Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. on Wednesday discussed the digital billboard spotted along EDSA displaying his no-holds-bar remarks against China's "creeping" aggression in the West Philippine Sea.

The giant billboard featured Teodoro's quote pulled out from one of his media interviews which read: If we don't stop [them], China is going to creep and creep into what is within our sovereign jurisdiction, our sovereign rights, and within our territory.

At the Kapihan sa Manila Bay media forum on Wednesday, Teodoro said the publishing of the billboard was out of his hands and just came "out of civic duty" of his Filipino-Chinese supporter.

"I have nothing to do with those billboards. I did that statement during a TV interview, and one of our supporters, who is  Filipino-Chinese…found it to be resonant and started posting it on electronic billboards out of a sense of civic duty, I suppose because I have had no conversations with him," he stressed.

Photos of Teodoro's digital billboard posted by netizens went viral and garnered various comments with some praising Teodoro's patriotism while others saw it as mere political clout, readying himself for a senatorial bid in 2025.

Teodoro sees nothing wrong about the publishing of the billboard quoting him. He said it was part of the freedom of speech being exercised in a democratic country, like the Philippines.

"If it was supposed to be a political ad, number one the most telling thing I wouldn't have used complicated language, I would have said it in Tagalog, Ilocano, or Bisaya, so it was really captured from an interview I gave media, and it was posted on a website, admittedly the website of my supporters but the billboard thing was I really have nothing to, who did it," he said.

"Nevertheless, this a country that prides itself and cherishes freedom of speech, and what I said was the truth and if the truth hurts, so be it," he said.

Teodoro said he is ready to stand for his statement and he doesn't have to explain himself as he has taken a strong stance against China's aggressive actions in WPS.

"If there will be consequences, I'm ready to face them but I just said the truth so that's that for me. I do not owe any explanation to any foreign entity for that because there is freedom of speech in this country," he emphasized.

In his previous media interviews, Teodoro has repeatedly called out China's attempts to block the resupply missions of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and water cannon attacks on Philippine ships as well as the swarming of Chinese vessels that led to the destruction of coral reefs.

He was also a firm believer that the Philippines has the right to protect and defend the country's exclusive economic zone in the WPS.

"Nevertheless, I thank the supporter of who flashed it on the billboard for his conviction and standing up for the rights of the Filipino people in our territorial sea, our 200-mile EEZ, and other areas where we have sovereign jurisdictions," he said.

The defense chief underscored the 2016 arbitral ruling which favored the Philippines' claims in WPS as well as the invalidation of China's assertion of its supposed historical rights in the entire South China Sea.

China, on the other hand, continuously ignored the international law order and even strengthened its presence in the WPS, including its dangerous maneuvers against Philippine vessels and Filipino fisherfolk traversing the waters off Scarborough Shoal, Rizal Reef, and Ayungin Shoal.

"Our operations within the 200 nautical mile EEZ will proceed according to plans whatever this other entity has or whatever other countries do within our legitimate rights to do so, and to reiterate we are not provoking anybody because we are doing legitimate activities within our 200 nautical mile EEZ and other territorial jurisdictions," said Teodoro.