The Senate, wielding its oversight powers, is poised to review the Duterte administration’s “disastrous” foreign policy in the West Philippine Sea in the wake of the latest incident of harassment by Chinese patrol of Filipino fishermen in their traditional fishing ground.
Senate President Vicente Sotto III confirmed Tuesday two committees are already preparing to conduct a joint inquiry on the matter.
“I think it’s already part of the planned hearing of the foreign relations and defense committees,” Sotto told the BusinessMirror when asked if senators will hold hearings to assess options for asserting Filipino fishermen’s rights and preventing a repeat of the most recent Panatag Shoal incident.
The Foreign Relations Committee, chaired by Sen. Loren Legarda, and Sen. Gregorio Honasan’s Defense Committee have yet to fix a date for the initial hearing on the case.
This developed as Sen. Risa Hontiveros on Tuesday decried as a “complete disaster” the failure of the Duterte administration to effectively address Chinese aggression in the WPS.
In a statement, Hontiveros rued that the incident coincided “with the country’s observance of its 120th year of independence” even as she deplored the Duterte government’s foreign policy, “particularly its dealings with China and the West Philippine Sea (as) a complete disaster and a threat to Philippine independence and sovereignty.”
The Senator cited videos that “captured China’s Coast Guard taking the catch of Filipino fishermen on Panatag Shoal off the coast of Zambales province.”
Hontiveros likewise recalled reports that “a Chinese military aircraft had landed at the Davao International raising concerns that it might have breached the country’s diplomatic and security protocols.”
She added: “Palpak at isang malaking banta sa ating kasarinlan ang palasukong foreign policy ni Pangulong Duterte. Palpak itong ipagtanggol ang kaligtasan at kabuhayan ng ating mga mangingisda. Palpak itong ipaglaban ang soberenya at teritorya ng bansa.”
Hontiveros lamented it as “a complete foreign policy disaster.”
“It has squandered our historic victory at the United Nations (UN) Arbitral Tribunal. It betrays our heroes’ struggle for independence against foreign colonizers. It is a policy of annexation to a foreign power,” the Senator added.
At the same time, Sen. Hontiveros pressed for an audit of the Duterte administration’s foreign policy, explaining that “a foreign policy audit could scrutinize what kind of diplomatic actions were undertaken by our foreign affairs officials against China, and what diplomatic platforms and channels were used.”
The Senator stressed a foreign policy audit would also determine if the Duterte administration’s foreign policy framework is “in compliance with our international obligations, particularly the arbitral tribunal ruling on the West Philippine Sea.”
She added: “Amid the timidity, silence and opacity about how Government carries its foreign policy work, we need a public, participatory and comprehensive assessment of its foreign policy directions and implementation. It’s time to audit its foreign policy, especially the so-called 50-100 diplomatic protests and actions undertaken by the foreign affairs department vis-a-vis China. In light of all these threats to and violations of our national sovereignty and territorial integrity, the public deserves to know if the government is really standing up for us.”
Hontiveros asserts that both President Duterte and his foreign affairs officials “have the responsibility to inform the people about their foreign affairs strategy to respond to China’s aggressive actions in the region,” adding that the Filipino people “need to see and be assured that our government is really upholding the country’s national interests.”