ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider It's beyond politics: Villafuerte says Pinoys must stand with PBBM in asserting maritime territory

It's beyond politics: Villafuerte says Pinoys must stand with PBBM in asserting maritime territory

Published Apr 17, 2024 10:27 am

At A Glance

  • Saying that the country's territorial integrity is on the line, Camarines Sur 2nd district Rep. LRay Villafuerte asked Filipinos to set aside their political leanings and support President Marcos' assertion of the country's jurisdiction in the West Philippine Sea (WPS). 

LRayFoto4.jpgCamarines Sur 2nd district Rep. LRay Villafuerte (Rep. Villafuerte's office)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Saying that the country's territorial integrity is on the line, Camarines Sur 2nd district Rep. LRay Villafuerte asked Filipinos to set aside their political leanings and support President Marcos' assertion of the country’s jurisdiction in the West Philippine Sea (WPS). 

“Our territorial integrity is at stake and it thus behooves all of us Filipinos to support the government’s appropriate policy of defending our borders in accordance with international law and as upheld by the 2016 PCA (Permanent Court of Arbitration) Arbitral Ruling,” Villafuerte said in a statement Wednesday, April 17. 

“This is no longer a matter of whether one is a political supporter or not of the President and his administration,” underscored the National Unity Party (NUP) president and staunch administration supporter. 

The PCA ruling invalidated China's expansive nine-dash line claim in the South China Sea, which contains the WPS. 

Villafuerte issued his appeal to the public amid heightened tension between Manila and Beijing in the body of water. 

“It is incumbent upon all Filipinos to support the Marcos administration’s policy on strongly asserting our sovereignty and jurisdiction over our EEZ (exclusive economic zone) as set under the 1982 UNCLOS (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea), and upheld by the PCA in The Hague in its 2016 Arbitral Ruling that junked China’s ostensibly historic claim to almost all of the South China Sea (SCS),” said the veteran solon. 

“Such broad and deep public support is a must, more so now when a majority of our people clearly support this national defense stance," reckoned Villafuerte. 

MUST READ: 

https://mb.com.ph/2024/4/15/escalating-rhetoric-of-pro-china-personalities-worries-administration-solon

 

Last Sunday, April 14, administration critic Davao del Norte 1st district Rep. Pantaleon Alvarez called on the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to withdraw it support from Marcos so that he could be forced to step down from Malacañang. 

Alvarez, a former House Speaker, was reportedly frustrated with the Chief Executive's handling of the WPS issue. 

Villafuerte said Marcos has secured "broadening international support behind the establishment of a united front with like-minded countries to uphold freedom of navigation and overflight in the interest of peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region and beyond". 

The Bicolano is an advocate of the joint maritime patrols of the Philippines,p the United States (US), and theirallies in the WPS. 

Villafuerte at the same time called on the Marcos administration to capitalize on its recent historic trilateral summit in Washington, DC with the forging of a Philippine defense and security alliance with summit participants the US and Japan.

 

Related Tags

lray villafuerte West Philippine Sea President Marcos
ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.