The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) today slammed the 2009 Baseline Bill, saying that it kowtows to the demands of the Chinese government for the Philippines to surrender its claim of sovereignty over the Kalayaan Islands (Spratly Islands, in international nomenclature) and nearby Scarborough Shoals. The bill was approved Wednesday by the Senate and House of Representatives and will …

Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Q. Pimentel, Jr. (PDP-Laban) today said he supported the final version of the bill delineating the country’s archipelagic baselines because the committee on foreign relations, chaired by Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago, adopted the compromise that the Kalayaan Islands and Scarborough shall remain subject to the sovereignty and territorial claim of the Republic of the Philippines.
With the …

Senator Aquilino Pimentel, Jr. today called on the Senate and House of Representatives not to succumb to Malacañang’s pressure to water down the bill delineating the archipelagic baselines of the Philippines.

Senate Minority Leader Aquilino “Nene” Q. Pimentel,
Jr. (PDP-Laban) today said Congress and the executive
branch should adopt a common position on the issue of
the urgent legislation delineating the archipelagic
baselines of the Philippines to protect its
territorial right over the disputed Kalayaan Islands,
known in the international map as the Spratly islands.
Pimentel said that the bill to draw up the country’s
archipelagic map should be …

Below is the statement on March 12 by the Chinese Embassy’s Spokesman
With the common efforts of China and the Philippines, China-Philippines relations have been developing smoothly over the recent years. The increasingly expanded mutually-beneficial cooperation in various fields between the two countries has brought about tangible benefits to the two peoples.
It is an established policy of the Chinese Government …

Deputy Minority Leader and Bayan Muna Rep. Satur C. Ocampo today questioned the authority of the Philippine National Oil Corp. to forge a Joint Marine Seismic Undertaking (JMSU) with China National Offshore Oil Corp and Vietnam Oil and Gas Corp involving our national patrimony, sovereignty and territory.
Ocampo raised the issue of authority after Sergio Apostol, President Macapagal-Arroyo’s chief legal counsel, …

Joint Marine Seismic Undertaking is Void

The Joint Marine Seismic Undertaking [JMSU] is unconstitutional on its face for violating the National Economy and Patrimony provisions of the 1987 Constitution. If it is confirmed that the signing of the same is related to the fraud that attended the …

For corrupt administration officials and their cronies, $8 billion represents unprecedented opportunities for graft on a scale that would shock ordinary Filipinos. Read the blog.

Spratly Deals Cover 6 Philippine Islands