Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 26) — A proposed resolution seeking to raise China’s sea incursions before the United Nations General Assembly failed to hurdle the Senate on Wednesday following opposition from Senator and former Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano.
After a two-hour debate that blurred party lines, senators instead set a closed-door meeting on Monday to further discuss the issue.
Opposition Senator Risa Hontiveros’ proposal urges the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to file a resolution at the UNGA calling on China to stop its harassment of Filipino vessels in the West Philippine Sea.
“Taking this to a vote before the United Nations, knowing the stakes, knowing who we are up against, is us telling the Filipino people that we will not cower in fear, that we will fight for them,” the deputy minority leader said in her sponsorship speech at the plenary.
Senate President Juan Miguel “Migz” Zubiri backed Hontiveros’ resolution, but this was challenged by Cayetano, who served as DFA secretary from 2017 to 2018 during Rodrigo Duterte’s presidency.
“If the intention is to condemn and to make a stand, unanimous tayo, pero pag nagsabi ka na ng strategy, dalhin natin sa UN, kailangan pag-usapan ‘yan,” Cayetano said.
[Translation: If the intention is to condemn and to make a stand, we’re unanimous, but if you talk of strategy, like bringing it to the UN, that needs to be discussed.]
Taking a strategy different from the administration’s policy may weaken the Philippines’ position in the long-standing dispute with China, Cayetano said, even as Zubiri asserted the Senate’s independence from the executive.
“If we simply pass this resolution, tapon sa UNGA, madidisappoint lang tayo. The UNGA is for consensus. It is not for highly contentious issues like this… baka maging negative pa sa atin ito later on,” Cayetano said.
[Translation: If we simply pass this resolution and it is rejected in the UNGA, we’ll just be disappointed. The UNGA is for consensus. It is not for highly contentious issues like this… This might just negatively impact us later on.]
“If countries close to China vote against us, they will not implement this, it will make our PCA arbitration ruling even weaker,” he added.
Hontiveros clarified that her resolution is simply a call to the DFA, acknowledging that the executive still has the final say. She stressed that the point of rallying the international community is to further strengthen the Philippines’ resolve.
Zubiri likewise said the problem with bilateral talks is the lack of “goodwill measures” on the side of China.
“Mahirap ang kumausap sa isang bansa na hindi naman matino [It’s hard to talk to a country that is unreasonable]. You started with your speech by saying that – it was a phrase from the Bible. Unfortunately, our friends from China do not believe in God nor do they believe in the Bible,” Zubiri told Cayetano.
Senate President Pro Tempore Loren Legarda agreed on the need to discuss the country’s strategies in an executive session, while Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa said both sides have a point.
To settle the issue, Zubiri said the Senate will have an executive session on Monday. He invited Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo, Armed Forces chief Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr., and National Intelligence Coordinating Agency Director General Ricardo de Leon to shed light on the matter.
