Alejano: Palace virtually surrendered PH claim to Kagitingan

Gary Alejano

By “thanking” China for establishing a rescue center on Kagitingan Reef, Malacañang has virtually surrendered the Philippines’ claim to the disputed feature in the Spratly archipelago, according to Magdalo Rep. Gary Alejano.

“Why should we be grateful to those who are stealing our territory?” the former Marine captain said on Friday.

“Allowing China to occupy a highly contested reef is in itself act of surrendering. What they are doing is an outright assertion of dominance,” Alejano said.

“If we thank China for building a rescue center in one of the disputed islands in the West Philippine Sea, it is like recognizing and agreeing to their right to occupy and govern over said territory,” he said in a statement.

He was reacting to presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo’s statement that “maybe, we should be thankful [for the rescue center].”

Panelo had suggested that the center could help distressed seafarers in the area, even as he gave his assurance that the government “will always protest on anything that intrudes into our sovereignty.” —DJ YAP