President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. should order the top officials of the AFP to refrain from speaking out on foreign policy to prevent an escalation of tensions with China, Sen. Francis Escudero said. | kdevillaINQ & melvingasconINQ /PDI
Four days later, AFP chief of staff Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. told CNN Philippines in an interview that China’s actions “could be interpreted as an act of war already.” Escudero, in response to that quote, told dwIZ that “the Philippines should always keep the doors open to talks with China and we should not let inflammatory statements in the political debate, which may only heighten the tension on either side and may not bring positive results toward the resolution of this dispute.
“FFW believes that a consolidated effort, driven by voluntary participation, can bolster the country’s maritime defenses and fortify the Philippines’ territorial sovereignty,” the group said in a statement on Saturday. It added that the “defense of the nation is a collective responsibility.” The Senate is soon expected to pass a bill making ROTC mandatory, after the House of Representatives passed a similar bill in December last year.
But ACT Rep. France Castro said using fisherfolk as reservists “will put in danger the very people that the military has to protect … when the AFP should be the ones on the front lines.”
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