ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider 'PH must fight for WPS,' asserts Senate bet Alex Lacson; 'Hindi duwag ang Pilipino'

'PH must fight for WPS,' asserts Senate bet Alex Lacson; 'Hindi duwag ang Pilipino'

Published Nov 21, 2021 03:41 pm

Senatorial aspirant and lawyer Alex Lacson said on Sunday, Nov. 21, there is a need to show stronger stance in asserting the country’s sovereignty over the West Philippine Sea, a part of the South China Sea that China is claiming.

Senatorial aspirant and lawyer Alex Lacson (BISErbisyong Leni/Facebook)

“Siguro i-remind lang natin, sa atin iyan, ipaglaban natin ‘yan, di ba. Kung gusto nila ng giyera, ibigay natin sa kanila ang giyera, pero ‘wag natin ibigay ‘yan (May we remind that’s ours, let us fight for it, right. If they want war, let us give them war, but we should not give it to them),” he said.

Lacson was a guest during the weekly radio show of Vice President Leni Robredo over dzXL. He is part of her senatorial ticket for the 2022 polls.

The senatorial aspirant cited the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), the basis of international maritime laws, under which the Philippines won the arbitration case against China in 2016.

The Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in The Hague unanimously ruled in favor of the country and rejected China’s historic nine-dash-line claim. It also found that China had caused "severe harm" to the marine environment because of its land reclamations.

“Ipaglaban natin iyan kahit na patayan, ipaglaban natin ‘yan. Hindi duwag ang Pilipino (Let us fight for it even if we have to die, let us fight for it. Filipinos are not coward),” he exclaimed.

Lacson, who is running for senator under the Kapatiran Party, made this statement amid the latest Chinese intrusion near the Ayungin Shoal.

READ: 'Illegal acts': DFA condemns China Coast Guard's blocking of PH supply boats in Ayungjn Shoal

The Ayungin Shoal lies 105 nautical miles (194 kilometers) west of the Palawan province in the Philippines and is within the country’s 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone.

Lacson said Filipinos should help defend the country’s sovereign rights by electing candidates who can assert and fight for the country’s territory, particularly the West Philippine Sea.

“Kailangan nating mag-elect ng mga leaders na tunay na isinusulong ang national interest ng mga Filipino at national interest ng bansa. ...Huwag nating payagan na kunin ng mga Chinese sa atin iyan (We need to elect leaders who will truly push forward the national interest of Filipinos and our country. We should not allow the Chinese to get that from us),” he said.

Related Tags

SENATORIAL ASPIRANT west ph sea UNCLOS alex lacson 2022 polls AYUNGIN SHOAL china
ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.