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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Lacson: 'Giving up' Kalayaan islands akin to surrendering the Philippines

Lacson: 'Giving up' Kalayaan islands akin to surrendering the Philippines

Published Feb 7, 2026 01:29 pm
Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo "Ping" Lacson believes that suggesting "giving up" the Kalayaan Island Group (KIG) is tantamount to surrendering Luzon or even the entire country.
Sen. Panfilo “Ping” Lacson on Wednesday, February 4, 2026, during the Commission on Appointments (CA) deliberation of the ad interim appointments of 35 senior officers of the AFP. (Senate PRIB photo)
Sen. Panfilo “Ping” Lacson on Wednesday, February 4, 2026, during the Commission on Appointments (CA) deliberation of the ad interim appointments of 35 senior officers of the AFP. (Senate PRIB photo)
Lacson says that, under international law, the first discovery and possession of land that "belongs to no one", such as in the case of the KIG, is a recognized mode of sovereign ownership.
“'Giving up' the Kalayaan Island Group (KIG) is no different from giving up Luzon Island or the entire country. Under international law, first discovery and possession of land that belongs to no one under the legal principle of ‘res nullius’ or ‘terra nullius’ is a recognized mode of sovereign ownership. Even non-lawyers were taught this in school," he said on X.
He noted that lawyer and adventurer Tomas Cloma discovered the Spratly Islands and occupied them as under "res nullius"--whoever discovers and occupies the land is recognized as its owner. Cloma turned over the ownership of the land to the Philippine government.
During a committee hearing of the Commission on Appointments last Wednesday, Lacson cited this long-standing legal principle that supported the Philippines' ownership of KIG.
Senator Rodante Marcoleta, in his own words, suggested "giving up" the KIG because its features were "way beyond" the Philippines' Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
"Ano ba talaga ipagpapatayan natin dito? (What exactly are we supposed to die for here?) We will offer our lives, including the lives of our children, to die for it for something that is not even within our EEZ?" Marcoleta asked.
"Ang gawin po natin para madali i-give up natin yung KIG (To make things easier, let’s just give up the KIG)," he added.
Lacson, the Senate President Pro Tempore, didn't take this sitting down.
"Yan ang hindi ko mapalampas (That’s something I cannot let pass)," Lacson said in an interview with DZBB last Thursday.
Lacson, who visited the KIG in 2021, pointed out that Kalayaan is a municipality of Palawan, and is inhabited by some 300 Filipino families.
"When I heard Sen. Marcoleta say that we should give up KIG, I had to clear the issue and assert why KIG is ours. Sen. Marcoleta claimed the KIG is outside the EEZ, and I cannot accept that because there were Filipinos living on Pagasa Island," he said in Filipino.
Marcoleta later denied that he suggested giving up the KIG.

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Ping Lacson rodante marcoleta Kalayaan Island Group
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