Senator Imee Marcos on Monday warned her brother, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., about his newly signed Executive Order (EO) 57 which she said would welcome a “Trojan horse of foreign interference.”

Senator Marcos pointed specifically to Section 7 of the EO, which the President signed on 25 March, two days after the 23 March water cannon assault by the China Coast Guard against Philippine vessels in the West Philippine Sea.

 “Emotion rather than reason has prevailed in our maritime conflict with China and is leading us down a dangerous path that will cost us more than just Filipino pride,” she said.

“Our country’s defense posture is far from being self-reliant and the urge to retaliate soonest is about to pay the price of foreign interference,” she added.

She argued that Section 7 “welcomes many a Trojan horse of foreign interference through ‘donations, contributions, grants, bequests, or gifts from domestic and foreign sources’ that the National Maritime Center has been authorized to accept.”

President Marcos signed EO 57 creating the National Maritime Center to strengthen the country’s maritime security and maritime domain awareness amid the escalating tension in the West Philippine Sea.

Senator Marcos noted that the section, which she described as a “largesse,” would be the “fuel to never-ending conflict, as we still see in Ukraine and Gaza.”

Genuine allies?

“To prevent yet another regional conflict, what we need instead are solutions for peace from those who claim to be our genuine allies,” she said.

“Even declarations of support lack credibility where a rules-based international order is loudly invoked amid the mute refusal to ratify the UNCLOS (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea),” she said.

The United States, a staunch advocate of the Philippines’ sovereign rights against China’s expansive claims in the West Philippine Sea, is not a state party to UNCLOS.

Senator Marcos over the weekend called on her brother’s administration to adopt a more diplomatic approach in dealing with China amid the escalating tension in the West Philippine Sea.

She urged the President to ignore what she referred to as the “influence” of Americans in the South China Sea territorial dispute, which she claimed was a result of the upcoming elections in the US.

She revealed that she is currently not on speaking terms with the President.

Senator Marcos reiterated that putting the lives of Filipinos in danger is a “gross irresponsibility and must be avoided at all costs.”

“I will not allow the life of even one Filipino to be put in danger. However, it is also clear to me that we should not surrender our rights in the West Philippine Sea,” she said.

“Let us be steadfast in the face of this challenge, but let calm thinking and speaking, and calculated decisions prevail,” she added.

Path of peace

She batted for a proper dialogue with China and other claimant countries to the islands and other features in the West Philippine Sea.

She reminded the administration that it is “important to encourage our citizens to tread the path of peace and understanding because this will not lead us to harm.”

“Let us not be hasty, let us not “be reckless, so that we can safeguard the welfare of our people,” she said.