‘Dasal tayo,’ Dela Rosa says as diplomatic protests vs China ‘fall on deaf ears’

MANILA, Philippines — Filipinos should turn to God as the government’s diplomatic protests against China’s aggression have fallen on deaf ears, Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa said on Tuesday.

“Wala na, wala na yang diplomatic protests na ‘yan. Hindi naman nakikinig yang mga Chinese na yan,” Dela Rosa, a former police chief, said in an interview at the Senate.

(Those diplomatic protests are useless. The Chinese aren’t listening anyway.)

“Ang hirap ‘no? Ang hirap talaga. Hindi naman tayo pwedeng makipag-gyera so lahat ng diplomatic protest natin fell into deaf ears. Wala, hindi nila pinapakinggan,” he continued.

(It’s really difficult. We can’t afford to go to war, so all our diplomatic protests fell on deaf ears. It’s pointless, they’re not listening.)

The senator was reacting to the latest sighting of at least 135 Chinese militia ships “swarming” Julian Felipe (Whitsun) Reef in the West Philippine Sea over the weekend.

When asked what else the government could do in the face of China’s continued presence in Philippine territories, Dela Rosa advised the public to just pray to the Lord.

“Dasal tayo kay Lord. Dasal tayo na ‘wag tayong pabayaan ni Lord. ‘Yun na lang,” he added.

(Let’s pray to the Lord. Let’s pray that the Lord won’t forsake us. That’s all.)

Even opposition Senator Risa Hontiveros believes that more should be done than just the filing of a diplomatic protest.

Though she called the latest swarming of Chinese vessels “appalling,” she said it is no longer surprising, citing the same incidents in the past two years.

“No matter how many times our government and the international community condemn China’s illegal activities in the West Philippine Sea, Beijing simply does not listen,” Hontiveros lamented.

“By now, we should be doing more than fire off a diplomatic protest. We have to execute actionable on-the-ground steps to prevent the Chinese from any reclamation and base-building activities in Julian Felipe. Tiwala ako na gagawin na ito ng National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea,” she added.

The senator said the Philippine Coast Guard should also be commended “for upholding their duty to patrol our seas despite China’s overwhelming presence.”