House Deputy Minority Leader and Mamamayang Liberal (ML) Partylist Rep. Leila M. de Lima, along with 16 fellow House solons filed a measure urging the government to raise the escalating tensions in the West Philippine Sea before the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) and to call on China to respect the 2016 Arbitral ruling, which fortifies the Philippines’ sovereign rights over the WPS.

In filing House Resolution No. 192, the solons are urging the Executive Department, through the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), to introduce a Resolution before the UNGA calling on the People’s Republic of China (PRC) to respect the country’s sovereign rights and to cease its repeated hostile and aggressive acts in the WPS.

“Nakikita natin na yung tensions in the WPS have been escalating, and China has been persistent and relentless in its hostile and aggressive acts in the WPS. That’s why we filed this Resolution para hindi na lumala pa nang lumala, at makakuha pa tayo ng mas malakas na suporta sa international community,” De Lima said.

“We know that many countries are with us in this fight, because the international law is with us. Alam ng mundo kung sino ang nanalo sa Arbitral ruling, alam ng mundo kung sino ang nasa tama,” she added.      

Aside from De Lima, among the signatories of HR 192 are her Liberal Party (LP) partymates Reps. Edgar R. Erice (2nd District, Caloocan City), Adrian Michael A. Amatong (3rd District, Zamboanga del Norte), Arlene “Kaka” J. Bag-ao (Lone District, Dinagat Islands), Jaime R. Fresnedi (Lone District, Muntinlupa City), Cielo Krisel B. Lagman (1st District, Albay), and Alfonso V. Umali Jr. (2nd District, Oriental Mindoro); lawmakers in the WPS bloc which include Akbayan Reps. Jose Manuel “Chel” Diokno, Percival Cendaña and Dadah Kiram Ismula, as well as the House Members from the Minority and Majority blocs—Reps. Loreto S. Amante (3rd District, Laguna), Gerville “Jinky Bitrics” R. Luistro (2nd District, Batangas), Doris E. Maniquiz (2nd District, Zambales), Nathaniel M. Oducado (1Tahanan Partylist), Antolin A. Oreta III (Lone District, Malabon City), Antonino B. Roman III (1st District, Bataan), and Anna Victoria Veloso-Tuazon (3rd District, Leyte).

HR 192 noted the increasingly aggressive activities of China at sea and in the air within the Philippines’ Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) over the years, which have affected and posed threats to the lives and livelihoods of our fishermen and soldiers.

“Almost a decade after the Philippines’ victory in the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA), the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has failed to respect and comply with the said ruling. Worse, in direct defiance of the PCA’s 2016 ruling, the PRC has consistently conducted hostile and dangerous naval, coast guard, and aerial operations throughout the WPS,” the Resolution read.

“Although not legally binding, UNGA resolutions carry significant political weight and serve as expressions of the will and consensus of the international community, with the potential to shape international norms, influence national policies, and provide guidance for the work of other UN organs, specialized agencies, and regional organizations,” it added.          

It can be recalled that in September 2024, it was reported that the DFA had plans to file a Resolution before the UNGA to address the tensions in the WPS, which has not yet happened. This action was also recommended by former Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio as early as 2023.

De Lima and Carpio were part of the Philippine delegation who presented the country’s case before PCA in The Hague, Netherlands.

“We can never tell what is the next move of China. We cannot afford further escalation in the WPS. That’s why we should not stop asserting our sovereigh rights and seeking support from the international community,” the lady solon from Bicol said.

“Kapag ganyan na patuloy na nagmamatigas ang China, then the more that we must take legal steps to address this issue. If we need to file further cases in other international tribunal, not just in the PCA, why not? Gawin natin ang lahat para igiit ang ating karapatan sa WPS at ang ating pambansang dangal,” she added.