WPS efforts after 2028 vote in limbo

The Philippines could lose momentum in its efforts to safeguard the West Philippine Sea (WPS) after the 2028 elections, Department of National Defense (DND) Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. expressed fears yesterday.

“It cannot be said to be no chance; there really is a chance,” Teodoro said during the Saturday News Forum when asked whether the country’s territorial defense efforts could change after the 2028 polls.

Teodoro noted President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. had institutionalized mechanisms, particularly within the Armed Forces of the Philippines, to ensure continuity in government programs aimed at strengthening the country’s sovereignty and territorial defense.

He acknowledged, however, that a change in administration could result in a “change of momentum,” which he described as potentially “dangerous” to efforts to strengthen the country’s resilience in protecting its national territory.