MANILA – As oral arguments in the petition for writ of kalikasan before the Supreme Court kicked off Tuesday, one Supreme Court associate justice said he’d rather have the government focus on “other i
mportant things” than guard the country’s shoals in the West Philippine Sea.
The petitioners have identified 3 areas where Chinese-flagged vessels allegedly caused massive destruction: Ayungin and Panatag shoals as well as the Panganiban Reef. But for Reyes, the country simply does not have the resources to pay soldiers and policemen properly, much less send a ship to guard these areas.
Reyes faulted petitioners for the way the petition was drafted – “as if you are the USA that the government can attend to every problem of the country” – emphasizing that the Philippines is not yet a well-developed country.FOREIGN POLICY CONSIDERATIONS Javier differentiated the President’s handling of the environmental issues in Boracay and Manila Bay, saying both areas all lie within the national territory and are “devoid of any foreign relation considerations.”“If they can be enforced against Filipinos, then they should also be enforced in the West Philippine Sea,” he said.
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