BUOYED by Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio’s statements before Philippine Congress, Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez has doubled down on the House of Representatives intention to protect national interests in the West Philippine Sea (WPS).
In his historic speech during Saturday’s special joint session of the House of Representatives and the Senate, Kishida bared just how serious a partner Japan is to the Philippines when it comes to issues of security and defense cooperation.
“Prime Minister Kishida’s remarks prove that Japan is a dependable, eager, and stable partner of the Philippines in fostering international order. Together with like-minded nations such as the United States (US), we look forward to solidifying the cooperation blueprint with Japan,” Speaker Romualdez, the head of the 300-plus strong House of Representatives, said.
Kishida stressed Japan’s “renewed commitment” to defend a “Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP)”. He said that an important pillar of FOIP was to “extend efforts for security and safe use of the sea to the air”.
The Japanese leader shared to the joint body its decision to donate 12 ships to the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), as well as the delivery of a warning and control radar to the Philippine Air Force (PAF).
On top of this, the Philippine Navy waiting on coastal surveillance radars from Japan under the newly established Official Security Assistance (OSA). And then there’s the promise of the Japan-Philippines Reciprocal Access Agreement (RAA), which is the two countries’ version of the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA).
“We sincerely thank Prime Minister Kishida and the Japanese people for their generosity, they truly are a good friend of our country,” Speaker Romualdez said.
“Incidentally, we in the House of Representatives have also begun to take serious steps to augment the capabilities of our PCG, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), and other security agencies with the realignment of P1.23 billion in confidential funds under the P5.768-trillion General Appropriations Bill (GAB),” said the Leyte 1st District congressman.
Speaker Romualdez underscored this in a chance interview after Kishida’s address. Senate President Juan Miguel “Migz” Zubiri was also on hand.
“Napakaganda nitong mga partnership na sinasabi ng mahal nating Senate President na inulat din ni Prime Minister Kishida, kaya gagawin din natin ‘yong mga dapat gawin din natin, sa budget natin, susuportahan natin ‘yong Coast Guard, ‘yong Navy, ‘yung Armed Forces…para mapatibay natin ang ating karapatan dito sa ating bansang Pilipinas, lalo na dito sa KIG, sa Kalayaan Island Group,” the House leader said. The KIG is located in the WPS.
Appreciative of Kishida’s words, Romualdez described the Japanese leader as an “upcoming great world leader”.
“Today, he affirmed that. He spoke of world peace, and regional security, and yet he had the compassion to speak about projects being downloaded here,” the Speaker said.
Speaker Romualdez recalled that one of President Marcos’ campaign promises was that the Philippines “will not lose an inch” of its territory.
“I believe this was one of the main reasons why Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr. won a historic majority mandate in May 2022. We support the President 100 percent in this declaration. Rest assured that as solons who possess the power of the purse, we will use the national budget to the fullest in protecting our maritime interests,” the Speaker said.
