Marcoleta grills Tarriela after backlash on ‘no such thing’ as WPS quip

Sagip party-list Rep. Rodante Marcoleta and Philippine Coast Guard Commodore Jay Tarriela —INQUIRER.net file photos

MANILA, Philippines — Due to the online public backlash he has received, Sagip party-list Rep. Rodante Marcoleta on Tuesday grilled Commodore Jay Tarriela, a Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesperson, for calling him out when he said “there is no such thing as the West Philippine Sea.”

During the resumption of the House tri-committee hearing, Marcoleta could not help but bring up the statement of the PCG spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea reportedly calling  him a “traitor.”

READ: Marcoleta backpedals on West Philippine Sea remarks

“Now, there was a commodore who called me a traitor without looking into the context of what I was talking about. Why not tell them that we have been trying to register the West Philippine Sea, but we could not register it so it is not recognized?” Marcoleta said in Fiilipino.

Marcoleta explained that he only meant the West Philippine Sea was not visible on maps.

“Since it’s not yet registered, countries in Europe would need to search this on YouTube first before they can see the West Philippine Sea’s location since anyone who would Google that particular area of our world can only read the South China Sea label,” he said.

“But it doesn’t mean that the South China Sea is solely owned by China — in the same manner that the Indian Ocean is not solely owned by India,” he added.

In response, Tarriela clarified that he did not call Marcoleta a traitor and was only referring to President Ferdinand Marcos’s statement.

Reading his statement, Tarriela said that he only stood by the statement of Marcos who said in Filipino:  “The West Philippine Sea is not a figment of our imagination. It is ours. It will continue to be ours as long as our spirit continues to burn for our beloved country.”

“Hearing someone claim that the ‘West Philippine Sea’ is merely a fabrication of the Philippine government is a disservice and an embarrassment to their entire party, the organization they belong to, and even their own family,” Tarriela’s statement posted on X (formerly Twitter) last February 4 read.

“How can one face the younger generations today and tell them that our Exclusive Economic Zone to the west of our archipelago is nonexistent, effectively giving up the fight to assert their rights as Filipinos in the West Philippine Sea?” he added.

Still irked by the bashing he received, Marcoleta asked Tarriela why he had not issued a statement clarifying that the “traitor” remark did not come from him.

“I am not under any obligation to tell all social media influencers [or] bloggers to defend your name, to tell them that you are not a traitor. Those words did not come from me. Why would I go to the extent of defending you when you are running for Senate?” the PCG official answered.

“I might as well be interpreted as running for or supporting somebody for public office,” he further asserted.