ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Esperon: Marcos' non-mention of WPS in SONA 'justified'

Esperon: Marcos' non-mention of WPS in SONA 'justified'

Published Jul 29, 2025 10:40 am

At A Glance

  • Former national security adviser, retired general Hermogenes Esperon believes President Marcos purposely did not mention the West Philippine Sea (WPS) issue during his fourth State of the Nation Address (SONA) because he might have realized that it was not the sum total of the country's relations with China.
Former national security adviser, retired general Hermogenes Esperon believes President Marcos purposely did not mention the West Philippine Sea (WPS) issue during his fourth State of the Nation Address (SONA) because he might have realized that it was not the sum total of the country's relations with China.
The President might have also taken the hint from the pronouncement made by US President Donald Trump during their recent meeting in Washington when the latter said he does not mind if the Philippines gets along with China.
Since President Marcos came into office, the WPS issue has been a hot topic in and out of Congress. This made it surprising to some that there was not any mention of it when he delivered his SONA at the House of Representatives on Monday, July 28.
But not Esperon.
"Sinabi niya na (He said) we are a friend to all, an enemy to no one. So independent foreign policy 'yan. So probably, hindi niya na kailangan pang dikdikin (he did not need to stress), no need to emphasize on the [WPS] now because he probably realized na our foreign policy, our relations with China is not just about the [WPS]," Esperon told the Manila Bulletin.
"I think it's a realization especially after hearing from no less than President Trump himself that we can deal with China," he added.
Although he found it "justified" that Marcos skipped the sea row in his yearly address, Esperon, who was also the chief of staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) from 2006 to 2008, still was "not really satisfied" with the President's remark about defense and peace and security in the country.
He said Marcos did not talk much about defense and security, and only wrapped up concerns of and solutions provided both for the military and the police.
"Very general," Esperon said of the Chief Executive's remarks on the topic.
NTF-ELCAC 
The former NSA said he was also hoping that Marcos would express his support for the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) because it really delivers results.
Esperon agreed with Marcos when he said the numbers of guerrilla fronts in the country was dwindling, but insisted that the problem with the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People's Army was still not finished.
"Tama 'yun, bawas na yung armed groups nila, peoro nandyan pa rin yung front organizations (It's right that armed groups are decreasing, but their front organizations still exist)," he said.
"Gusto din nila [ng tao] marinig kay President Marcos na sinusuportahan nya yung NTF-ELCAC. Wag syang maniwala na yung NTF-ELCAC, kailangan i-abolish (People really want to hear President Marcos supporting NTF-ELCAC. He must not believe that people want it abolished)," he added.
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.