Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) Spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea (WPS) Commodore Jay Tarriela calls on Filipinos to responsibly exercise their right to vote for the advancement of the WPS advocacy during the UTAK Forum. (Photo by: Gelaine Gutierrez/PIA-NCR)
QUEZON CITY, (PIA) – The Philippine Coast Guard has called on the Filipino nation to make the most important and patriotic decision of voting for candidates who support the West Philippine Sea (WPS) advocacy in the upcoming 2025 midterm elections.
“The West Philippine Sea is the most unifying issue that we have right now and the 2025 midterm elections will be a litmus test on how unified the Filipinos are when we talk about the West Philippine Sea issue,” said PCG Spokesperson for WPS Commodore Jay Tarriela.
“I think this coming election, this is the best way that you can support our fight in the West Philippine Sea,” he emphasized, citing the need to ensure that the candidates who will be elected as members of the legislative branch, both at the Senate and Congress, are in full support of the commitment of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to not surrender a square inch of Philippine territory to any foreign power.
The National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea (NTF-WPS) also highlighted the importance of electing candidates who have a shared commitment to the modernization of the PCG and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) which will be pivotal in further strengthening the capability of the country to respond to maritime security challenges.
The NTF-WPS recently gathered in the “Usapang Taft at Katipunan” (UTAK) Forum on Wednesday, January 29, to share prospects and potential challenges going forward with the WPS advocacy campaign in 2025.
The forum essentially shed light on the importance of public awareness in bringing the WPS advocacy closer to more Filipinos. This initiative forms part of the transparency strategy of the NTF-WPS towards the goal of uniting Filipinos in the holistic campaign for the country’s maritime rights.
PCG, for its part, underscored its continuing resolve to protect the interest of Filipino fisherfolk and safeguard the maritime jurisdiction of the Philippines despite the ongoing struggle in the West Philippine Sea as the Chinese Coast Guard continues to conduct illegal operations in the country’s maritime zones.
“We cannot really speculate how China will behave in the next coming days or months but again, as far as the Philippine Coast Guard is concerned, we’re still going to safeguard our interest in the West Philippine Sea,” Tarriela stressed.
To date, PCG has been successful in addressing the unlawful presence of the Chinese Coast Guard vessel off the coast of Zambales and continues to ensure that the efforts of the Philippine government to protect and secure its interests in the West Philippine Sea will not lead to escalation and provocation. (JMP/PIA-NCR)
