid the conflict in the Middle East.
Lacson said Sen. Rodante Marcoleta’s narratives on the West Philippine Sea mirroring those posted on the website of China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has implications on our national security.
“It’s unsettling to say the least. This is national security we’re talking about. Especially delicate ang situation parang in the advent of the Iran War, parang iniisip ng marami baka mag-World War III (many fear this may lead to World War III),” he said.
In Filipino: Lacson: ‘Unsettling’ ang Pag-Echo ng Mambabatas sa Posisyon ng Tsina sa Usaping Teritoryo
“Delikado at pag nag-escalate yan at kumalat sa Pacific region kawawa naman tayo. And tayo as a very weak country militarily, huwag na natin dagdagan (This is a delicate matter. If the conflict escalates and spreads to the Pacific region, we’re in trouble. As a very weak country militarily, we must not add to the uncertainty),” he added.
On Tuesday, Lacson bared in a privilege speech that Marcoleta’s statements – including his insistence in a Senate hearing last Feb. 24 that Tomas Cloma did not discover what is now the KIG – aligned with the narrative of China’s MOFA, whose 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.”
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Lacson: ‘Unsettling’ ang Pag-Echo ng Mambabatas sa Posisyon ng Tsina sa Usaping Teritoryo
Unsettling o nakakabahala. Ganito inilarawan ni Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo “Ping” M. Lacson nitong Miyerkules ang pag-echo ng mambabatas ng Pilipinas sa posisyon ng China hinggil sa mga alitang teritoryal, lalo na sa gitna ng umiigting na tensyon sa Middle East.
Ani Lacson, may implikasyon sa ating pambansang seguridad kung ang mga pahayag ni Sen. Rodante Marcoleta tungkol sa West Philippine Sea ay kahalintulad ng mga nakapaskil sa website ng Ministry of Foreign Affairs ng Tsina.
“It’s unsettling to say the least. This is national security we’re talking about. Especially delicate ang situation parang in the advent of the Iran War, parang iniisip ng marami baka mag-World War III,” aniya sa isang panayam.
“Delikado at pag nag-escalate yan at kumalat sa Pacific region kawawa naman tayo. And tayo as a very weak country militarily, huwag na natin dagdagan,” dagdag niya.
Noong Martes, ibinunyag ni Lacson sa isang privilege speech na ang mga pahayag ni Marcoleta — kabilang ang kanyang giit sa pagdinig ng Senado noong Pebrero 24 na hindi si Tomas Cloma ang nakadiskubre ng ngayon ay kilala bilang Kalayaan Island Group (KIG) — ay sumasalamin sa naratibo ng MOFA ng China. Ayon sa website ng MOFA, hindi alam ng pamahalaan ng Pilipinas ang aktibidad ni Cloma, o pumayag dito.
Binanggit din ni Lacson na iginiit ni Marcoleta na mali siya nang sabihin niyang ang Spratly Islands ay nadiskubre at kalaunan ay inokupa at inangkin ni Cloma, batay sa prinsipyo ng terra nullius o res nullius. “It was, for him, a historical distortion,” aniya.
Isa pang pahayag ni Marcoleta na hindi umano maituturing na kaso ng terra nullius ang KIG dahil marami nang nakadiskubre rito bago ito ideklara ni Cloma bilang Freedomland noong 1956 ay kahalintulad din ng posisyon ng MOFA, na nagsasabing ang pahayag na ang KIG ay terra nullius na nadiskubre ng Pilipinas ay “groundless.”
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