BORONGAN CITY — The Philippines and China should work to ease heightening tensions over a maritime dispute, House of Representatives Minority Leader Marcelino “Nonoy” Libanan said in a statement on Sunday, March 31.
“Both countries should exhaust all diplomatic avenues to de-escalate the situation,” Libanan said.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. had earlier said that the Philippines “will not surrender its sovereign rights” amid China’s intimidation.
“We seek no conflict with any nation, more so with nations that purport and claim to be our friends, but we will not be cowed into silence, submission or subservience. Filipinos do not yield,” Mr. Marcos said.
China Coast Guard vessels water-cannoned and heavily damaged a Philippine civilian boat on a resupply mission to Ayungin Shoal on March 23, setting off an exchange of angry protests between Manila and Beijing.
Meanwhile, Libanan is worried that international news reports of worsening tensions “might dampen the Philippines’ efforts to attract additional foreign direct investments that are badly needed to produce new jobs for Filipinos.”
“We are very concerned that prospective foreign investors might misperceive and misunderstand the tensions as a looming security risk,” Libanan said.
Libanan noted that the President himself has been visiting other countries “precisely to encourage their corporations to put up factories in the Philippines.”
“In fact, we, in Congress, are even trying to find ways to relax the restrictive economic provisions of our Constitution, in order to lure more foreign investors to come in and create new employment opportunities for Filipinos,” Libanan pointed out.
Libanan cited the need for the Marcos administration “to reassure potential foreign investors that regardless of the maritime dispute, the Philippines remains highly conducive to profitable business activities.”
“We must stress that despite the tensions, the Philippines offers a stable, peaceful, and safe haven for the gainful production of goods and services by foreign investors,” Libanan said. (PR)
