A Minority congressman believes President Durterte was just being consistent with his stand on the South China Sea issue when the latter affirmed the Philippines' landmark 2016 Arbitral Award before the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).

"We welcome the President’s categorical assertion right before the UN General Assembly of the country’s victory at The Hague on our long-standing territorial dispute with China," Agusan del Norte 1st district Rep. Lawrence Fortun said in a statement Thursday.

"This was consistent with his pronouncements a week ago that maritime disputes like this should be resolved peacefully in adherence to international law, the UNCLOS (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea) and pertinent international instruments," reckoned Fortun.

"We now see brighter rays of hope that more countries will support us in our cause because they already see us asserting our rights and fighting for what is rightfully ours," the Mindanaoan said.

President Duterte has received praise left and right for raising before the world body the country’s arbitral win against China in the South China Sea dispute, which the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague awarded the Philippines in July 2016.

The Court's decision essentially invalidated Beijing's controversial nine-dash claim over the entire South China Sea. The West Philippine Sea, which includes features within the Philippines' exclusive economic zone (EEZ), lies within the South China Sea.

“The Award is now part of international law, beyond compromise and beyond the reach of passing governments to dilute, diminish, or abandon. We firmly reject attempts to undermine it,” Duterte said in his historic address.

Fortun's colleagues in the House Minority Bloc, particularly the militant Makabayan solons, have been consistently critical of the Chief Executive for his supposed "defeatist" attitude toward the country's disputes at-sea with China, which is a regional power.

Meanwhile, Fortun said it may be about time for the UN Security Council (UNSC) to "expand its total membership to 20 or 25" from the current 15. "This way, the rights of member-states and peoples around the world would be the equitably represented in the UNSC," he noted.

Out of the 15 UNSC members, only five have veto powers--China, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, and Russia.

Fortun--citing the change in global political landscape since the UN's formation in 1945--said the number of UNSC members with veto power should be increased to at least nine from the current five.

"Three more countries to represent Asia. Three Member-States to represent Africa. Three countries to represent South America. The three positions for Asia can be apportioned this way: one for the Pacific Islands; one for East Asia and Southeast Asia; and one for the Middle East," he explained.