Tomas, Eddiegul laud UN ruling on China ‘row’

IF WORSE comes to worst, Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña said the City Government is ready to sever ties with Xiamen City, China.

The mayor’s pronouncement came after the United Nations tribunal ruled in favor of the country over the disputed West Philippine Sea.

“Not important to me at all,” Osmeña said when asked on the possible impact of the ruling on Cebu City’s sister-city relationship with Xiamen.

“Is that a way of making a decision, that I will not sacrifice the sovereignty of our country?” he added.

The mayor said he is happy that the country has finally claimed its right over the disputed waters.

Close ties

“I’m so happy that we’re standing up against a monster. I’ll support that because that belongs to us. I would like to congratulate our government officials, they’re real heroes,” he said.

Councilor James Cuenco, though, said the City has had close ties with Xiamen for several years.

“We have a deep relationship with Xiamen even before,” said Cuenco, who chairs the council’s committee on trade, tourism and international affairs.

The government of Xiamen had donated several fire trucks through the Filipino-Chinese Volunteer Fire Brigade and a bulldozer for the Inayawan Sanitary Landfill, among others.

Aside from that, a park and a street in the city have been named after Xiamen.

Urge for calm

Talisay City Mayor Eduardo Gullas, for his part, urged the public to remain calm and to continue to pursue peaceful means in asserting the country’s claim on the disputed West Philippines Sea.

Gullas, a lawyer and former congressman of the first district, said the National Government did the right thing in pursuing its claim.

He also praised President Rodrigo Duterte for remaining calm amid threats from the Chinese government that it would not honor the tribunal’s ruling.

However, he said the Philippines must not resort to violent means to assert its claim.

He also advised the National Government to use the ruling as a bargaining chip during its talks with China.

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