Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 17) – Opposition Senator Risa Hontiveros on Monday took Malacañang to task for what she called its “deafening silence” on the seventh anniversary of the country’s arbitral victory in its maritime row with China.
Speaking before the Kapihan sa Senado, Hontiveros questioned why the Palace did not issue any statement, even after the Chinese Embassy in Manila dismissed the arbitral ruling as “illegal, null, and void.”
“Pagkatapos mag-statement ang Chinese Embassy ng kanilang pagbasura sa ating tagumpay sa Arbitral Ruling, wala man lang kibo ang Palasyo? The silence is deafening,” Hontiveros told reporters.
[Translation: After the statement of the Chinese Embassy dismissing the Philippines’ victory in the Arbitral Ruling, there was no reaction from the Palace? The silence is deafening.]
Hontiveros said the administration should not have stopped with Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo’s statement commemorating the arbitration win, adding that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. should make a strong, categorical statement during his second State of the Nation Address on July 24.
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“Sana sa SONA (State of the Nation Address) sabihin na niya (Marcos) finally, categorically na pinanghahawakan din niya at itataguyod din niya yung tagumpay natin sa Hague tribunal kasi wala pa siyang ganyang categorical public commitment and I think that’s what we need in order to bring the full force of the executive behind this victory,” Hontiveros said.
[Translation: I hope that during the SONA, Marcos can finally say, categorically, that he upholds and promotes our victory in winning the Hague tribunal since he has yet to have a categorical public commitment and I think that’s what we need in order to bring the full force of the executive behind this victory.]
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) last week launched a microsite on the Philippines-China maritime dispute in the West Philippine Sea, which provides resources relevant to the subject.
The site’s title “Not One Inch” was attributed to President Marcos’ previous statement that the country would not lose an inch of its territory.
Hontiveros earlier filed a resolution urging the DFA to formally raise China’s incursions before the United Nations General Assembly and call on Beijing to \”stop the harassment\” of Philippine vessels in the West Philippine Sea.
Senate President Migz Zubiri expressed support for the measure.
“We should present to the UN (United Nations) the repeated incursions and violations of China against the Hague arbitral ruling on the West Philippine Sea,” Zubiri said in a statement.
“We should show the video and photographic evidence of their creeping invasion towards our country and our neighbors, with their continuous reclamation of territory within our EEZ (Exclusive Economic Zone) and areas that are considered international waters, hampering the freedom of navigation,” he added.
Zubiri said the resolution will be tackled in the plenary on Tuesday and that he expects it to secure the vote of the majority.
