Presidential aspirant Vice President Leni Robredo and her running mate, Senator Francis "Kiko" Pangilinan maintained that the Philippines has “exclusive rights” in the Ayungin Shoal amid China’s demand for the country to remove the grounded BRP Sierra Madre from it.
For Robredo, the issue is non-debatable because of the 2016 arbitral ruling that invalidated the basis of China’s historic and legal claims over the resource-rich region.
But she also “appreciates” the administration’s hardline stance with President Duterte saying during a regional summit hosted by Chinese President Xi Jinping that the Philippines “abhors” Beijing’s recent aggressive actions in the West Philippine Sea.
“Klaro naman iyong mga naging statement ng administrasyon at iyon ay na-a-appreciate natin (The statements of the administration are clear and we appreciate that),” she said in a media interview in Kawit, Cavite.
“Iyong atin lang na inaasahan, sana maging very consistent tayo para iyong boses talaga natin pinapakinggan. Kasi nakikita naman natin, eh—nakikita naman natin na kapag consistent tayo nagba-back off naman (What we are expecting is for them to be consistent so our voices will be heard. Because we can see—we can see that when we are consistent, they back off),” Robredo added.
On Wednesday, Nov. 24, China demanded the Philippines to remove the grounded BRP Sierra Madre from the Ayungin Shoal, asking it to honor its “commitment.”
But Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said there was no commitment on the part of the Philippines to remove the grounded ship, which was intentionally grounded there in 1999 to serve as a garrison for Filipino troops in the shoal.
READ: Lorenzana rejects China's demand for PH to remove ship at Ayungin Shoal
Last week, three China Coast Guard vessels blocked and fired water cannon at Philippine boats on a resupply mission. The country was able to carry out a resupply mission a week after.
Robredo and Pangilinan reiterated their call for China to respect the arbitral ruling.
“Kaya nga lagi nating inuulit-ulit na kung covered na siya ng ruling ng arbitral tribunal, hindi naman tayo kailangang makipag-debate. Klaro na bahagi ito ng ating EEZ at mayroon tayong sovereign rights over dito. (This is why we say this again and again that since it is covered by the ruling of the arbitral tribunal, we don’t need to debate over it. It is clear that this is part of our EEZ and we have sovereign rights over it),” the Vice President said.
“Dapat iyong enjoyment ng resources doon ay exclusive para sa mga Pilipino (The enjoyment of the resources should be exclusive for the Filipinos),” she added.
The senator, for his part, is concerned about the food security in the region, especially because the resource-rich waters are the sources of income for fisherfolk.
In fact, Pangilinan believes that the fish the country is importing from China could even come from the country’s own waters.
READ: Leni-Kiko tandem meets with retired generals on national security concerns
“Kaya dapat talaga ipaglaban natin ito dahil atin ito. At ito ay makakatulong talaga sa pagkain at gutom na pinoprotektahan natin iyong ating exclusive economic zone at iyong fisheries, iyong mga isda diyan, at ibang resources, sa atin dapat iyan (That’s why we need to fight for this because this is ours. And this will really help in the food and hunger that we can protect our exclusive economic zone and the fishers, the fish there, and other resources, it should be ours),” he said.
Pangilinan, who is running for vice president in 2022, shared that he already filed a resolution in Senate to investigate the effect of China’s presence in the waters on Filipino fishermen.
He noted that fishing is the primary source of income in places like Zambales and Pangasinan, which connect to the West Philippine Sea.