THE Philippine Coast Guard will continue documenting and publicly releasing verified accounts of incidents in the West Philippine Sea despite Beijing’s pushback, maintaining that its evidence-based reporting ensures the public and the international community see what is happening on the water and who is driving the aggression.
This is according to Philippine Coast Guard Commodore Jay Tarriela, who argued Saturday that the Philippines’ evidence-based reporting is meant to make the public and the international community see what is happening in the WPS and who is driving the aggression.
“The press releases that I release to the international community, to the Filipino people these are all validated. Meron tayong palaging resibo,” Tarriela told the Saturday Media Forum at Dapo Restaurant in Quezon City today.
Tarriela spoke amid an escalating public war of words between Philippine officials and the Chinese Embassy in Manila, a flare-up that has drawn formal diplomatic concern even as the government maintains its transparency policy as a key part of its West Philippine Sea posture.
Pressed on the view that attacks against officials like him amount to attacks on the country’s stance, Tarriela said what is being challenged is not a personal figure but the credibility of the Philippines’ public narrative on maritime incidents.
“So it is not being attacked first, but our messaging, our public messaging, as to how we provide the right information when it comes to those incidents that happened sa West Philippine Sea,” Tarriela said.
He also rejected claims that transparency itself is “provocation,” calling that line a familiar talking point that flips blame away from the aggressor and onto the victim who refuses to stay quiet, then turns the discussion into a scolding of the messenger instead of a reckoning with the acts being reported.
“Linyahan ng mga pro-China trolls ‘yan eh. Let us first understand how we define provocation, how do we define tension,” Tarriela said.
“If ang ginagawa ng transparency efforts natin is we tell the Filipino people, we inform the international community na China ang nagba- violate ng international law, na China ang nangha-harass ng ordinaryong mangingisdang Pilipino,” he added.
“Parang may maling logic kung ang sisisihin mo ang nagsasabi kung sino ang aggressor at kung sino ang victim,” Tariella said.
Tarriela argued the larger risk of silence is that it feeds a sense of impunity, because bullying becomes easier when it meets no public resistance and no international scrutiny.
“It’s also important for us to understand the Chinese bullying activities will make them more emboldened, it will think the more na kaya nating gawin ito, we are above the international law kung walang bansa na papalag sa kanila,” he said.
“We choose not to be silent about Chinese aggression. We tell that to the world. We make the Filipino people aware of what we’re fighting and why we’re fighting for it,” Tarriela said.
Prof. Jay Batongbacal, director of the Institute for Maritime Affairs and Law of the Sea of the U.P. College of Law, said Manila should stop treating “dialogue” as a slogan and start demanding clear, verifiable signs of good faith before agreeing to talks that produce press statements but no change in behavior.
“To call for dialogue, ang sagot dyan is we will agree only to meaningful and effective dialogue. Hindi yung puro salita lang,” Batongbacal said.
“Kasi nga parang ganoon nangyari magme-meeting sasabihin, ok na kami dahil nag-meeting kami, nag-usap kami pero in reality wala namang nangyayari. Hindi na-address ‘yung mga cases na dinadala sa table,” he added.
The post Tarriela: ‘Lagi tayong may resibo’ appeared first on Journal News Online.
