Malacañang on Monday distanced itself from a call made by Albay Gov. Joey Salceda that urged Filipinos to boycott Chinese-made products to send a strong signal regarding Beijing’s “bullying” in connection with the dispute over the Spratly Islands, or in Malacañang’s term, West Philippine Sea.
“We respect his opinion but, again, let me state that this is not the administration’s policy,” Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said on Monday.
“We have a healthy trade with the People’s Republic of China so it’s not something that we could immediately call for without consequences on our part and as well as their part,” Lacierda said.
Lacierda added, “Our counter-thought is that we are going for a peaceful resolution on the conflict in the West Philippine Sea.”
A senior Philippine diplomat said the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) would not endorse Salceda’s proposal.
But the DFA source, who asked not to be named, added, “Neither do we object to it as it is a legitimate expression of the sentiments felt by many Filipinos.”
On Sunday, Salceda said in his Independence Day speech at the provincial hall in Legazpi City: “Let us boycott ‘Made in China’ products. Let us hurt them where it counts.”
By not buying Chinese, the former economic adviser during the Arroyo administration added, “we also protect our children and communities from the pervasive and persistent risks of various types of contamination and poor quality of their products.”
For its part, a militant group said it believed that Salceda needed a “major, major reality check” for calling on Filipinos to boycott Chinese products over the dispute.
Terry Ridon, chair of the League of Filipino Students (LFS), called Salceda’s call an “unrealistic proposition.”
“It would essentially render most of us naked with meager foodstuff and no appliances at home and in the workplace,” he said.
The LFS leader also said he was “betting my bottom peso that even [Salceda’s] office would cease to function in such a boycott.”
Bayan Muna party-list Rep. Neri Colmenares said, “A boycott of Chinese products or not traveling to China now will not help quell the rising tension in the Spratlys.”
“On the contrary, it will only aggravate the situation. If China retaliates, it may result in thousands of our overseas Filipino workers in China being harassed,” Colmenares added.
Asked if Filipinos should still buy Chinese goods despite the China’s strong-arm tactics, Lacierda replied, “I think we have an investment in the trade between China and the Philippines and it is not something we can easily dismiss.”
Lacierda said that the territorial role between the Philippines and China might have prompted a resurgence of nationalism among Filipinos but cautioned against reacting to the controversy narrow-mindedly.
“Anecdotally, we have seen [a rise] of nationalism. We have to be very tempered in our response. We have to look at the issue from the whole perspective, not just from the point of trying to be nationalistic out of reason,” Lacierda said.
Lacierda said he doubted that the issue could provoke hatred for Chinese and Filipino-Chinese. “We’ve seen that among the southeast Asian nations, we have not experienced any form of sinophobia in our country.” he said.