(MANILA BULLETIN) Senators on Sunday, March 2 denounced the Chinese social media platforms that claim China has jurisdiction and ownership of Palawan Island.
“This latest baseless and inaccessible historical fiction, as asserted by our National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP), on Chinese social media platforms over the jurisdiction and ownership of Palawan Island is a blatant affront to our nation’s sovereignty and another reckless distortion of historical truth,” Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada said in a statement.
“Lahat na lang—our territorial waters, aerospace at ngayon pati probinsya—inaangkin nila (They stake a claim to everything—our territorial waters, aerospace and now even a province),” Estrada added.
“Palawan was never part of China and the NHCP clearly asserted these false claims circulating in Chinese social media platforms emphasizing its being devoid of any credible historical or legal foundation,” he reiterated.
Estrada said this latest development is just another fake news they are intentionally spreading.
“Mabuti na lang ay maagap ang NHCP sa pag call out sa hindi kapani-paniwala at hinugot sa hangin na salaysay (It’s good that the NHCP is prompt in calling out the unbelievable and pulled from the air narrative),” he said.
At the same time, Estrada called on all concerned government agencies to remain vigilant against dissemination of any form of disinformation or fringe propaganda challenging the country’s territorial sovereignty.
“Sa atin ang Palawan at malinaw na malinaw ito (Palawan is ours and this is very clear). No amount of internet trolling can change or rewrite history and create confusion to influence public perception,” he said.
Senate Majority Leader Francis Tolentino also denounced China’s move of claiming Palawan is part of its territory.
“Ayusin na lang muna nila yung lugar nila. Sobra na yun, di naman kanila yung Palawan (Let them fix their own place. That’s already too much, Palawan is not theirs),” Tolentino also said in an interview at the sidelines of his election campaign.
“Mimaropa yung Palawan, Region IV-B, hindi yun Guangdong (Palawan is part of the Mimaropa region, Revion IV-B, and not of Guangdong),” he stressed.
The Mimaropa Region consists of the provinces of Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon and Palawan.