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WPS should to top SONA agenda – GAWA

“The West Philippine Sea should be the top agenda of the State of the Nation Address of President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr.,” said Wennie Sancho, secretary general of the General Alliance of Workers Association (GAWA), in a press release.

“Despite all the bullying, harassment and intimidation, unfair action and unlawfulness committed by the Chinese Coast Guards (CCG) on June 17 against the members of our Armed Forces personnel, our maritime forces had remained calm and disciplined. Even in the midst of provocation and physical injuries suffered by a member of our Philippine Navy, with all their bravery and patience they were able to avoid an escalation of violence that might result in an armed confrontation between China and the Philippines,” he said.

Sancho strongly believes that the issue in the West PH Sea involves an imminent danger to our country and sovereignty that it should be included in the forthcoming SONA of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., as a matter of national security concern.

The press release continues that according to Norberto B. Gonzalez, former National Security Adviser and Secretary of National Defense, in his column, “Prospects of a China Invasion”(Manila Times, June 27, 2024). The widely perceived danger of a China invasion of the Philippines or Taiwan is nearing equal in its possibility. Both domestic and external threats confronting the Philippines can no longer be ignored. The window to successfully overcome these threats is narrowing fast. The longer these threats are ignored, neglected or improperly addressed, the harder and harder it will be for the nation to defend itself from their disastrous consequences, Gonzales said. Furthermore, he added that the Philippines is lacking in national preparedness to meet extreme contingencies such as being invaded by a foreign enemy or war. The Philippines has yet to show, in no uncertain terms, the difficulty of invading it, even when reduced to standing alone on its own feet.

China had initiated to infiltrate and deepen its presence in the Philippines. Frenzied acquisition of strategically located real estate at staggering prices, undisguised bribery to control or influence both local and national officials and the location of extensive electronic gambling networks supposedly rejected by the Chinese government but clandestinely supported by the Chinese Communist Party operatives, he added.

The Chinese are not only grabbing our seas, they are also grabbing our lands. According to former Interior and Local Government Secretary Rafael Alunan, in his analysis he said there is a “creeping invasion” by China in the Philippines. In 2016 to 2018, 3.12 million Chinese nationals obtained residency in the Philippines, “Immigration floodgates were thrown open, in one of the most remarkable subversion in recent history,” the press release said.

Our nationalism should transcend over our fear of being overrun and destroyed by the mighty forces of China. The Chinese aggressors were to be defeated not by armed forces but by their amazement of the Filipinos tremendous capacity for sacrifice and resistance against aggression-a shining example of patriotic nationalism, a symbol of honor, and the upstanding will to preserve the nation. The determination of an entire people, refusing to be conquered at the expense of their own lives, will earn respect even from its enemies. The bravery and resilience of the Filipinos as a people and as a nation should be integrated in the arsenal of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. We must resist the invasion of China by making the SONA of PBBM, a call for nationalism, Sancho’s press release concluded.*

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