Cayetano urges Senate to tread carefully on WPS issue
Published Jul 26, 2023 01:23 pm
Senator Alan Peter Cayetano on Wednesday, July 26 urged members of the Senate to “tread carefully and get the right information” before approving a resolution calling on the Philippine government to raise its concerns over China’s incursions in the West Philippine Sea before the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
Sen. Alan Cayetano urged the Senate to fully take the matter up in the committee, hold daily hearings for two weeks if needed, and listen to briefings from think tanks in Southeast Asia, during the Senate's plenary session on Wednesday, July 26, 2023. (Senate PRIB Photo)
Cayetano stressed the need for senators to first conduct dialogues with the country's top security officials, as he questioned the purpose of Senate Resolution No. 659, after Sen. Risa Hontiveros' sponsorship speech on the measure. The senator said he is puzzled why the resolution only seeks to address its dispute with China when there are other claimants in the South China Sea. During his interpellation, Cayetano pointed out Vietnam and Malaysia also have conflicting claims in the country's territory. He also showed a presentation of how Vietnam, Malaysia and Taiwan occupied portions of the Philippines' exclusive economic zone (EEZ). Hontiveros argued that the Senate resolution is centered on China because it is the only country that is the subject of the landmark ruling which junked the nine-dash line claims of China in the WPS. In her sponsorship speech, Hontiveros maintained “there is no other option but to stand united behind the Philippine victory in The Hague and in opposition to the illegitimate territorial claims embodied in the so-called ‘9-dash line.” Cayetano, however, said he is worried that raising the issue again at the UN may weaken the 2016 ruling of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) that ruled in favor of the Philippines, especially if the UNGA fails to put it into a vote. “Because history has proven that the UNGA is for consensus, it is not for highly-contentious issues like this. It may work, it may not work. My last point is, it’s so important that if we don’t get all the information, study it well and maybe, help the DFA craft the resolution itself, if that is our decision, it may turn out to be negative to us later on,” Cayetano said in a mix of English and Filipino. "If countries close to China (will) vote against us, they will not implement this, it will make our PCA arbitration ruling even weaker," Cayetano warned. Cayetano, who served as foreign affairs secretary during then President Rodrigo Duterte's administration, reminded senators that the President alone should be the chief architect of the nation's foreign policies. “I was a very tough negotiator...A diplomat cannot say anything of his personal opinion, only that of the instruction of the chief diplomat. The chief diplomat has not stated he wants this taken up at the UN. Yes, we are not a rubberstamp. Yes may sariling pagpagi-isip ang Senate. Pero ang Constitution nagsasabi dapat Presidente ang may diskarte (Yes, the Senate has its own mind. But the Constitution says its the President who must strategize)," he pointed out. Cayetano urged the Senate to address the issue through the proper route and in a way that would not expose the government's own strategy in resolving the matter. Because of this, Senate President Juan Miguel "Migz" Zubiri opted to suspend discussions on the resolution and scheduled an executive session on Monday, July 31. Zubiri announced the Senate will invite officials of the WPS Task Force, together with the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (NICA) and Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) officials. But prior to this Zubiri expressed his support to the Senate Resolution No. 659 given China’s blatant disrespect of the country’s sovereignty. “We are left with little choice but to once again seek the support and the wisdom of the international community, and impress upon the Chinese government our unwavering commitment to fighting for our sovereignty,” Zubiri said. “Should we successfully pass a resolution before the UNGA, we will in effect be solidifying international support for the sovereignty of the Philippines, and putting pressure on our friends in China to keep their military and political activities outside of our Exclusive Economic Zone and continental shelf. Let me repeat continental shelf,” said the Senate leader. Sen. Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada, likewise, said he is ready to cross political party lines and “stand for our national interest.” “In solidarity with Sen. Hontiveros, I cross political party lines and stand for our national interest. I join her in fervently calling on the community of nations to stop the harassment and bullying in the WPS and to urge our neighbor China to respect the landmark ruling of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA),” “I trust that the DFA will favorably respond to the resolution, and act swiftly on this measure,” Estrada said. Senate President Pro Tempore Loren Legarda, likewise, expressed her appreciation on the filing of the resolution and agree that the country must exercise its rights within its EEZ. It is also necessary, Legarda said, to protect the Filipino fishermen and fight for the freedom of navigation. “We simply have to perhaps improve or enhance the strategy and wordings (of the resolution) so that we can have the majority vote assuming it is intended for adoption by the body,” Legarda said.
Sen. Alan Cayetano urged the Senate to fully take the matter up in the committee, hold daily hearings for two weeks if needed, and listen to briefings from think tanks in Southeast Asia, during the Senate's plenary session on Wednesday, July 26, 2023. (Senate PRIB Photo)
Cayetano stressed the need for senators to first conduct dialogues with the country's top security officials, as he questioned the purpose of Senate Resolution No. 659, after Sen. Risa Hontiveros' sponsorship speech on the measure. The senator said he is puzzled why the resolution only seeks to address its dispute with China when there are other claimants in the South China Sea. During his interpellation, Cayetano pointed out Vietnam and Malaysia also have conflicting claims in the country's territory. He also showed a presentation of how Vietnam, Malaysia and Taiwan occupied portions of the Philippines' exclusive economic zone (EEZ). Hontiveros argued that the Senate resolution is centered on China because it is the only country that is the subject of the landmark ruling which junked the nine-dash line claims of China in the WPS. In her sponsorship speech, Hontiveros maintained “there is no other option but to stand united behind the Philippine victory in The Hague and in opposition to the illegitimate territorial claims embodied in the so-called ‘9-dash line.” Cayetano, however, said he is worried that raising the issue again at the UN may weaken the 2016 ruling of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) that ruled in favor of the Philippines, especially if the UNGA fails to put it into a vote. “Because history has proven that the UNGA is for consensus, it is not for highly-contentious issues like this. It may work, it may not work. My last point is, it’s so important that if we don’t get all the information, study it well and maybe, help the DFA craft the resolution itself, if that is our decision, it may turn out to be negative to us later on,” Cayetano said in a mix of English and Filipino. "If countries close to China (will) vote against us, they will not implement this, it will make our PCA arbitration ruling even weaker," Cayetano warned. Cayetano, who served as foreign affairs secretary during then President Rodrigo Duterte's administration, reminded senators that the President alone should be the chief architect of the nation's foreign policies. “I was a very tough negotiator...A diplomat cannot say anything of his personal opinion, only that of the instruction of the chief diplomat. The chief diplomat has not stated he wants this taken up at the UN. Yes, we are not a rubberstamp. Yes may sariling pagpagi-isip ang Senate. Pero ang Constitution nagsasabi dapat Presidente ang may diskarte (Yes, the Senate has its own mind. But the Constitution says its the President who must strategize)," he pointed out. Cayetano urged the Senate to address the issue through the proper route and in a way that would not expose the government's own strategy in resolving the matter. Because of this, Senate President Juan Miguel "Migz" Zubiri opted to suspend discussions on the resolution and scheduled an executive session on Monday, July 31. Zubiri announced the Senate will invite officials of the WPS Task Force, together with the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (NICA) and Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) officials. But prior to this Zubiri expressed his support to the Senate Resolution No. 659 given China’s blatant disrespect of the country’s sovereignty. “We are left with little choice but to once again seek the support and the wisdom of the international community, and impress upon the Chinese government our unwavering commitment to fighting for our sovereignty,” Zubiri said. “Should we successfully pass a resolution before the UNGA, we will in effect be solidifying international support for the sovereignty of the Philippines, and putting pressure on our friends in China to keep their military and political activities outside of our Exclusive Economic Zone and continental shelf. Let me repeat continental shelf,” said the Senate leader. Sen. Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada, likewise, said he is ready to cross political party lines and “stand for our national interest.” “In solidarity with Sen. Hontiveros, I cross political party lines and stand for our national interest. I join her in fervently calling on the community of nations to stop the harassment and bullying in the WPS and to urge our neighbor China to respect the landmark ruling of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA),” “I trust that the DFA will favorably respond to the resolution, and act swiftly on this measure,” Estrada said. Senate President Pro Tempore Loren Legarda, likewise, expressed her appreciation on the filing of the resolution and agree that the country must exercise its rights within its EEZ. It is also necessary, Legarda said, to protect the Filipino fishermen and fight for the freedom of navigation. “We simply have to perhaps improve or enhance the strategy and wordings (of the resolution) so that we can have the majority vote assuming it is intended for adoption by the body,” Legarda said.