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Marc Jayson Cayabyab - The Philippine Star
February 18, 2026 | 12:00am
Antonio Carpio and Rodante Marcoleta
STAR / File
MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Rodante Marcoleta has accepted retired Supreme Court senior associate justice Antonio Carpio’s challenge to debate on the South China Sea issue.
Speaking to GMA News yesterday, Marcoleta said he is amenable to the offer of the Philippine Bar Association to host a debate with the legal luminary if only to settle criticisms that he was defending China’s interests in questioning the West Philippine Sea (WPS).
In accepting Marcoleta’s dare, Carpio said the debate would serve as an opportunity to “correct” Marcoleta’s claims that he said “misinform the people.”
Marcoleta said he wants a no-holds barred debate, as opposed to the bar association’s plan to “limit” the discussions.
“I am willing no matter the date, but about the limitations being mentioned, it wasn’t clear if they will be removed,” he stressed.
“So that the entire Filipino people will triumph, because how do you limit the vast subject matter of the West Philippine Sea? This is not only an extensive topic. This is complex and its consequences are far-reaching. So, there should be no limitations, especially that the limitations allegedly came from me when I did not say those things,” Marcoleta said.
But according to the bar association president Rachelle Aileen Santos, the limitations are only intended to focus the discussion and make it a “formal debate,” so it would not be a “free-wheeling” one that is the “source of all the confusion.”
Marcoleta denied that he was muddling the issue by making sweeping interpellations at the Senate.
He also denied that he was jeopardizing the country’s arbitral-backed claims within its exclusive economic zone (EEZ) when he took to the plenary and interpellated the adopted Senate resolution condemning the Chinese embassy in Manila’s social media rants against senators critical of Beijing.
He also denied saying in a Commission on Appointments hearing that the Kalayaan Island Group was not part of the Philippines – a bold statement that was heavily criticized by residents there as well as experts who said there are several legal bases, including the new Philippine Maritime Zones law.
He called criticisms against him fallacies that only put words in his mouth.
