Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez)
“Puso.”
This was what Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano saw as the Philippines’ leverage against China.
At a congressional briefing on the recent developments in the West Philippine Sea (WPS), ACT-Teachers Rep. France Castro asked Cayetano what advantages the country have against China.
Cayetano said: “Ma’am, pasensya na po sasagutin ko kayo sa lengwahe ng basketball: ‘puso.’”
“Kumbaga sa basketball po matangkad sila, mas masustansya kinakain nila… pero tayo puso,” he added.
He was apparently referring to the “puso” battle-cry of the country’s national basketball team Gilas Pilipinas.
Cayetano also mentioned that there were international laws governing the disputed regions in the WPS.
But he stressed that the Duterte administration would exhaust all diplomatic means to defuse the sea tension.
“The tool is diplomacy. This is our primary tool. This is essentially the tool that is available to us. The Philippines is a peaceful nation,” Cayetano said during his opening speech.
“As enshrined in our Constitution, the Philippines renounces war—I repeat, renounces war as an instrument of national policy,” he added.
Cayetano also said they have filed “several dozens,” of or “maybe 50 to 100” diplomatic protests against China since 2016, but they opted not to be “loud about it.”
Reacting to this, Castro said: “Natutuwa ako dun sa sinasabi na meron naman pala tayong diplomatic protests pero hindi naman natin sinasabi na komo nagpo-protesta tayo we are inviting war.”/ac