Manila Bulletin
Philippines
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Hontiveros flags non-mention of West PH Sea in PBBM's second SONA
Philippines
National
Hontiveros flags non-mention of West PH Sea in PBBM's second SONA
Hontiveros flags non-mention of West PH Sea in PBBM's second SONA
Published Jul 25, 2023 01:47 am
The fact that President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. did not even mention the West Philippine Sea in his second State of the Nation Address (SONA) is a cause of serious concern.
President Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos Jr. (Noel Pabalate/MB)
Opposition Senator Risa Hontiveros intimated this after hearing the President’s nationwide public address on Monday, July 24. “Naku ha, baka isang century tayo makikipag-dayalogo sa China, dinededma parin niya tayo (Oh no, maybe we will have a dialogue with China for over century, and they will still ignore us),” Marcos, in his speech, maintained that the country’s “independent foreign policy—being a friend to all and enemy of none—has been proven effective.” “We formed strategic alliances with our traditional and newfound partners in the international community,” Marcos said. But the President failed to even asserted in his speech the Philippines’ historic victory at The Hague on the arbitration case it lodged against China before the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) on July 12, 2016. “Ang isang hindi nagawa ni Presidente… sana sabihin nila once and for all, explicitly, na tinataguyod nila ang ating tagumpay sa The Hague (What the President failed to do… was to say once and for all, explicitly, that they are establishing our victory at The Hague),” Hontiveros pointed out. “Once ginawa nila iyon, then we can really give full support sa lahat ng aksyon dapat ng Executive (Once they do that, then we can really give full support to all the actions to be done by the Executive),” she said. “At handa kami sa legislature at handa ang Senado na ipasa ang aking resolusyon sinuportahan din ni Senate President Migz na manawagan sa gobyerno sa pamamagitan ng DFA, mag-file ng resolution sa UN General Assembly na titiglin ng Tsina ang kanyang aggression (And we in the legislature, in the Senate, are ready to pass my resolution, which is supported even by Senate President Juan Miguel ‘Migz’ Zubiri, to call on the government, through the Department of Foreign Affairs to file a resolution before the UN General Assembly to push China to stop its aggression),” Hontiveros said. Zubiri earlier said the Senate will soon pass a “strongly-worded” resolution urging the Marcos administration to raise China’s “creeping invasion” in the WPS to the UNGA. The resolution, the Senate leader said, will express the Senate’s and of the Filipino peoples’ disgust, frustrations, anger at China’s repeated incursions in the WPS. Zubiri also stressed the need to gather enough videos and photos to present as evidence before the UN. “The UNGA should know what is going on. If we show them the bases that China is building in these areas, I think they will also be angry,” Zubiri had said in a recent press briefing. Hontiveros said it would have been good if the President mentioned the West Philippine Sea and The Hague ruling during his speech as this would send a strong signal to China that the President is resolute to defend the country’s territory and will stand on its diplomatic and political victory in the international stage. “Eh hindi malakas ang kanilang sinabing paninindigan para sa sovereignty, mas mahina kaysa sa posible, kasi sa diplomasya sa politika, gagamitin mo ang pinakamalakas na sandata mo (But their stand on sovereignty was weak and more weaker than it’s possible, because in political diplomacy, you should be using your most powerful weapon), and this is the most powerful, peaceful, non-violent, diplomatic political weapon we have vis-a-vis China, yun yung (and that is the) Hague ruling,” the senator lamented.
President Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos Jr. (Noel Pabalate/MB)
Opposition Senator Risa Hontiveros intimated this after hearing the President’s nationwide public address on Monday, July 24. “Naku ha, baka isang century tayo makikipag-dayalogo sa China, dinededma parin niya tayo (Oh no, maybe we will have a dialogue with China for over century, and they will still ignore us),” Marcos, in his speech, maintained that the country’s “independent foreign policy—being a friend to all and enemy of none—has been proven effective.” “We formed strategic alliances with our traditional and newfound partners in the international community,” Marcos said. But the President failed to even asserted in his speech the Philippines’ historic victory at The Hague on the arbitration case it lodged against China before the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) on July 12, 2016. “Ang isang hindi nagawa ni Presidente… sana sabihin nila once and for all, explicitly, na tinataguyod nila ang ating tagumpay sa The Hague (What the President failed to do… was to say once and for all, explicitly, that they are establishing our victory at The Hague),” Hontiveros pointed out. “Once ginawa nila iyon, then we can really give full support sa lahat ng aksyon dapat ng Executive (Once they do that, then we can really give full support to all the actions to be done by the Executive),” she said. “At handa kami sa legislature at handa ang Senado na ipasa ang aking resolusyon sinuportahan din ni Senate President Migz na manawagan sa gobyerno sa pamamagitan ng DFA, mag-file ng resolution sa UN General Assembly na titiglin ng Tsina ang kanyang aggression (And we in the legislature, in the Senate, are ready to pass my resolution, which is supported even by Senate President Juan Miguel ‘Migz’ Zubiri, to call on the government, through the Department of Foreign Affairs to file a resolution before the UN General Assembly to push China to stop its aggression),” Hontiveros said. Zubiri earlier said the Senate will soon pass a “strongly-worded” resolution urging the Marcos administration to raise China’s “creeping invasion” in the WPS to the UNGA. The resolution, the Senate leader said, will express the Senate’s and of the Filipino peoples’ disgust, frustrations, anger at China’s repeated incursions in the WPS. Zubiri also stressed the need to gather enough videos and photos to present as evidence before the UN. “The UNGA should know what is going on. If we show them the bases that China is building in these areas, I think they will also be angry,” Zubiri had said in a recent press briefing. Hontiveros said it would have been good if the President mentioned the West Philippine Sea and The Hague ruling during his speech as this would send a strong signal to China that the President is resolute to defend the country’s territory and will stand on its diplomatic and political victory in the international stage. “Eh hindi malakas ang kanilang sinabing paninindigan para sa sovereignty, mas mahina kaysa sa posible, kasi sa diplomasya sa politika, gagamitin mo ang pinakamalakas na sandata mo (But their stand on sovereignty was weak and more weaker than it’s possible, because in political diplomacy, you should be using your most powerful weapon), and this is the most powerful, peaceful, non-violent, diplomatic political weapon we have vis-a-vis China, yun yung (and that is the) Hague ruling,” the senator lamented.