House Deputy Speaker and Batangas 6th district Rep. Ralph Recto (Senate PRIB)
House Deputy Speaker and Batangas 6th district Rep. Ralph Recto underscored the importance of protesting China's acts of aggression in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) at every turn, even if the military and economic giant is "deaf". “Kahit bingi sila (Even if they're deaf), we have to blow our whistle again and again. At least, the whole world would hear,” Recto said in a statement Sunday, April 30. “’Yung pag protesta natin, ng pamahalaan man o ng mamamayan, ay parang burglar alarm that goes off when it is tripped. Ang masama ay if we turn it off. Tuloy-tuloy lang (Our protests, be it from government or common citizens, are akin to a burglar alarm that goes off when it is tripped. What's bad is if we turn it off. We should keep it up),” he said. Recto made the statement as the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) reportedly plans to fire another round of diplomatic protests against Beijing following the harassment by Chinese ships of two Coast Guard patrol boats near Ayungin Shoal. "Hindi ‘yan asal ng isang nagsasabing kaibigan niya tayo (These isn't an act from someone who considers us as a friend),” Recto said of China. “Even if we have to wallpaper the Great Wall with diplomatic protests, we should continue because once we show any sign of wavering, it normalizes China’s misbehavior inside our territory,” he said. "We also owe it to our neighbors, who are the subject of Chinese incursions, to make noise,” added the former Senate President Pro Tempore. "That kind of maritime patintero, which China has perfected, has become part of the seascape. It never passes a chance to display its bully credentials,” Recto said. Last year, a total of 195 notes verbales on WPS incidents were filed by the DFA with the Chinese embassy. The one filed on the second week of February, which denounced "dangerous maneuvers" of the Chinese Coast Guard in Ayungin Shoal, was the 75th “note verbale” filed under the Marcos administration.