Leaders of the Municipality of Kalayaan in Palawan have petitioned Congress to expunge from its records Senator Rodante Marcoleta’s “defeatist” remarks, which suggested giving up the town to China to defuse tensions in the West Philippine Sea.

In a resolution furnished Senate President Vicente Sotto III, the municipality’s Sangguniang Bayan (SB) asserted that keeping Marcoleta’s statements in the permanent records of the Commission on Appointments (CA), where he floated the proposal during a hearing on 4 February, implied a “consent” to abandon the Kalayaan Island Group (KIG).

The officials denounced the remarks as a “betrayal” and a “dismissal” of the residents’ right to live securely within their territory.

“Such an insinuation effectively ‘orphans’ a legitimate political subdivision of the Republic of the Philippines and mocks the bravery of the men and women stationed on Pag-asa Island and its surrounding features,” the resolution read.

The SB said it will not cede an inch of the KIG, adding that “any record suggesting otherwise is a historical error that must be corrected.”

Sotto, the CA’s ex-officio chairperson, confirmed receiving the resolution on Thursday but declined to comment on possible developments pending a review of procedures.

Motion needed

Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo Lacson said he agreed that Marcoleta’s contentious statements should be expunged from the record, but added that this would require a formal motion.

“A motion to strike off the record of the CA is needed. A letter addressed to CA chairman, Senate President Vicente Sotto III, through the CA defense committee chairman will serve as a strong basis for such a motion,” Lacson said.

Earlier, Lacson warned that retaining Marcoleta’s remarks in the congressional records could weaken the country’s position on the KIG, a focal point in the Philippines-China territorial dispute in the South China Sea. Kalayaan is part of the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea, located west of Palawan.

China continues to assert jurisdiction over nearly the entire South China Sea, which overlaps the West Philippine Sea, despite a 2016 international arbitral ruling that invalidated Beijing’s expansive maritime claims.

Marcoleta drew backlash after saying the Philippines should “give up” the KIG and that Filipinos should not “die for it,” arguing that its features were “way beyond” the country’s exclusive economic zone.