DFA shrugs off China protest vs docu

TRUTH hurts.

This was the reaction of Department of National Defense spokesman Peter Paul Galvez to the complaint of China to the airing of a three-part documentary series on the West Philippine Sea amid growing tension over the ownership of territories in the South China Sea.

“Sometimes, the truth hurts, but it’s the truth. Everyone has to know the truth,” Galvez said.

He said that has to prove its claim over Spratlys based on historical account before the International Tribunal of the Law of the Sea where the Philippines has a pending complaint against China over its aggressive posturing and reclamations in the disputed waters.

The documentary called “Kalayaan” was produced by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and was aired on June 12, Independence Day, by the Presidential Communications Operations Office. It was meant to counter China’s state-run CCTV network which aired an eight-part documentary called “Journey on the South China Sea” in 2013, which laid out its so-called nine-dash line.

“Kalayaan” focuses on the economic, historical and legal angle of the claim, and is part of the DFA’s nationwide Information, Education and Communication (IEC) campaign to increase the level of public awareness and understanding of the issues relating to the West Philippine Sea.

Kalayaan is directed by RA Rivera, Jr. and hosted by TV5 news anchor Lourd de Veyra, together with Jun Sabayton.

The DFA said that Manila was also planning to release a comic book to raise Filipinos’ awareness.