Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero on Tuesday, February 25 expressed belief that the country’s problems with China on the West Philippine Sea (WPS) could only be resolved through diplomacy.
Escudero pointed this out as he rejected suggestions the Philippines should fight back against China’s constant bullying in the disputed maritime area through an armed conflict.
The latest incident was a Chinese military helicopter seen hovering closely to a Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) aircraft that was conducting a routine maritime domain awareness flight over the contested maritime territory.
“Madalas kong naririnig na dapat lumaban. Ano ang gusto niyo? Giyera? Wala namang may gusto ng giyera. Ayon sa isang survery, exactly zero percent sa Pilipino ang sumagot na gusto ng giyera dahil dito. Ano ang ibig sabihin nun? Iisa lang ang solusyon, diplomasya pa rin (I often hear suggestions that we should fight back. What do you want? War? Nobody wants war. Based on one survey, exactly zero percent of Filipinos surveyed responded they want war because of this. What does this mean? There is only one solution, it’s still diplomacy),” Escudero said during a press conference in Sorsogon.
“Kulang man, hindi man sapat, hindi man napapatigil ito. Yung kapalit nun na giyera, wala din naman sa atin ang may gusto (Though it’s lacking, though it doesn’t help stop this. The other option is war, none of us however also want it),” he insisted.
“Besides it’s unconstitutional. The Constitution states that the Philippines renounces war as an instrument of national and international policy so we cannot do that and we should not do that,” the Senate leader further said.
Escudero said the Marcos administration is still doing the right thing when it comes to defending the country’s sovereign rights and standing up against China’s continued bullying in the West Philippine Sea.
The Senate chief also commended the President for strengthening its defense ties with the United States, and other allied countries.
“Para sakin, tama ang ginagawa ni Pangulong Marcos, isinasaayos niya yung ating mga kaalyado para magkaroon ng mas malaking pwersa laban sa China dahil mag-isa hindi natin kakayanin pero kasama ang ating mga ally, kakayanin natin ito at least mapigilan o mabawasan man lang (For me, President Marcos is doing the right thing, he is organizing our allies to have a bigger force against China because we can't do it alone but with our allies, we can do it and at least stop it or reduce it at least),” the senator stressed.
“Pero sa dulo ang importante huwag na natin bitiwan kung anuman ang atin kaugnay ng West Philippine Sea na siyang ginagawa din ng kasalukuyang administrasyon (But in the end, the important thing is that we don't give up whatever we have in relation to the West Philippine Sea, which is what the current administration is also doing),” he pointed out.