Senator Joel Villanueva lamented on Wednesday, July 14, the continued refusal of China to recognize the 2016 arbitral ruling that affirmed the Philippines' sovereignty over the West Philippine Sea (WPS).
"It is sad, but not unexpected, that a country would treat as waste paper a court decision on our waters where its ships now dump their wastes on," Villanueva said in a statement.
China has maintained that the landmark ruling of the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague on July 12, 2016 was "nothing more than a piece of paper". Its officials also insisted on their sweeping "historical" claim over the South China Sea.
"We’d like to be a friend of China, but its leaders are making it hard for us to fall in love with them, when all they have shown us are public displays of aggression," Villanueva said.
On the fifth anniversary of the arbitral award last Monday, United States geospatial analysis firm Simularity also released satellite images showing hundreds of ships dumping human waste in the Spratlys or the Kalayaan Island Group. The company later clarified that it did not specifically identify the ships as those of the Chinese.
Still, senators raised alarm over the report, hitting China for allegedly dumping the sewage waste, in addition to their incursions in the Philippines' waters.
"Mahirap po atang suklian ng respeto at kabutihang-loob ang isang kapitbahay na kumakamkam sa bahagi ng lote o pag-aari natin at magtatapon pa ng dumi (It's hard to repay a neighbor with respect when they claim a part of our lot as theirs and even dump human waste)," Villanueva said, joining his colleagues.
"Whether it is between neighbors or nations, you nurture relationships with kindness, not with sewage," he added.
Malacañang said Wednesday that it was "not surprised" with China's remarks, although it agreed that the arbitral ruling is "already part of international law".
Last May 5, President Duterte himself dismissed the ruling of the international tribunal as a mere "piece of paper" that he could "throw in a wastebasket".