Kalayaan execs want senator’s ‘give up’ remarks expunged

HERE TO STAY Kalayaan Vice Mayor Philip Alexis Albayda delivers a privilege speech calling out the remarks of Sen. Rodante Marcoleta, during of a session of the municipal council on Feb. 10. —GERALDFORD TICKE

PUERTO PRINCESA CITY—Local officials of Kalayaan town in Palawan, who earlier incurred the ire of the Chinese Embassy for issuing a resolution censuring its ambassador, are now in collective outrage over the statements recently made by a Filipino senator.

The municipal council condemned the suggestion coming from Sen. Rodante Marcoleta for the Philippine government to just “give up” the Kalayaan Island Group (KIG) so as not to complicate the country’s assertion of sovereign rights in the West Philippine Sea (WPS).

The sentiment was conveyed in a resolution authored by Vice Mayor Maurice Philip Alexis Albayda and adopted by the body last week.

Albayda on Wednesday personally delivered a copy of the resolution to the office of Senate President Vicente Sotto III.

The resolution expressed the council’s “vigorous indignation and formal protest against the remarks suggesting the abandonment of the KIG.”

‘Defeatist statements’

It asked the Commission on Appointments (CA) “to expunge such defeatist sentiments from the congressional records to preserve the dignity and the integrity of our municipality.”

There was no immediate response from Marcoleta on Thursday when the Inquirer sought his comment on the resolution.

The senator brought up the issue of the WPS and the KIG during a CA hearing on Feb. 4, when the panel was deliberating on the appointments of high-ranking Navy officers.

READ: Kalayaan council to Marcoleta’s abandonment of islands: Strike it off

Addressing the officers, the senator asked: “What are we going to get killed for here? We will offer our lives, including the lives of our children, and die for it, for something that is not within our EEZ (exclusive economic zone)?”

“To make things easier, we can give up the KIG and then, coordinate everything. But until—and unless—the KIG is there… if it is outside our exclusive economic zone, how can it be considered part of the entire West Philippine Sea?” Marcoleta added.

The senator has since drawn flak from both the public and legal experts on the matter, to the point of being accused of supporting China’s position in its maritime dispute with the Philippines.

Insulted and offended

Albayda introduced the resolution during a council session on Feb. 10 after delivering a privilege speech on Marcoleta’s statements.

In his speech, Albayda said he was taken aback by the statements, especially since it came from a Filipino senator.

The statements cannot be possibly misinterpreted or taken out of context since they were clear to all who heard it, he said, adding: “I listened [to them] once again, looking for the complete context, but unfortunately it was as it is.”

He said the people of Kalayaan, especially those living on Pag-asa Island, were insulted and offended by Marcoleta’s statements.

“Because even before the statement to surrender the Kalayaan Island Group, the residents of Pag-asa Island had already surrendered something else—a better and more convenient life living in other cities. But they chose a simple yet meaningful life (of living on the island away from civilization),” the official said.

Established by presidential decree in 1978 as part of Philippine territory, the Kalayaan municipality administers a cluster of seven islands in the West Philippine Sea, with Pag-asa island serving as the seat of government.

The resolution calling out Marcoleta stressed how Kalayaan residents “continue to brave the vast seas and face daily challenges to maintain a Filipino presence in the West Philippine Sea, serving as the country’s first line of defense and living symbols of our sovereignty.”

Albayda said the municipal government owed it to the people of Pag-asa Island to take a stand and speak out for them, since staying silent would be tantamount to surrendering the island.

Having Marcoleta’s remarks expunged from congressional records would be the least that can be done for the residents, though they were “already recorded in the hearts and minds of every Kalayaanon and every Palaweño who value their being Filipinos.”

Mayor also dismayed

Kalayaan Mayor Beltsazar Alindogan also expressed disappointment with Marcoleta’s statements.

“Although I understand him, I am personally saddened and we are not expecting that such statements would come from a senator of the republic,” Alindogan told the Inquirer. “Most of the residents of Pag-asa have been living there for more than 30 years.”

Alindogan extended an invitation for Marcoleta to visit Kalayaan and see how it had developed since its founding as a town than four decades ago.

The Kalayaan municipal council made headlines in January when it passed a resolution declaring the Chinese ambassador to the Philippines, Jin Quang, persona non grata. It was to censure the diplomat for his criticism of Philippine officials defending the country’s position in the West Philippine Sea dispute.

In retaliation, the embassy declared a travel ban on the council members, prohibiting them from entering mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau.

Earlier this week, the council members—now collectively dubbed the “Kalayaan 16”—received an award from the Akbayan party list group and the Atin Ito Coalition for being “Heroes of the West Philippine Sea.”