Duterte reiterates WPS, Malampaya ‘ours’

Speaking at the 72nd-anniversary celebration of the Philippine Air Force, President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday reiterated that the West Philippine Sea and the Malampaya natural gas reservoir belonged to Filipinos.

"I acknowledge your unwavering commitment to the sworn duty to protect our territorial lines of defense, through aerial reconnaissance and maritime patrol missions in the West Philippine Sea and of course, which is really ours, the Philippine rights," Duterte told the state security forces in the audience.

"And of course, your efforts in securing the Malampaya gas plant off the coast of Palawan which is ours," he added.

Malampaya is located in the West Philippine Sea about 80 kilometers northwest of Palawan.

From 2001 to 2014, the Malampaya gas project—a joint venture of Shell, Chevron and the Philippine National Oil Company—had generated over P315 billion in royalties for the Philippine government.

The Malampaya gas-to-power facility fuels three gas-fired power plants with a total generating capacity of 2,700 megawatts (MW) equivalent to 30 percent of Luzon's power generation requirement.

Duterte's declaration came amid accusations that the president was failing to secure the country's exclusive economic zone by allowing Chinese fishermen's presence in the disputed waters of the South China Sea. 

Last week, Duterte said that he had a mutual agreement with Chinese President Xi Jinping regarding the fishing issue.

Duterte, however, said that Xi warned of trouble if the Philippines would drill oil in the disputed part of the South China Sea.

"Sabi ko, 'I want my oil because that is ours there.’ And [Xi] said, ‘No, because you know that could mean trouble,'" Duterte said.

On the other hand, the arbitral tribunal decision in 2016 invalidated China's massive claim in the South China Sea and clarified the Philippines' sovereign rights over its 200-mile EEZ to access offshore oil and gas fields.

Presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo on Tuesday defended Duterte from his critics and said that the President was using "measured tact" to protect Philippine sovereignty.

“The President as head of state, with only the well being and security of the Filipino people in mind and in his heart, believes that aggressively enforcing the arbitral award will only precipitate or trigger an armed conflict that could escalate into continuing bloody encounters detrimental to the national interest,” Panelo said. — Dona Magsino/DVM, GMA News