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Poe wants united stand on West Philippine Sea: 'Don't confuse protecting territory with utang na loob'


Senator Grace Poe on Thursday  urged the National Security Council (NSC) to convene and come up with a united position on the West Philippine Sea (WPS), saying the government is constitutionally mandated to protect the country's territory.

“It is high time that the whole of government comes up with a clear and united stand on the West Philippine Sea issue. The convening of the National Security Council as soon as possible would be a timely intervention,” Poe said in a text message to reporters.

Poe was echoing former Armed Forces chief and former Senator Rodolfo Biazon when he suggested that the Philippines should not be divided as a nation in its statements about sovereignty.

“Protecting territorial integrity is so vital to a country's survival that we must not confuse it with friendship or utang na loob (debt of gratitude),” she said

“This is the country’s resources we are talking about. There shouldn’t be any debate as to whether we should protect it or not. There is only one constitutional answer— we should. The only thing left for us to discuss now is how,” she added.

In an interview on Wednesday, Biazon suggested the legislative department to take the Constitutional path in asserting the Philippines’ rights in the WPS by passing a resolution in both Houses of Congress that will call for the convening of the NSC.

“I came here to campaign for a convening of the National Security Council. Because the NSC can provide us, the Filipino people, everybody, including the policy makers, national policymakers, national program implementers and our people, a very clear projection of a clear, united national position on this,” Biazon said in an interview.

Biazon stressed the danger of the Philippine government coming out with "confusing" positions on the WPS.

“Right now, we are confused and that is dangerous. We are not only confusing ourselves. We are also confusing potential allies in our pursuit of our national interests in the area. We are confusing our policymakers and program implementers,” he said.

This confusion might also be used by China in making “dangerous move,” thinking that the Philippines has already given up its pursuit of national interest in the WPS.

“With the help of the legislature, we have to call a convening of the National Security Council to provide us a clear, united position on the issue,” he said.

In his Monday night public address, President Rodrigo Duterte delegated presidential spokesman Harry Roque Jr. as the government's sole spokesman on the WPS issue.

“If we have to talk, we talk and tayo-tayo lang and there is one spokesman. Si Secretary (Harry) Roque," Duterte said.

His statement came after Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. emphasized that international diplomacy should be left exclusively to the Department of Foreign Affairs.

Some senators have been calling out the Executive Department over the different statements being issued on its stand on the WPS.

One of them was Senator Panfilo Lacson, who earlier said that distinguishing Duterte’s jokes from his official statements on the WPS was problematic.

He also noted the mixed signals that are being relayed by the Executive Department which also confuses the Armed Force Philippines.

Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon also said it was “quite unfortunate” for the Philippines that its Cabinet officials and Duterte were sending  across different messages  on the territorial issue.

Recently, Duterte said  the Philippines' arbitral victory in 2016 against China's massive claims in the West Philippine Sea before the United Nations is just paper fit to be thrown in the trash. -MDM, GMA News

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