Senate President Juan Miguel F. Zubiri on Friday, August 11, said Filipino taxpayers are unwittingly funding China’s illegal incursions and harassment of Filipinos in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) with the Philippine government’s continued patronage of Chinese contractors in big-ticket public infrastructure projects all over the country.

Senate President Juan Miguel “Migz” Zubiri (Senate PRIB Photo) 

With this, Senate President Juan Miguel “Migz” Zubiri has upped his earlier suggestion to boycott Chinese products and companies in the Philippines to include an exclusion of Chinese contractors in infrastructure projects funded by the Filipino people’s money. 

Zubiri explained that many public infrastructure projects utilize Chinese contractors managed not only by DPWH but also by other government agencies like the Department of Transportation (DOTr) that exercises supervision of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG).

“Natuwa po ako at ang sabi po ni (Transportation) Secretary (Jaime) Bautista, hindi na po sila gagamit ng Chinese state-owned companies para sa kanilang trains, airports at malalaking big-ticket items (I was happy when Secretary Bautista told me that the Department of  Transportation (DOTr) would not use Chinese state-owned companies for their trains, airports and big-ticket items),” he continued. 

Zubiri said DOTr should instead give to South Korean or Japanese construction firms the North-South Railways giving to Bicol and going to the North.

“May mga projects ang DPWH (Department of Public Works and Highways), ang mga kumpanya ay state-owned companies … pagmamay-ari po ng Tsina mismo, ng gobyerno ng Tsina (There are DPWH projects being undertaken by Chinese state-owned companies). Wala naman po silang ginagawa kundi mam-bully lang nang mam-bully ng ating mga kababayan sa WPS, sa ating mga mangingisda, (China  does nothing but bully our countrymen and fishermen in the WPS),” Zubiri said in a radio interview Thursday night.

“Eh 'di bumawi na lang tayo (We should return the favor) . I-blacklist natin 'yong mga kumpanyang ‘yon (We blacklist these companies). Bakit naman iyung mga buwis pa ng mga kababayan nating Pilipino ang gagamitin para ipambayad dito sa mga state-owned companies? (Why should Filipinos’ taxes be used to pay these state-owned companies?) Tapos 'yong income po niyan, babalik po sa Tsina, gagamitin ng Tsina pambayad doon sa kanilang navy at coast guard na nanghaharass po sa atin dito (And their income would go to China which uses them to pay their Navy and Coast Guard to harass us). Hindi po tama 'yon. That is not right,”  the Senate chief added.

Zubiri has been voicing out his condemnation of China’s continued intrusion into Philippine territory, particularly with the recent incident that involved the water canon of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) on a supply run in Ayungin Shoal to a grounded BRP Sierra Madre.

He made the same call to DPWH not to award big-ticket projects to Chinese contractors such as the 32-kilometer Bataan-Cavite Interlink Bridge and instead grant it to “friendlier” countries such as Japan and South Korea which have been providing development aid to the Philippines.

“Ibigay nalang po natin yan sa mga kapitbahay natin na mahal tayo, na kaibigan natin na tumutulong sa atin (We give it to our neighbors who are our friends who. Have been helping us,” said Zubiri, who earlier chided China for declaring friendship with the Philippines but doing exactly the opposite in the WPS.

In standing up to China, Zubiri explained that the country could follow Vietnam’s template, which is to replace China as its top trading partner. 

He said the Philippines can execute trade agreements with other countries or enhance existing ones to compensate for the decision to drop China as a trading partner.

According to available data, the value of Philippine exports to China stands at $15.1 billion or P830.5 billion, comprising 16 percent of the country’s total exports.

The value of imports, meanwhile, is pegged at $48.9 billion or P2.7 trillion, or 33.8 percent of the total imports. This means that the Philippines has a trade imbalance of $33.8 billion in favor of China.”