Marcos on Marcoleta’s claim there’s no WPS: ‘He is a candidate’

Sagip party-list Rep. Rodante Marcoleta shows his certificate of candidacy for senator in this file photo taken in October 2024. INQUIRER.net / John Eric Mendoza

MANILA, Philippines — Sagip party-list Rep. Rodante Marcoleta’s claim that there is no such thing as the West Philippine Sea (WPS) is just a political move, according to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

“He’s expressing his opinion. When I see him, lolokohin ko siya (I’ll tease him). He’s a candidate, so he has to grab headlines,” Marcos said in a Palace briefing on Thursday when asked for a comment on the matter.

READ: Tarriela slams Marcoleta over West Philippine Sea remarks

“So he did the right thing for a candidate. Now, we’re talking about him now. He’s really good at that,” he added.

Marcoleta is running for a Senate seat as an independent candidate. He previously ran for senator in 2022 but withdrew his certificate of candidacy and then returned to the House of Representatives as a substitute nominee for the Sagip party-list.

During a House hearing on online misinformation, Marcoleta said “There is nothing [sic] as West Philippine Sea” and  “This is a creation by us.”

His remarks did not sit well with Philippine Coast Guard spokesperson Commodore Jay Tarriela, who said Marcoleta’s statements were “a disservice and an embarrassment to their entire party.”

Security expert Chester Cabalza also countered, stressing that the WPS is “real and existing.”

“It is not just a figment of imagination,” Cabalza said in a message to INQUIRER.net.

“It is part of our imagined community and experienced culture. The West Philippine Sea forms part of our national sovereignty in the exercise of our sovereign rights,” he added.