Nograles first test as Speaker: Will House probe Spratlys deal?

MANILA, Philippines – Lawmakers yesterday urged Speaker Prospero Nograles to grant their request to probe the alleged unconstitutional deal the country signed with China for the exploration of the disputed Spratly islands, saying this will be the first test of Nograles’ leadership.

Bayan Muna Rep. Teddy Casiño said this will be a test case for Nograles, who should “take the lead in protecting our national patrimony and territorial integrity.”

Nograles should also allow a probe on the controversial Joint Marine Seismic Undertaking (JMSU) in the South China Sea, he said.

“Pass House Bill 3216 (An Act Defining the Archipelagic Baselines of the Philippine Archipelago) and investigate the JMSU. That’s the extra challenge to Speaker Nograles. This is his chance to prove that the House is not Malacañang’s rubber stamp, but rather, a protector of the country’s patrimony and territory,” the militant lawmaker said.

“The Speaker actually has his chance to show the Senate how to do legislative oversight functions, if he is up to it,” Casiño said.

Muntinlupa City Rep. Ruffy Biazon said the House “must proceed with the inquiry on the Spratlys deal called for by congressmen.”

“I hope that Malacañang will cooperate. But Congress should also be prepared to conduct the inquiry in executive session since the issue involves national defense and security and foreign relations,” he said.

Casiño questioned why the House leadership shelved HB 3216 whose main author is Cebu City Rep. Antonio Cuenco, chairman of the House committee on foreign affairs.

“The bill defines our national territory to the fullest extent as recognized by international law. It puts the Spratlys as well as the Scarborough Shoal as part of Philippine territory,” he said.

Lawmakers expressed fears that by signing the JMSU, no less than President Arroyo and other Cabinet men concerned “may have effectively agreed to limit the Philippines’ sovereignty – even giving up its claims – over the Spratly group of islands.”

“This is treason. It seems that Filipino energy and foreign affairs officials did our country in by signing the JMSU with the blessings of the President. This necessitates a full blown investigation,” Casiño said.

Casiño suspected that DFA had sensed JMSU’s unconstitutionality, which was why it asked Congress not to pass HB 3216, which has been scheduled for third reading since December 2007.

The JMSU, in turn, is suspected to be the main reason behind the deluge of Chinese-funded projects in the country.

Akbayan Rep. Risa Hontiveros noticed that government’s land concessions to China are “not only limited to disputed areas in the Spratly islands group but also include vast forest areas that are already part of Philippine territory.”

“The mathematics is staggering. Under the RP-China agreement, the GMA administration is conceding 148,886 square kilometers of our territory to China, 24,000 of which is undisputedly part of Philippine territory,” she pointed out.

Also, the party-list lawmaker revealed that under the country’s 18 agribusiness deals with China in 2007, one million hectares of forest lands that are part of Philippine territory will be leased to China for 50 years. 

“The signing of these agribusiness deals is an unprecedented violation of the constitution, our laws, and our integrity as a nation,” she said.

“It turned out that for the so-called cheap loans from China that the GMA administration has grandiosely flaunted in the past and that are now being investigated for graft and corruption, our national territory was used as collateral,” Hontiveros added.