Opposition Senator Risa Hontiveros on Monday took Malacañang to task for what she called its “deafening silence” on the seventh anniversary of the country’s arbitral victory in its maritime row with China.
Speaking before the Kapihan sa Senado, Hontiveros questioned why the Palace did not issue any statement, even after the Chinese Embassy in Manila dismissed the arbitral ruling as “illegal, null, and void.
Hontiveros said the administration should not have stopped with Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo’s statement commemorating the arbitration win, adding that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. should make a strong, categorical statement during his second State of the Nation Address on July 24.
Hontiveros earlier filed a resolution urging the DFA to formally raise China’s incursions before the United Nations General Assembly and call on Beijing to"stop the harassment" of Philippine vessels in the West Philippine Sea.“We should present to the UN the repeated incursions and violations of China against the Hague arbitral ruling on the West Philippine Sea,” Zubiri said in a statement.
“We should show the video and photographic evidence of their creeping invasion towards our country and our neighbors, with their continuous reclamation of territory within our EEZ and areas that are considered international waters, hampering the freedom of navigation,” he added. Zubiri said the resolution will be tackled in the plenary on Tuesday and that he expects it to secure the vote of the majority.