Lawmakers want Spratlys debate
Two legislators urged the House leadership to elevate the debate on the controversial Spratly Islands to the plenary, instead of sending a bill about that issue back to committee. Muntinlupa Rep. Ruffy Biazon and Zambales Rep. Milagros Magsaysay agree that questions surrounding the Spratlys must be tackled on the floor, if lawmakers are to settle the issue once and for all.
Biazon said he wants to take up the accusations made about the Joint Marine Seismic Undertaking signed by China, Vietnam and the Philippines and the alleged link between that agreement and Chinese loans to this country.
For her part, Magsaysay said House Bill 3216 or Defining the Archipelagic Baselines of the Philippines is now on third reading.
“It is unfair to refer it back to the committee,” Magsaysay said. “It [the plenary] is the only venue for non-members to raise our voices. Hence, it should be brought to the floor.”
Neither Biazon nor Magsaysay is a member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives, the panel handling initiatives about the Spratlys.
House Resolution 496 was filed recently by Bayan Muna Party-list Rep. Teodoro Casiño, who was inquiring about delays faced by House Bill 3216.
Casiño said he was told by Committee on Foreign Affairs Vice-Chairman Orlando Fua that an official from the Department of Foreign Affairs had called him about suspending the passage of the bill, because it will affect treaties entered into by the government with the Chinese. He added that Fua refused to name of the department official he had talked to and to disclose details about their conversation.
The Philippines has only up to May 2009 to file its claim to the Kalayaan Island Group, which is in the disputed Spratly Islands. The claim is to be submitted to the United Nations Convention on the Law of Sea (Unclos).
There are six countries claiming the Spratlys in part or in whole—China, Vietnam, Philippines, Taiwan, Brunei Darussalam and Malaysia. By Jomar Canlas - Manila Times
Biazon said he wants to take up the accusations made about the Joint Marine Seismic Undertaking signed by China, Vietnam and the Philippines and the alleged link between that agreement and Chinese loans to this country.
For her part, Magsaysay said House Bill 3216 or Defining the Archipelagic Baselines of the Philippines is now on third reading.
“It is unfair to refer it back to the committee,” Magsaysay said. “It [the plenary] is the only venue for non-members to raise our voices. Hence, it should be brought to the floor.”
Neither Biazon nor Magsaysay is a member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives, the panel handling initiatives about the Spratlys.
House Resolution 496 was filed recently by Bayan Muna Party-list Rep. Teodoro Casiño, who was inquiring about delays faced by House Bill 3216.
Casiño said he was told by Committee on Foreign Affairs Vice-Chairman Orlando Fua that an official from the Department of Foreign Affairs had called him about suspending the passage of the bill, because it will affect treaties entered into by the government with the Chinese. He added that Fua refused to name of the department official he had talked to and to disclose details about their conversation.
The Philippines has only up to May 2009 to file its claim to the Kalayaan Island Group, which is in the disputed Spratly Islands. The claim is to be submitted to the United Nations Convention on the Law of Sea (Unclos).
There are six countries claiming the Spratlys in part or in whole—China, Vietnam, Philippines, Taiwan, Brunei Darussalam and Malaysia. By Jomar Canlas - Manila Times
posted by OlongapoCity Zambales at
5:19 AM
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