By Adolfo Quizon Paglinawan

 

Part 10: Where Brawner sees war, China sees diplomacy

The recently-concluded midterm elections was definitely for sovereignty, but sovereignty a lot different from the narrative narrowly defined by the Marcos administration.

This government limits sovereignty to feigning protection of our territories but not telling the entire story.

Wikipedia defines sovereignty for dummies as supreme authority – our Constitution assigns this “absolute” power to the people of the republic.

The late constitutionalist Alan Paguia said the people only delegates this authority and power to the government, thus what the government possesses is “derivative” sovereignty.

Essentially, elections are all about this delegation.

It includes the creation of laws (legislative), the enforcement of the laws (executive) and the interpretation of the laws (judiciary), in our tripartite system of our government.

Sovereignty can also be distinguished from de jure which is the legal right to do, as delegated through elections and de facto which is the factual ability to do so.

The May 12 vote served as a referendum of how government is exercising its derivative sovereignty from the time Bongbong Marcos took over. The people’s dissatisfaction on how he has been governing expressed in various surveys where the president received as much as negative 49 in trust ratings, has been confirmed by the ballot.

The sovereign people, turning as much as 80% of registered voters, has repudiated the malgovernance of the present regime.

Classic example

Francis Tolentino, who positioned himself on the campaign trail as the champion against China’s alleged “bullying in the South China Sea” and “Chinese spies”, landed 25^th among senatorial bets where only 12 will get seats in the Senate.

As chairperson of the Senate’s Special Committee on Philippine Maritime and Admiralty Zones, Tolentino spearheaded the passage of the Maritime Zones Act and the Archipelagic Sealanes Act – twin laws that serve only the ambitions of the United States for its rules-based freedom of navigation in the South China Seas, but run counter to the best interests of the Filipino people in achieving a preferential attention from China in assisting our economy.

Since February 2023, Bong Bong Marcos signed up with the United States for four additional sites to the initial five American bases for the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement to abandoned the independent foreign policy of his predecessor.

This actualizes the Pentagon’s Agile Combat Employment strategy increasing forward operating jump-off points for the US military, intended for its perceived war with China using Philippine soil.

Since then, Washington DC has increased presence in what Senator Imee Marcos had exposed to be total of not only nine but 25 areas in the country which she said could be targets of a possible Chinese hypersonic missile attack as an offshoot of increased tensions in the South China Seas.

One of these areas is the Benito Ebuen Air Force Base in Mactan, Cebu.

In this province, Pam Baricuatro, the organizer of the Anti-War Movement Forum supported by the Asian Century Philippines Institute, staged an upset by a landslide against well-entrenched political dynasty of incumbent re-electionist Gwen Garcia who even had allegedly engaged in massive vote-buying.

In Cagayan province the site of two EDCA sites, the candidate of outgoing Governor Manuel Mamba, former National Police chief Edgar Aglipay also won over anti-China Dr. Zarah Lara. Mamba, who has also supported Asian Century Philippines Institute’s anti-war movement, achieved a landslide victory as Aglipay’s vice governor. 

National affirmation

The Senate race was also an eye opener. as opposition candidates out performed administration candidates.

Five were directly endorsed by the Dutertes: Bong Go, Bato de la Rosa, Rodante Marcoleta, Camille Villar and Imee Marcos.

Two came from the Liberal Party remnants: Bam Aquino and Kiko Pangilinan,

Although part of the Alyansa Bagoong ticket of President Bongbong Marcos, I am not too sure whether the last five, are really pro-administration:

I am willing to grant that Erwin Tulfo and Lito Lapid will toe the Marcos line.

But I can’t really say the same thing for Tito Sotto, Ping Lacson and Pia Cayetano who have manifested some level of independence. in their long past record in the upper house

This is pivotal for two reasons.

First the impending trial of impeached Vice President Sara Duterte.

I think this impeachment is already dead in the water.

More than three senators are poised to question the constitutionality of entertaining the fourth complaint, when the Constitution provides that succeeding complaints can only be filed at least one year after the first. Some senators have also voiced their objection of continuing the impeachment procedure in the 20^th Congress of a business that was filed during the 19^th session.

Even if the trial pushes through, my count is at least ten senators in the 20^th Congress will not vote to convict the Vice President. These are Go, De la Rosa, Marcoleta, Mark and Camille Villar, Zubiri, Alan Cayetano, Imee Marcos and Robin Padilla. Tenth is Bam Aquino who gave his word to the Iglesia ni Cristo in exchange for its endorsement.

Second, because the quality of Philippine Congress has deteriorated into a pigsty for pork barrel rather than lawmaking, during Marcos’ first three years. The Senate must redeem its credibility and independence from the powers that be, because the lower house has already shown its allegiance to the highest bidder.

I see in the horizon a possible change in the Senate presidency. 

I also see a new ground for continuing electoral reform and remedial amendment for bad laws, especially as I sense an appetite for  a more conducive environment for debates leading to an independent foreign policy which is key to our fast recovery for our micro-economy and better lives for our people.

Bad law

1. Republic Act 9522 degraded the territorial limits where have sovereignty by historic titles through treaties, in favor of exclusive economic zones where we only have sovereign rights or limited entitlements for resources under water down to the seabed.

2. Because the Kalayaan Island Group has become incompatible with Article 47 of the UN Convention of the Laws of the Seas, the Tolentino law ratified its conversion by R.A.9522’s regime of islands under Article 121. The Arbitral Award nullified the archipelagic claims of Presidential Decree 1596 in ¶574 but did not say anything about the regime of islands as it is not within its jurisdiction to award sovereignty based on land.

As a result, we lost 70,000 square kilometers of territorial claim.

3. In blatant violation, the tonto law included the territorial waters of Scarborough Shoal as part of our maritime zones. This runs contradictory to UNCLOS because in international law, because it is not legislation that creates a territorial sea but the land feature from it extends 12 nautical miles from.

On top of that, it is already under the sovereignty of another state, so its twisted inclusion into our legal system is an escalation of conflict with another state.

4. Next is the unilateral creation of a “Luzon Sea” which has no basis in internal or international law as it is way beyond our 12 nautical mile territorial sea. There is no Luzon Sea listed in the International Hydrographic Organization, but only Luzon Straits between Batanes and Taiwan.

5. It also planted ambiguity in the use of terms, sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction in order to hide the frivolity of claiming sovereignty and confuse jurisdiction over waters covering our claimed exclusive economic zones.

Such violates freedom of navigation and overflight over the high seas under Part VII on “High Seas”Article 86 Applications, Article 87 Freedom of the High Seas, Article 88 Reservation of the high seas for peaceful purposes, Article 89 Invalidity of claims of sovereignty over the high seas and Article 90 Right of navigation.

Illegal Philippine patrols

Patrols are not innocent passage. It is an exercise of sovereignty.

Specifically, Article 89 of UNCLOS stipulates: “No State may validly purport to subject any part of the high seas to its sovereignty.”

From April 8 to 15, Chinese Coast Guard had a series of blocking and expulsion incident with BRP Cabra as the latter insisted on patrolling the high seas, 78 nm outside of our territorial waters.

            On April 21, Philippine Navy war ship BRP Apolinario Mabini entered the territorial waters of Scarborough Shoal on its way to join the Balikatan exercises involving US and Philippine resources.

Last May 5, Philippine Navy warship BRP Emilio Jacinto (PS35) attempted to intrude the 12nm territorial sea of Scarborough Shoal that belongs to China, and the People’s Liberation Army Southern Theatre Command, which oversees the South China Sea, dispatched its naval and air forces to monitor, warn, and expel the ship.

We are appealing to Senator Imee Marcos to conduct a public hearing on why the Philippine Coast Guard, the National Security Councilm the Department of National Defense and the Armed Forces of the Philippines, especially the Philippine Navy are not only distorting the narrative in our South China Sea, but most importantly subjecting our uniformed personnel to a clear and present danger of patrolling prohibited waters.

In the light of the utter rejection of the Filipino electorate of outgoing Senator Tolentino, Congress must initiate this urgent constructive conversation in aid of legislation, before somebody gets hurt. The committee must ask him under what divine or foreign inspiration he had in writing his tonto law.

Waste Philippine Sea

As we have proved – if we cannot appropriate the territorial sea around Scarborough Shoal; if the Kalayaan hexagon claimed by PD 1596 has already been nullified by UNCLOS as confirmed by the Arbitral Award and PD 9522; if there is no basis for any Luzon Sea and if our applied “jurisdiction” of the surface of our claimed exclusive economic zone is in gross violation of another UNCLOS provision, then wherefore is the so-called “West Philippine Sea” except from time to time in Google?

This failed narrative and the anti-China propaganda that it has spawned leading to a wild goose chase for Chinese spies, is hurting our country.

Time and again Pulse Asia surveys show that it only caters to 5% of our people’s most urgent concerns.

This West Philippine Sea tall story has stifled true sovereignty that must first address food security that subsidizes farmers and agricultural producers over traders and arrests runaway inflation of the prices of rice and other food products, and employment and livelihood opportunities in the countryside.

As a result, hunger rates soared to 27.2% and self-poverty perception to 63%, the highest in 21 years.

This false priority has resulted in Marcos’ embargo of infrastructure projects and investments coming from China, unreasonable quota for Chinese tourists sending statistics from 4 million to 2017 to 2019 to less than 1 million from 2022 to 2025, and uncertainty of increased exports to China – opportunities that have moved over to our ASEAN neighbors reducing our projected growth rates from below 6% and kicking foreign indebtedness under Marcos to levels exceeding the combination of his past presidents.

Conclusion

This election is definitely a referendum exposing the utter incompetence of this administration to manage the country’s affairs, not to mention the runaway corruption and suppression of human rights it is perpetuating.

It is not Sara Duterte that must be impeached, it is Bong Bong Marcos. There are now civil society groups that have organized to file impeachment proceedings against the President at the opening of the 20^th Congress. We anticipate that to fuel the next people powered regime change in this country riding on the momentum of this administration’s loss in the 2025 election for national positions.

With an 80% turnout at the polling booths, with thousand still disenfranchised, the people are now widely aware that it cannot be a Filipino who is systematically sending the Philippines to newfangled economic and moral ruin.

It cannot be a Filipino who has premeditated, conspired, illegally arrested, illegally detained and kidnapped former President Rodrigo Duterte and sent him to a foreign country

It cannot be a Filipino who willfully escalates conflict in the high seas to push this country to a hot war against another state that is not its enemy.

The Philippines however despite shared roots with China, is once again in bed with neo-colonial United States.

It pains me to accept that we Filipinos romanticize our being “brown brothers” to the Americans, allowing ourselves to be pawns to our former colonial masters’ “rules-based order”, instead of learning from our ASEAN neighbors how to deal with neighboring China.

Our lawfare in the South China Seas is not protecting our territorial claims but to ensure that the United States has freedom of navigation for its warships.

Former President Duterte has taught us that China can be simply won by sending our public servants in foreign affairs to overcome their functional illiteracy, stop serving as lazy and corrupt lawyers for the gringos, and work instead at diplomacy and bilateral negotiations.

The spokesman in Beijing has even made simpler when he said “Those play with fire, perish by it.

To be continued, next: Options for development amidst de-escalation

   

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