DUMAGUETE CITY, Negros Oriental (PIA) — Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesperson on the West Philippine Sea (WPS) Commodore Jay Tristan Tarriela met with more than 300 students here for a campus engagement on the West Philippine Sea.
In his discussion, Tarriela asked the students “As a Filipino, do you think the West Philippine Sea is disputed?”
The question solicited varying responses from the students, with some saying yes and others no.
Tarriela noted that it is evident that the lack of knowledge on WPS among the students pose a challenge to government efforts in countering confusion and misunderstanding on the WPS issue.
“As Filipinos, there should be no question whether the West Philippine Sea is or isn’t disputed because it is ours to begin with,” he said.
The PCG official lamented the proliferation of fake news on social media, which he said has been spread by pro-Chinese trolls.
“Alam niyo, hindi kayo nag-iisa sa mga universities na binista ko. Majority ng universities na pinuntahan ko, 9 out of 10 students would say it (the West Philippine Sea) is disputed. Ang masama doon, confident pa sila,” said Tarriela.
(You’re not alone among the universities I visited. Majority of them have 9 out of 10 students who would say it is disputed. Worse, they’re even confident about it.)
The campus engagement on Understanding the West Philippine Sea issue is part of PCG and Philippine Information Agency’s (PIA) ongoing efforts in countering misinformation and disinformation on social media platforms.
Tarriela explained that the West Philippine Sea starts from the northernmost province of the Philippines, which is Batanes, to Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, Pangasinan, Bataan, Zambales, and Mindoro, down to Palawan, and extends 200 nautical miles from the coastline.
This is the Philippines’ 200 nautical mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
In the same forum, PIA Director General, Usec. Jose C. Torres Jr.,
described the fake news as “alarming” because many people believe them to be true, especially those living in far-flung areas.
Torres asked the students to support the government in standing firm on its sovereign rights over the West Philippine Sea.
Redford Sanoy, 23, a Social Science Major in Education student at Negros Oriental State University (NORSU), is grateful that he attended the forum and he learned more about the West Philippine Sea.
“Pero yung iba kasi, nag-iisip na dapat wala na tayong pakialam dyan kasi nga wala tayong makukuha dahil hindi naman tayo apektado kasi malayo tayo. But as we Filipinos, dapat may opinyon tayo dito, kasi atin ito, atin ang West Philippine Sea,” said Sanoy.
(There are people who think that we should not be bothered about it because we won’t get something from it, and that we are not even affected because we’re far from it. But as Filipinos, we should have an opinion about this issue, because this is ours, the West Philippine Sea is ours.)
The students who attended the forum were from NORSU, Silliman University, Colegio de Santa Catalina de Alejandria (COSCA), and Dumaguete City National High School. (JCT/PIA-7 Negros Oriental wit reports from Jonah Nicolas, NORSU Intern)
