‘𝑆𝑎 𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑛 𝑎𝑛𝑔 𝑊𝑒𝑠𝑡 𝑃ℎ𝑖𝑙𝑖𝑝𝑝𝑖𝑛𝑒 𝑆𝑒𝑎’

𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗦𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗼𝘀 𝗖𝗶𝘁𝘆—Student-leaders of NDDU actively joined the Multi-Sectoral Forum on the West Philippine Sea hosted by the Philippine Information Agency (PIA) Region 12 earlier today, August 29 at the SM General Santos Atrium.

With the theme, “Sa West Philippine Sea, ang yaman nito ay para sa Pilipino,” Commodore Jay Tristan Tarriela, PCG Spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea, highlighted the strategic importance of asserting our sovereign rights over the disputed maritime territory.

“Ang West Philippine Sea—hindi ito dapat pag-agawan [pinag-aagawan], hindi ito dapat angkinin ng kung sinong [anong] bansa… dahil ito ay pag-aari ng Pilipino,” he stated.

Moreover, Commodore Tarriela said that the Philippines will not withdraw its claim and will never start a war after being asked regarding the ongoing tension in the WPS.

“Sometimes, it’s very casual for us to complain—”‘bat hindi sila lumaban, sana binangga din [rin] nila”—kapag ginawa mo ‘yan, obviously, it will result to [in] a greater conflict and we would allow China to bring in their warship. The president doesn’t want any escalation of tension in the West Philippine Sea. The end line for this is for China to stop the aggression,” PCG Spokesperson emphasized.

Meanwhile, the forum was aligned with the government’s extensive advocacy campaign which aims to intensify discussions on the country’s claim to the WPS.