MANILA – Senator Francis Pangilinan urged the Senate to sustain budget support for the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), saying stronger funding is essential to enforcing the country’s maritime rights in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) even as lawmakers weighed differing views on how to manage tensions with China.
Pangilinan raised the matter during interpellation on his proposed Senate Resolution No. 256 on Tuesday, which responds to statements by the Chinese Embassy in Manila against Philippine officials who have spoken out on incidents involving Filipino fisherfolk and uniformed personnel in the WPS.
“Pero kung mayroon tayong mas malawak na network at pondo para sa Coast Guard, isang civilian agency para mapatrolyo ang ating mga karagatan, mas lalong lalakas ang ating pag depensa sa ating Exclusive Economic Zone at ang West Philippine Sea (But if we have a wider network and funding for the Coast Guard, a civilian agency to patrol our seas, our defense of our Exclusive Economic Zone and the West Philippine Sea will become even stronger)," Pangilinan said.
He said it remains a challenge for the Senate, particularly the finance committee leadership, to ensure sustained funding for defense modernization.
“Again, it is a challenge for us in the Senate and the chairman of the Committee of Finance to help continue generating funding or providing funding for the strengthening and modernizing of our defense apparatus, Mr. President,” Pangilinan added.
For 2026, the Armed Forces of the Philippines received a PHP40-billion allocation for its modernization program, covering improvements in equipment, logistics, and training.
During the same exchange, Senator Rodante Marcoleta questioned whether continued public exchanges with China have produced tangible gains for Filipinos, particularly in oil and gas development and fishing access in disputed waters.
“Sa tuwing ganito ang ginagawa natin, sagot ng sagot po ang Chinese Embassy. So wala na pong katapusan na pag-iringan at pasaringan na po ito (Every time we do this, the Chinese Embassy keeps responding. So this becomes an endless exchange of jabs and barbs)," Marcoleta said.
He added that prolonged rhetoric has not resulted in concrete economic benefits, asking whether the exchanges have lowered prices, improved food security, or expanded fishing activities in the West Philippine Sea.
Responding, Pangilinan said the Philippines’ maritime entitlements are already firmly grounded in law, citing Republic Act 12064, or the Philippine Maritime Zones Act of 2024, which anchors the country’s claims on the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the 2016 South China Sea Arbitral Award that invalidated China’s expansive nine-dash-line claim.
Pangilinan stressed that while diplomacy remains important, China’s actions in the WPS differ from disputes with other neighbors, pointing to repeated incidents involving water cannons, ramming, and harassment of Philippine vessels.
He said the Senate should stand with the Department of National Defense and the AFP, which have publicly condemned what they described as intimidation by Chinese officials.
He said the adoption of Senate Resolution No. 256 would signal institutional support for the defense establishment while reaffirming the country’s commitment to upholding the arbitral ruling through lawful and peaceful means.
The proposed resolution has drawn support from Senate President Vicente Sotto III, Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo Lacson, Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri, and several other senators. (PNA)