ANOTHER country occupying any part of the Philippines, including our territorial waters, is something the Filipino people, particularly government officials, will “never, never ignore.”
Thus, it is not surprising that more and more Filipinos are joining Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana scream against the continued presence of Chinese ships at the Julian Felipe Reef.
Lorenzana, the fighting retired army general who traces his roots to the town of San Quintin in vote-rich Pangasinan, is a member of Class 1973 of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA).
Another member of PMA Class 1973 is ex-police Gen. Isidro S. Lapena of Urdaneta City, Pangasinan, who is director-general of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority.
In the view of many, government officials, like Lorenzana, deserve the support of the people as they defend our sovereign rights over the Julian Felipe Reef in the West Philippine Sea (WPS).
No less than Sen. Panfilo “Ping” Lacson, a former chief of the Philippine National Police and himself a PMA graduate, said Filipinos should stand foursquare behind Secretary Lorenzana.
Lacson said our country is losing tens of billions of pesos a year in “stolen” aquatic resources, not to mention the wanton destruction of coral reefs within our Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
Another member of Congress, Senator Grace Poe, said: “The West Philippine Sea is ours. It is incumbent upon the government to defend and preserve every inch of the territory.”
It is the sworn duty of the government to stand up against all acts that are inimical to the highest interest of the country and the people, according to the lady senator.
Filipinos, including the ordinary citizens, need to be shocked into realization that there’s that urgent need to work in unison “para walang makaagaw sa ating mga teritoryo.“
