Maaaring nagpapadala ng maling mensahe si Pangulong Rodrigo Duterte sa kanyang pagtugon sa sigalot sa West Philippine Sea, ayon kay Sen. Panfilo Lacson noong Martes.
Binanatan ni Lacson ang naging pahayag ni Duterte na walang pag-asa ang bansa na angkinin ang West Philippine Sea nang “walang dumadanak na dugo.”
“When we say that we cannot avoid bloodshed, that is inaction,” giit ni Lacson.
“We have an arbitral ruling in our favor and it’s permanent. There are so many things to talk about except surrender. We cannot wave the white flag, so to speak.”
“The secretary of Defense, the secretary of Foreign Affairs, and even the chief-of-staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines have spoken.”
“Ang sabi nila, we can build alliances with the Western countries, even those within the Western Pacific region like Australia and Japan. Madaming paraan but to speak na parang ang implication ay wala tayong gagawin, I think that’s sending a wrong message,” pagbibigay diin ni Lacson.
Sa kanyang public address noong Lunes, sinabi ng Pangulo na hindi magwawagi ang Pilipinas sa China kung sumiklab ang digmaan habang iginigiit ang mga karapatan sa pinag-aagawang mga teritoryo.
“The issue of the West Philippine Sea remains to be question forever until such time that you know, we can take it back. Walang iba, giyera lang,” sabi ni Duterte.
“If we promote a war against China and America… at what cost to us? Yan ang problema,” dagdag pa nito.
Subalit, para kay Lacson, may iba pang paraan kung paano ipaglalaban ang soberanya ng Pilipinas. Dapat umanong isipin ng pamahalaan na makipag-alyansa sa ibang bansa at magsagawa ng military drills na nagnanais tumulong.
Aniya, “US and Japan have already expressed their willingness to build a much stronger alliance with the Philippines. Let’s work along that line. Don’t feel that we’re alone.”
“Population-wise, less than 1/10 lang tayo ng China. There’s no contest. But why think along that line when there are stronger countries, even Europe, which are ready to assist us?” dagdag pa ng senador.
