Metro Manila, Philippines – Sen. Rodante Marcoleta has been invited to join a maritime domain awareness flight to Kalayaan Island Group following his controversial remarks.
Commodore Jay Tarriela, Philippine Coast Guard spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea, issued the invitation on Saturday, Feb. 7, saying he can arrange the mission flight.
“Let us give Senator Marcoleta a chance. I am sure that he is truly a patriotic public servant who can stand for our rights in the West Philippine Sea,” Tarriela said.
“I am sure that the people of Pag-asa will be happy to welcome you, Senator Marcoleta, sir,” he said.
Marcoleta drew criticism after suggesting in a recent Commission on Appointments hearing to “give up” the Kalayaan Island Group, saying it is supposedly beyond the country’s exclusive economic zone. He said he was taken out of context.
“‘Giving up’ the Kalayaan Island Group is no different from giving up Luzon Island or the entire country,” Senate President Pro Tempore Ping Lacson said on X.
On Sunday, Lacson told Marcoleta’s son, Sagip party-list Rep. Paolo Marcoleta, to visit Pag-asa Island and see the functional local government there.
Lacson said the younger Marcoleta’s statement suggesting using the PCG spokesman and some “arrogant” senators as cannon fodder if China declares war against the Philippines was “uncalled for.”
Kalayaan, Palawan Vice Mayor MP Albayda in a Facebook video said he took offense with Senator Marcoleta’s statement, saying their town is legitimate.
The Philippines established the municipality of Kalayaan, under Palawan province’s jurisdiction, through Presidential Decree 1596 in 1978 to formalize its claim to the Kalayaan Island Group. According to the 2024 census, Kalayaan has a population of 406.
Pag-asa Island, internationally known as Thitu Island, is the administrative center of the Kalayaan municipality, administering several other islets, cays and reefs in the disputed Spratly Islands.
China does not recognize the 2016 arbitral award that rejected its expansive claims over almost the entire South China Sea.
Marcoleta has argued in the Senate plenary that the Philippine government must supposedly define the exact area of the country’s EEZ, adding that there has been no exact coordinates for the West Philippine Sea. He denied the notion that he was siding with China.
Sen. Kiko Pangilinan disagreed, citing Section 14 of the Philippine Maritime Zones Act that states: “The Philippines shall exercise all other maritime rights and jurisdictions in accordance with the UNCLOS (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea), the South China Sea Arbitration (PCA Case No. 2013-19), international law, and other pertinent laws and regulations of the Philippines.”
Marcoleta’s clash with his colleagues over the West Philippine Sea was during the deliberations of a Senate resolution condemning the Chinese embassy’s statements against Philippine officials and institutions.
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In January, China lodged diplomatic protests with the Philippines over Tarriela’s social media posts, whom Beijing said attacked and smeared Chinese leaders.
Marcoleta previously claimed on plenary that the Department of Foreign Affairs was supposedly unhappy with Tarriela’s remarks.
The Philippines then made firm representations to Chinese Ambassador Jing Quan over the escalation of public exchanges between the Chinese Embassy and Filipino lawmakers and officials.
