Vice President Sara Duterte (Facebook)

Ranking congressmen have noted Vice President Sara Duterte's "defeaning silence" amid the latest act of Chinese aggression in the West Philippine Sea (WPS). 

This, as Assistant Majority Leaders Paolo Ortega V (La Union, 1st district), Zia Alonto Adiong (Lanao del Sur, 1st district), and Jil Bongalon (Ako Bicol Party-list) underscored the importance of standing with the Philippines in the face of such challenges. 

On Monday, it was reported that two Chinese fighters jets conducted dangerous maneuvers and dropped flares in the path of a Philippine Air Force (PAF) plane, endangering the aircraft and its crew. The PAF plane returned safety to Clark Air Base in Pampanga. 

The incident took place as the PAF plane waa conducting routine patrol over Bajo de Masinloc in the WPS. 

“Parang nakabibingi ‘yung katahimikan (It's like the silence if deafening),” Ortega said, referring to the Vice President. 

Adiong, who also chairs the House Ad hoc Committee on Marawi Rehabilitation and Victims Compensation, described the lady official’s silence as both disappointing and unbecoming of a leader of her stature. 

“Personally, I'm trying to question, why apart from all of these things happening, nagkaroon nga po recently ‘yung flare ng (there was a recent flare incident by the) Chinese government in the [WPS], she remains to be silent about it,” Adiong said. 

He continued, “She is the second highest public official of the land, next to the President, and her position on these is very important. Whether her silence will be treated as apathy, that would definitely spell out and define the kind of leader that she is.” 

Bongalon, for his part, stressed that Vice President Duterte’s continued silence on the WPS issue raises questions among the public. 

“Kung ang pinag-uusapan natin ay tungkol na sa soberanya ng ating bansa, expect mo dapat na maglabas man lang siya ng kanyang pahayag, suporta laban po sa China,” Bongalon pointed out. 

(If we're talking about the country’s sovereignty, you would expect that she would at least issue a statement supporting our sovereignty against China’s claims.)

“Pero for the longest time na naging Bise Presidente siya—July 1, 2022 hanggang ngayon, may narinig na po ba kayo na pahayag niya laban sa China? Ang sagot po: wala!” he noted. 

(But for the longest time, eversince she became the Vice President--from July 1, 2022 up to now--have you ever heard her say anything against China? The answer is: None!)

Vice President Duterte is the daughter of former president Rodrigo Duterte. The latter's administration, which lasted from  2016 to 2022, was viewed as friendly to China and mostly antagonistic to the West.