Sanlakas stands in solidarity with the 22 affected fisherfolks who, in their bid to eke out a living, braved the West Philippine Sea and figured in a mishap with a Chinese fishing vessel. That no assistance was rendered to them by the latter is deplorable as it is beyond comprehension. It is our undivided position: all Filipinos must be allowed to fish freely in the West Philippine Sea.
President Rodrigo Duterte has at his disposal billions worth of intelligence resources which should have been mobilized with haste to determine the real events which have resulted in the mishap, and ultimately to determine accountability. Instead, the President dilly-dallied and left the speaking to his minions who far from providing clarity have immediately exculpated the Chinese from any wrongdoing, and worse,trivializing the mishap as an ordinary accident.
When finally Duterte spoke, he cautions the nation on the issue. While treading cautiously is the most prudent option for any officialdom given the emotionally-charged tension arising from the contradicting claims by both the Philippines and China over territories in the West Philippine Sea, doing so must not compromise our sovereign yet mutually shared interests.
The Recto Bank is no doubt found within the Philippines’ Exclusive Economic Zone. As such, as the coastal country we should exercise sovereignty over the resources in the area. Sanlakas is, however, of the position that the enjoyment of maritime resources should not be to the exclusion of all other countries in the region. Moreover, no one country, not even ours should resort to violence in the enjoyment of what should belong to all of humanity, a natural commons.
If any wrongdoing was committed by the Chinese vessel, its perpetrators should be made to answer in accordance with law without need to stoke chauvanistic sentiments that only benefit the warmongers and spoilers of peace. Neither should the matter give license to the further militarization of the West Philippine Sea - a growing eventuality given the hype being pumped by interests hell-bent on clipping China’s growing economic challenge to a single-hegemonic world order. The US and its allied military powers have deployed warships and military sea crafts in the area which only feed into the growing instability and insecurity in the region.
It is most welcome for Duterte to allude to rules in dealing with the mishap hinting on the need to uphold due process on the matter where he has deliberately decided to err on the side of caution. If only he offered the same guarantee of due process to the tens of thousands of Filipinos killed in his bloody war on drugs, Duterte without doubt would have the moral ascendancy to command prudence. Unfortunately, he does not.
Sanlakas calls for an immediate independent, third party probe on the incident.
We call on our kababayans to rise above chauvinism - extreme patriotism - a real challenge nowadays, but nonetheless a political imperative to ferret out the truth and frustrate attempts to militarize the West Philippine Sea.
