Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea Commodore Jay Tarriela on Monday questioned Senate Deputy Minority Leader Rodante Marcoleta’s call for a “friendly debate” on the West Philippine Sea (WPS), stressing that the country’s territorial integrity should never be up for discussion.
In a television interview, Tarriela underscored that as a senator, Marcoleta took an oath to uphold the Philippines’ sovereign rights, making debates on the issue unnecessary.
“There’s no reason for us to do debates. And our territorial integrity is not a subject for debate,” Tarriela said.
“I just find it weird na bilang isang senador, makikipag-debate ka at ang pag-uusapan natin ay the West Philippine Sea na sinuportahan naman ng 2016 arbitral award and we also enacted our own republic act to define our maritime zones,” he added.
Marcoleta earlier challenged Tarriela, retired Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio, and University of the Philippines maritime affairs professor Jay Batongbacal to a debate, following the PCG official’s invitation for him to join a maritime domain awareness flight to the Kalayaan Island Group—an offer Tarriela said still stands.
“To include Justice Carpio and Atty. Batongbacal, there’s no reason for us to respond sa debate na hamon ni Senator Marcoleta,” Tarriela said.
The PCG spokesperson also questioned Marcoleta’s grasp of his oath of office, criticizing narratives that appear to counter the Philippine government’s legal position on the contested waters.
“This kind of narrative, countering our own position and even questioning the legal position of the Philippine government in the West Philippine Sea, parang kakaiba lang,” he said.
Tarriela emphasized that defending the country’s maritime rights is a duty of lawmakers and should not be treated as a political exercise.
“Because again, kung tayo lahat bilang Pilipino, dapat ating suportahan ang ating posisyon dito. We should not be the reason to doubt it, especially if you’re a member of the legislation,” he added.