Senator Kiko Pangilinan was firm in defending his proposed Senate Resolution No. 256 on the Chinese Embassy in Manila’s remarks against several public officials, including himself, pointing out the need to enforce and defend the 2016 arbitral ruling and rally behind the Philippines’ uniformed personnel facing Chinese aggression in the contested West Philippine Sea.
In the interpellation of Senator Rodante Marcoleta during the Senate’s plenary session, Pangilinan said that the Senate must support the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), the Department of National Defense (DND), and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) as they continue to face China’s illegal activities in the disputed region.
“Narito tayo, may Senate resolution sumasang-ayon at sinasang-ayunan ang posisyon ng Department of National Defense at ng Armed Forces of the Philippines sa mga bitiw na salita ni Commodore Tarriela.”
“Mr. President, yung binanggit ni Commodore Tarriela, dinepensahan na ng ating Department of National Defense at ng Armed Forces of the Philippines. Tapos ngayon, narito tayo, may Senate resolution sumasang-ayon at sinasang-ayunan ang posisyon ng Department of National Defense at ng Armed Forces of the Philippines sa mga bitiw na salita ni Commodore Tarriela,” the veteran legislator stated.
The seasoned lawmaker insisted that the legal documents and rulings, which include the 2016 arbitral victory, are sufficient for the proposed resolution to be adopted by the Senate.
“Mr. President, we beg to disagree that the coordinates are not clear, that we have not been able to determine it. We have by law. We have by administrative order, and we have by the arbitral ruling,” Pangilinan said as Marcoleta questioned the exact coordinates of the Philippines’ 200-nautical-mile Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), parts of which are being claimed by China and are being occupied by Chinese military.
Pangilinan was referring to Administrative Order No. 29 series of 2012 that officially named the maritime areas on the western side of the Philippine archipelago as the West Philippine Sea; Republic Act No. 12064, or the Philippine Maritime Zones Act, of 2024, defining the country’s various maritime zones based on international law and establishing the Philippines’ exclusive sovereign rights to resources in these areas; and the 2016 Arbitral Tribunal ruling that invalidated China’s nine-dash-line claim and affirmed that China has violated the Philippines’ sovereign rights within its EEZ.
China is illegally claiming 150,000 square kilometers of our continental shelf and 381,000 square kilometers of our EEZ.”
“All these should suffice, Mr. President, for us to assert that China is illegally occupying parts of our exclusive economic zone and is claiming likewise 150,000 square kilometers of our continental shelf and 381,000 square kilometers of our EEZ,” the senator added.
PSR 256 has crossed political party lines, receiving support from Senate President Vicente Sotto III, Senate Pro Tempore Ping Lacson, Senate Majority Leader Migz Zubiri, and Senators Erwin Tulfo, Risa Hontiveros, Raffy Tulfo, Win Gatchalian, Loren Legarda, JV Ejercito, Bam Aquino, Jinggoy Estrada, Lito Lapid, Camille Villar, and Mark Villar.
Pangilinan recently received the ire of the Chinese Embassy after he spoke against China’s increasing aggression in the West Philippine Sea, including in areas within the Philippines’ EEZ, which has led to physical injuries to Philippine military personnel and damage to Philippine-flagged sea vessels.
China, through its expansive claims in a region where one-third of global trade passes by annually, has caused widespread concern in the international community about freedom of trade and navigation.
The West Philippine Sea, specifically Scarborough Shoal (Bajo de Masinloc), sits roughly 124 nautical miles from Luzon. As is the case with other features of the hotly contested region, the shoal—the site of a 2012 standoff between the Philippines and China that triggered the arbitration case—is over 470 nautical miles from mainland China’s coast.
