A PHILIPPINE senator on Tuesday called on the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) to create an information awareness campaign for the public to completely understand the country’s territorial dispute over the South China Sea.
“It is incumbent upon the PCO to provide clear, up-to-date and accurate information on matters of public concern relating to the security challenges confronting our country,” Senator Robinhood “Robin” C. Padilla said in Senate Resolution No. 864, which calls on the PCO to help the public understand legal documents, international treaties and bilateral and multilateral agreements related to defending Philippine maritime territories.
He said Filipinos must be educated on the implications of the 2016 ruling made by a United Nations (UN)-backed arbitration court that voided China’s sweeping claim over the South China Sea and the Philippines’ Mutual Defense Treaty with the United States, among others.
PCO Secretary Cheloy Velicaria-Garafil did not immediately reply to a Viber message seeking comment.
Mr. Padilla, who heads the Senate public information and mass media panel, said the public should also be made aware of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), as it defines coastal and maritime boundaries over which a country’s sovereign rights should be exercised.
President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. has called for the need to enforce the 2016 arbitral ruling and the UNCLOS to assert the Philippines’ sovereignty in the South China Sea.
The senator said the PCO should also expound on the proposed Reciprocal Access Agreement between the Philippines and Japan as well as other bilateral agreements related to maritime defense and security.
“Coinciding with the seriousness of this issue is the risk of spreading propaganda, misinformation, and fake news with the advent of social media, which can greatly impact our pursuit of good governance and ultimately undermine democracy,” Mr. Padilla said.
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said the Philippines has filed 125 diplomatic protests against China from July 2022 to Nov. 7 this year over encroachments and other contentious activities of Chinese vessels inside the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ). — Beatriz Marie D. Cruz
