MANILA, Philippines — Instead of blaming and pointing fingers at each other, Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri said Filipinos should rally together and uphold the country’s sovereignty over the West Philippine Sea (WPS).
This, after Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero, in a plenary session on Tuesday, lamented that the recent developments in Ayungin Shoal have made Filipinos “fight and point fingers at each other.”
“The President already spoke and said that there is no such agreement [to remove BRP Sierra Madre], and if there was, he hereby rescinds it. That should have put an end to this issue. The sad thing [is that], we are the ones who are fighting because we are reacting, teaching, pointing fingers at each other because of what our competitors said in this matter in relation to the West Philippine Sea,” said Escudero in a mix of English and Filipino.
China earlier claimed it has been 24 years since the Philippines vowed to tow away the grounded vessel. However, the Philippine government denied this alleged commitment.
READ: Jinggoy: There’s no deal to remove BRP Sierra Madre during my father’s tenure
Meanwhile, Zubiri backed Escudero’s statement, branding the disagreement as “psychological warfare.”
“This is psychological warfare at its best. We should not succumb to this psychological warfare. We should be united in supporting our navy, coast guard, and let us uphold our sovereignty over the West Philippine Sea. All Filipinos should rally together,” said Zubiri.
Ayungin Shoal sits about 194 kilometers off Palawan province, well within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone.
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