Tarriela invites Marcoleta to visit Kalayaan

Commodore Jay Tarriela, spokesperson for the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) on West Philippine Sea (WPS) matters, on Saturday invited Senator Rodante Marcoleta to join a future maritime domain awareness (MDA) flight to the Kalayaan Island Group (KIG).

In a post on X, Tarriela said the invitation would allow Marcoleta “to stand for our rights in the West Philippine Sea.”

“Let us give Senator Marcoleta a chance… I suggest that the good senator join the MDA flight to the Kalayaan Island Group in the future,” Tarriela said.

The invitation comes amid controversy over Marcoleta’s supposed remarks suggesting that the Philippines could “give up” the KIG because some of its features lie beyond the country’s exclusive economic zone.

Marcoleta later clarified the remarks, saying his detractors were “deliberately abbreviating the context” of what he said during his interpellation at the Commission on Appointments hearing on the confirmation of generals of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

“I informed them that for the West Philippine Sea to be listed in the International Hydrographic Organization, we would need to deposit maps with the United Nations to notify the world that we are usurping part of the high seas by including the Kalayaan Island Group, since it lies beyond our exclusive economic zone,” Marcoleta said.

“I said that this is not possible because it would violate the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, unless of course we give up the Kalayaan Island Group to solve the problem,” he added.

The KIG is the cluster of Philippine-claimed islands and reefs in the Spratly Islands in the WPS, including Pag-asa Island, which lies about 280 nautical miles west of Palawan, where a Filipino civilian community, a local government unit, and military personnel are present.

Tarriela’s invitation highlights the MDA flights regularly conducted by Philippine authorities to monitor maritime conditions and assert the country’s presence in the WPS.

These flights, involving aircraft from the PCG and other agencies, survey sea routes and monitor foreign maritime activities in Philippine-claimed waters.

“He does not have to worry; I can arrange it, and I would be happy to join the operation as well,” Tarriela said.

“I am sure that the people of Pag-asa will be happy to welcome you, Senator Marcoleta, sir ????????,” he added. —MCG, GMA Integrated News