President Rodrigo Duterte won praises from senior members of the House of Representatives for declaring before the United Nations General Assembly the Philippines sovereign rights in the West Philippine Sea.
Staunch critic Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman said Duterte’s statement is a “welcome assertion” of government’s stand in the disputed territories, notwithstanding being declared belatedly by the chief executive.
Cagayan de Oro City Rep. Rufus Rodriguez lauded Duterte for reiterating before the UNGA the country’s arbitral victory over the West Philippines sea areas that belong to the Philippines.
For her part, Zamboanga Sibugay Rep. Anne Hofer described the presidential speech before the UNGA as “truly a historic moment” for Filipinos.
“It is as much a bold statement to the world as a clarion call for all Filipinos to stand united in pursuing our national interest,” said Hofer, chairperson of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.
She added: “In the context of our national foreign policy, the President’s statement encapsulated what we have been doing all along: to stand firm on our rights in accordance with the precepts of international law and guided by the spirit of friendship and diplomacy.”
It will be recalled that in July 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) of the United Nations ruled that parts of the disputed marine resources belong to the Philippine Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) as it junked China’s spurious claims over some of the disputed areas.
Lagman recalled that in deciding for the Philippines, the PCA found that China had violated the Philippines’ sovereign rights in its EEZ by (a) interfering with Philippine fishing and petroleum exploration; (b) constructing artificial islands; and (c) failing to prevent Chinese fishermen from fishing in the zone.
“Duterte’s affirmation of the Philippines’ arbitral victory must not remain a verbal bubble but needs to be concretized in an enforcement action with the backing of the United Nations and the support of multilateral powers,” said the independent lawmaker.
.
“It appears embarrassing that Duterte’s affirmation of the Philippines’ arbitral victory came only on the heels of leading world powers like the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Australia condemning China’s continuing aggression and incursion in the West Philippine Sea even as they support the PCA decision in favor of the Philippines,” he noted.
Rodriguez, chairman of the House Committee on Electoral Reforms, said Duterte has repeatedly “declared that he would invoke the arbitral ruling favoring our claims over these areas and even raise it with Chinese leaders at the proper time.”
“He (Duterte) felt that maybe, now is the most opportune time to reassert our position on this matter,” said Rodriguez.
The former law school dean stated: “That he did it before a large international forum for every nation, including China, to hear made it all the more laudable.”
“He made it clear to Beijing that the ruling cannot be compromised despite the cordial relations and friendship existing between the two nations. China should not misread such friendship as weakness on our part,” Rodriguez said.
The Mindanao solon urged Duterte to “walk the talk” and support his invocation of the arbitral ruling “with concrete and consistent actions.”