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MANILA, Philippines — Government officials have the full backing of President Marcos in defending the country’s rights and interests in the face of Beijing’s castigating them for speaking out on West Philippine Sea (WPS) issues, Malacañang said yesterday.
“Whenever government agencies, heads of agencies act in accordance with the law and with our advocacy to defend the rights and interests of the country, then they have the support of the President,” Presidential Communications
Undersecretary Claire Castro said in Filipino at a press briefing.
Fifteen senators from both the majority and minority blocs have also united behind a resolution condemning officials of the Chinese embassy for castigating Philippine officials over the WPS issue.
The resolution was filed by Sen. Francis Pangilinan, Senate President Vicente Sotto III, Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo Lacson, Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri, Senators Erwin Tulfo, Risa Hontiveros, Raffy Tulfo, Sherwin Gatchalian, Loren Legarda, JV Ejercito, Bam Aquino, Camille Villar, Mark Villar, Lito Lapid and Jinggoy Estrada.
In their resolution, the senators condemned the Chinese embassy for “improperly” criticizing Philippine officials or institutions “for actions undertaken in the performance of their official duties, as these are contrary to accepted standards of diplomatic conduct and mutual respect between states.”
The senators who did not sign the resolution were all from the minority bloc: Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano, Deputy Minority Leaders Rodante Marcoleta and Joel Villanueva; Francis Escudero, Imee Marcos, Ronald dela Rosa, Robin Padilla and Bong Go.
Sen. Pia Cayetano, a member of the majority, also did not sign the resolution.
Last week, the department of Asian affairs of Beijing’s foreign ministry summoned Philippine Ambassador Jaime FlorCruz to express displeasure over statements of Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman for WPS issues Commodore Jay Tarriela.
Also chastised by Beijing were Pangilinan, Rep. Leila de Lima, Philippine Navy spokesman Rear Adm. Roy Vincent Trinidad and the National Maritime Council.
When pressed whether the President stands by the statement of Philippine officials on the WPS issue, Castro said, “Yes.”
Castro said the Philippine ambassador reasserted the country’s stance on maritime issues with China during his meeting with Chinese officials.
She reiterated that the President had made it clear that he would not surrender even an inch of Philippine territory.
“So, whatever our agencies are doing to fight for the interests of our country, that’s what the President wants and that’s also what he has ordered,” Castro said.
Diplomacy
The Palace press officer, however, maintained the Philippines’ commitment to diplomacy in handling issues with other countries.
“But diplomacy remains necessary. So, if there are issues with other countries, these should be resolved in a way that involves diplomacy,” she said.
The National Security Council on Sunday reminded China that the Philippines is a democracy governed by the rule of law and that public officials and institutions informing Filipinos of developments in the WPS “do not require approval from any foreign government.”
“The National Security Council views the recent pattern of public statements of the Chinese foreign ministry and the Chinese embassy in Manila as undiplomatic and uncalled for. The concern extends beyond individual officials to the broader impact on Philippine institutions,” NSC spokesman Cornelio Valencia Jr. said in a statement.
“Public messaging that intimidates, threatens or seeks to silence Philippine officials performing their lawful duties is inconsistent with the spirit and obligations of diplomatic engagement and clearly violates the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations,” Valencia said.
Asked about the claim of non-profit organization SeaLight over the weekend that the Chinese embassy is controlling Chinese language media or newspapers in the country to push China’s agenda, Castro said: “It has long been reported that a country is interfering in our politics. But according to the PCO, we respect freedom of expression, freedom of speech, but we condemn any disinformation or fake news.”
At yesterday’s Senate session, Hontiveros delivered a privilege speech condemning the Chinese embassy and reminding it that foreign missions are “guests, not arbiters of our democracy.”
“We’re in the Philippines, not in China. This is the Philippines. And we are in a democracy,” Hontiveros said.
Responding to Hontiveros’ speech, Tulfo also lambasted the Chinese embassy and warned: “If you do not like how democracy works in this country, then you are free to leave the Philippines. GET THE F*** OUT!”
‘Serious concerns’
In a statement, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has expressed “serious concerns with the escalation of public exchanges” between the Chinese embassy and Senators Hontiveros, Pangilinan and Tulfo.
“We reiterate our previous statements affirming support for our officials to perform their lawful duties in defense of Philippine sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction. Their views, as well as those of disagreeing voices, are an inescapable part of the robust plurality of ideas that animate our democratic society,” the DFA said.
At the same time, the Philippines “values debate on our differences in national positions,” the DFA said. “Such is not contradictory to the national interest.”
The Chinese embassy has also attacked political analyst and The STAR columnist Ronald Llamas for calling the embassy a “rude guest” and “trolls in suits” masquerading as a diplomatic mission.
In his column on Sunday, he called out the embassy for its attacks against public officials who were simply defending the Philippines’ position on the West Philippine Sea.
Meanwhile, Tarriela said he hopes the China Coast Guard would stick to the “norm” of being a humanitarian agency, after rescuing Filipino crew of M/V Devon Bay which capsized near Panatag Shoal last Jan. 23.
“I would hope that this kind of Coast Guard norm will be maintained by the Chinese Coast Guard,” he said in an online news site.
He added the Chinese presence in the West Philippine Sea, in the South China Sea “or any other parts of the world, would not be used to harass or intimidate ordinary fishermen.”
After assisting distressed Filipinos at sea, Tarriela said he hopes the CCG would “no longer harass and bully and, of course, to carry out illegal maritime law enforcement within our own exclusive economic zone.”— Neil Jayson Servallos, Pia Lee-Brago,Ghio Ong
