Gordon seeks more budget for military

THE Philippine government needs to beef up its maritime capability to protect its fishermen from intimidation and harassment in the Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal and other parts of the West Philippines Sea (South China Sea), Sen. Richard Gordon said Sunday.

Gordon urged “everyone” to “sacrifice” so that government can allot more funds to upgrade the maritime capability of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

“We must be willing to make a sacrifice to fund our military for the procurement of submarines and even missile systems,” he said in a radio interview.

Gordon, a member of the Senate Committee on National Defense and Security, explained that while Panatag Shoal was declared by the Arbitral tribunal as a common fishing ground where the Philippines, China and Vietnam could freely fish, the country is still in a disadvantageous position because it has no capability to protect its fishermen.

“We are in a disadvantageous position because we are not ready to patrol the area,” he said.

The Department of Foreign Affairs recently denied claims made by opposition lawmakers Sen. Antonio Trillanes 4th and Magdalo party-list Rep. Gary Alejano that President Rodrigo Duterte ordered the AFP to stop patrolling the West Philippine Sea ( WPS).

“We can assure the people that we have regular patrols, But I can tell you now that it is very irresponsible of Sen. Trillanes and Rep. Alejano to say that there was none, they have endangered our security,” Foreign Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano said.

Gordon also cited the problem faced by the Philippines in the Recto (Reed) bank, which the co2untry plans to drill for oil and natural gas.

He said the Philippines was not able to start the project for lack of capability and technology.

“Our enemy is ourselves. Because of our lack of planning and willingness to sacrifice portion of our budget to be use in military capability upgrading,” the senator lamented.

Gordon also raised the need for all concerned countries to come up with a code of conduct to avoid incidents of harassment and intimidation at sea.

He said it is not proper for members of the Chinese Coast Guard to board fishermen’s boats and demand part of their catch.

“There should be a code of conduct in Panatag shoal because we cannot allow intimidation and harassment in the area to continue,” Gordon said.