WPS also reason for ‘Cha-cha’

Charter change can help define, protect PH territory — Speaker

Speaker Martin Romualdez on Tuesday said that the current tension in the West Philippine Sea could be an additional reason to push for constitutional amendments.

In an interview with Teleradyo Serbisyo, Romualdez said Charter change could be beneficial in protecting the nation’s territory and boosting the country’s territorial integrity.

“A review of the Constitution is necessary to remove ‘ambiguities’ in the definition of national territory. Babalangkasin po ang malinaw na definition ng ‘Philippine Territory’ (We will establish the framework for the clear definition of Philippine territory),” the Speaker’s office later said in a statement.

Moreover, Romualdez assured the public that the Congress fully supported President Marcos’ orders to secure the country’s territory.

“That’s right, that’s the mandate of the President. We here in the legislature are also working and marching in lockstep with our President’s foreign policy,” he said in Filipino.

Romualdez issued the statement in the wake of a string of aggressive actions by China in the West Philippine Sea, including the ramming and water cannon attacks against Filipino vessels conducting resupply missions to Ayungin Shoal.

Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert Ace Barbers supported Romualdez’s push, saying passing laws to circumvent prohibitions in the Charter are admissions to the flaws in the 1987 Constitution and its failure to adapt to the changing needs of the country.

Barbers, a member of the House committee on constitutional amendments, said that a revised Constitution “will be a better tool for our President, now and in the future, to sell the country to investors and navigate the global business network for our people.”

He added: “Instead of going out to work, they will be staying to man and run businesses both foreign and local that may choose the country if the right climate prevails.”

“Passing laws in the hope of curing the flaws of the Charter is an admission of the need to amend it. Even if Congress passes thousands of economic laws in contravention of the Constitution, nothing will change. They will be questioned before the Supreme Court. It is a waste of valuable resources. It is an admission that the Charter has failed us economically, politically, and socially. What are we waiting for, to be at the bottom of the ladder?” Barbers asked.

“In ASEAN alone, from the leader, we are now number eight out of 10 nations. Vietnam and Cambodia have overtaken us. How much more in Asia and the world? We have to wake up from our deep slumber and constant denial of the need to change. It is time for a reality check. The time is now,” Barbers said.

In the political provisions, Barbers said the admissions of some of the framers of the Constitution that they had no concrete basis for putting the three-year term caps on the House members is in itself a reason to consider a Charter review. “Why the distinction and discrimination?

Also on Wednesday, Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. said nobody supports China’s assertion that it was the Philippines that started provocative acts in the West Philippine Sea.

“I just want to react on this, I think there was a comment that the Philippines is making provoking activities here and that we are creating trouble in the South China Sea as stated by the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs,” Teodoro said on the sidelines of the acceptance, turnover, and blessing ceremony of a new air surveillance radar facility and battle command center at the Wallace Air Station in San Fernando City, La Union.

“My response to that is that only China believes in what they are saying, and in fact, no country in the world—none—supports unequivocally their claim to the whole of the South China Sea,” he added.

“Now on the Philippine side, a lot of countries support our sovereignty and jurisdiction and sovereign rights over the exclusive economic zone and other areas where we have territorial jurisdiction,” he said.

The Chinese foreign ministry earlier lambasted the so-called provocative acts of the Philippines in the WPS. China also warned that the Philippines’ “tying itself to some major power and forcing China to back down on issues concerning China’s core interests will lead nowhere.”

China has repeatedly blamed the Philippines for starting trouble in the West Philippine Sea despite video evidence to the contrary.

Teodoro on Wednesday said that dialogues with the President regarding a “paradigm shift” in the way the country deals with China are ongoing.

“We are continuously in communication and we are working towards that end. That’s all I can say for now,” Teodoro said.

President Marcos on Tuesday said that new strategies are needed to counter the aggression of the Chinese in the WPS because traditional diplomatic efforts have shown no significant results.

In other developments, a civilian convoy to the WPS is planning a new mission to the area in the summer of 2024 despite harassment by Chinese maritime militia ships and Chinese Coast Guard vessels.

Rafaela David, Akbayan party president and Atin Ito Coalition co-convenor, said the civilian Christmas convoy, composed of fishers,

civil society, religious and church groups, was successful in bringing Christmas cheer to frontliners in the West Philippine Sea. — Charles Dantes, Maricel Cruz & Vince Lopez