Letty Shahani hailed for standing up to China, US

Former Sen. Leticia Ramos Shahani. INQUIRER.NET

“More  than just being an accomplished diplomat, legislator and women’s rights advocate, (she) was a nationalist who harbored a fierce sense of patriotism,” former party-list Rep. Neri Colmenares said of former Sen. Leticia “Letty” Ramos-Shahani, who died on March 20 of colon cancer. She was 87.

In a statement on Wednesday, Colmenares expressed the “profound sense of loss” by the group P1nas, or Pilipinong Nagkakaisa Para sa Soberanya, whose advocacy is the preservation and defense of Philippine territorial integrity.  Shahani was one of the group’s founders.

“In the latter years of her life, (Shahani’s) advocacy (of) an independent foreign policy led her to be a convenor of P1nas,” said Colmenares, a fellow P1nas convenor.

The former congressman recalled how Shahani, along with other former legislators and civil society leaders, joined public opposition to China’s incursions into the West Philippine Sea, as well as the United States’ increasing military presence in the country.

“We share her strong position that Philippine interest should not be held hostage to the imperialist designs of either China or the United States,” Colmenares said.

He also lauded Shahani for her efforts in helping people understand the intricacies of the arbitration case filed by the Philippines against China on Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal and Kalayaan (Spratly) islands, and the concepts of territorial integrity and maritime sovereignty.

“Even as she was suffering from her illness, she took every opportunity to speak out and act to defend Philippine sovereignty through what she called  ‘people’s diplomacy.’  She actively participated in P1NAS’ events and even joined a fact-finding and solidarity mission to Zambales province to support Filipino fishermen in their struggle to assert the country’s rights over Panatag,” Colmenares said.

The former congressman described as “valuable” Shahani’s input “especially at this time of confusion” on the Duterte administration’s foreign policy direction.