Marcoleta seeks amendment of minutes that include ‘give up KIG’ remark

MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Rodante Marcoleta objected on Wednesday to the adoption of the proposed minutes of the Commission on Appointments dated February 4, asking that the portion where he made the “give up the Kalayaan Island Group” remark be removed and replaced from the chamber’s records.

Marcoleta brought up the matter during the Commission on Appointments’ Wednesday hearing on the appointments of 81 officials of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

In his manifestation, Marcoleta emphasized that as a member of the commission, it is his right and responsibility to ensure that an accurate summation of statements is rightfully reflected in the minutes.

READ: Marcoleta backpedals on West Philippine Sea remarks

“These are not meaningless documentation or records, but become part of this Commission’s history and legacy. On this note, I would like to make the following corrections on the draft minutes: from page 7, third to the last paragraph, until page 8, 4th paragraph, delete the entire portion pertaining to my interpellation with Captain Jess B. Pilar,” said Marcoleta.

Marcoleta emphasized that his proposed amendments are not intended to alter the substance of the proceeding but merely to “ensure that the minutes of the committee hearing faithfully and accurately reflect what was actually stated on record.”

“The integrity of our institutional processes depends upon the reliability of our official documents, and any material mischaracterization, however unintended, must be rectified. In view of the foregoing, I respectfully move that the proposed minutes be amended, and that the revised minutes be adopted in the interest of accuracy, fairness, and safekeeping of accurate legislative record,” he said.

With this, he wants the minutes, which was prepared by the secretariat, be replaced with the following:

“Sen. Rodante Marcoleta expressed his views on the issues surrounding the West Philippine Sea. The Senator said that the recent controversy started with Commodore Jay Tristan Tarriela’s public discussion on the subject, wherein he called the Chinese President Xi Jinping a bully, and showed unappealing caricatures of the Chinese President which clearly offended the Chinese Embassy. Senator Marcoleta asked if there is a policy that heads of other countries be subjected to satire and be vilified through caricature, to which Captain Pilar said that there is none. Senator Marcoleta then shared a portion of the Department of Foreign Affairs’ letter to Senator Hontiveros which stated that disputes between states are best addressed through diplomatic channels than in public, and that escalation, even in public messaging, should only be done when it advances clear strategic objectives and the national interest. He then asked Captain Pilar what we gained strategically from Commodore Tarriela’s actions in terms of national interest, to which Captain Pilar replied that being a member of AFP, they were just voicing out that our seas, our rights, and what is legally ours as stated in our laws. Senator Marcoleta replied that while what is legally ours must be defended, Commodore Tarriela should be transparent in explaining that the West Philippine Sea and the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) are two different animals.

Sen. Marcoleta then proceeded to explain technical details on the West Philippine Sea, stating that the archipelagic baselines have been defined under Republic Act No. 9552, and that from the archipelagic baseline, we can already measure our EEZ, contiguous zone and territorial sea. However, he highlighted the fact that the arbitral award only ruled on our EEZ.

He emphasized that the four features of the Kalayaan Island Group (KIG) – Pag-asa, Parola, Kota, and Lankiam currently being occupied by the Philippines are located beyond our EEZ. Captain Pilar maintained that these features are within our EEZ and that they can also generate their own EEZs.

Senator Marcoleta, however, reiterated his point that these four features are indeed beyond the country’s EEZ and that, as rocks, these features do not generate their own EEZ. He said that the problem lies with how people tend to use both terms (EEZ and West Philippine Sea interchangeably.

Senator Marcoleta said that under Administrative Order No. 29(2012), the National Mapping and Resource Information Authority (NAMRIA) and the DA are required to prepare an official map of the Philippines with the West Philippine Sea; to deposit it with the office of the United Nations Secretary-General; and to notify the appropriate international organizations. However, this was not complied with despite the passage of several years precisely because of the legal complexities surrounding the KIG that lies outside our EEZ. He said that if a map is drawn to claim the high seas, we will violate UNCLOS itself.

With the dilemma of plotting the West Philippine Sea that will include the waters of the KIG in the high seas, Senator Marcoleta used a hypothetical scenario of giving up the KIG if only to simplify the problem of delimiting the West Philippine Sea.

He further said that within the South China Sea are the EEZs of different countries, and that Vietnam, Malaysia, and China were able to manage their differences and, consequently, had numerous oil and gas exploration projects within their areas. The Philippines has been left behind on this aspect as we have been unable to manage our disputes.

Finally, Senator Marcoleta mentioned that when he met with the Chinese Ambassador, the latter opened up his willingness to discuss with all concerned agencies of the Philippine Government. Senator Marcoleta then suggested that we should begin to engage with them and to start with less contentious matters, such as fishing rights, which both parties may benefit from.”

Shortly after Marcoleta’s appeal, Sen. Risa Hontiveros pointed out the lack of material time due to the long and substantive revision that Marcoleta wants.

Commission on Appointments Majority Floor Leader Rep. JJ Romualdo, meanwhile, said due to lack of material time, there is a need to reschedule Marcoleta’s concern in the next hearing of the commission on national defense.

“We need more time for this to tackle these correction[s] of the minutes of the last hearing,” he said.

In the same session, the powerful commission approved the ad interim appointments of 81 flag and senior officers of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. /mr