The Commission on Appointments (CA) risks committing falsification of legislative documents if it were to amend its records pursuant to Senator Rodante Marcoleta’s request to either replace or remove his controversial remarks suggesting “giving up” the Kalayaan Island Group in the West Philippines Sea to defuse tensions with China. 

Senator Ping Lacson issued the warning on Saturday, asserting that granting Marcoleta’s motion must be closely examined, otherwise members of the powerful panel risk being implicated as his “co-conspirators” for violating Article 170 of the Revised Penal Code. 

“Falsification of legislative records is punishable under Art. 170 of the Revised Penal Code. That is why we must carefully study the legal implications,” Lacson said in a radio interview, adding that he already advised  Senate President Tito Sotto, the CA’s ex-oficio chair, on the matter.

“We must be careful lest we be charged with falsification of legislative records and be implicated as co-conspirators because we approved the amendment,” he added.

The provision imposes a prison term and a fine of up to P6,000 for any person who, without proper authority, alters a bill, resolution, or ordinance enacted, approved, or pending approval by Congress, a provincial board, or a municipal council.

Marcoleta’s motion is still pending as the CA members deferred its approval during a 25 February hearing due to a lack of material time. 

Marcoleta has drawn intense backlash and has been derided as “Tsinador”, a slang term for a pro-China senator, after proposing to  “give up” KIG during a 4 February CA hearing on the ad-interim appointment of 35 senior officials of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. 

In the same hearing, the opposition senator said Filipinos should not “die for it” as its features are “way beyond” the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone. He has since walked back his statements, asserting that they were taken out of context and that his detractors deliberately manipulated the narrative to incite public outrage.

Barely two weeks later, Kalayaan town officials petitioned Congress to expunge Marcoleta’s “defeatist” remarks from its records. 

They asserted that keeping Marcoleta’s statements in the CA’s permanent records implied “consent" to abandon the KIG. They denounced Marcoleta’s remarks as “betrayal” and “dismissal” of the residents’ right to live securely within their territory. 

“[S]uch an insinuation effectively ‘orphans’ a legitimate political subdivision of the Republic of the Philippines and mocks the bravery of the men and women stationed at Pag-asa Island and surrounding features,” read the resolution dated 16 February addressed to Sotto. 

Due to mounting criticism, Marcoleta appealed to the committee on 25 February with a revised narration that outlined, among others, his position on the diplomatic and legal aspects of the WPS.

He argued that it is the responsibility of the CA to ensure the “accurate summation of our statements [is] rightfully reflected in our minutes.”

At present, Lacson said Marcoleta’s motion has been referred to the CA's committee on rules for review.