Kiko and Marcoleta Get Into Heated Clash in Senate Over West Philippine Sea Claims
Senators Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan and Rodante Marcoleta engaged in a fiery debate in the Senate on Monday, February 3, as they clashed over the legal basis and extent of the Philippines’ claims in the West Philippine Sea.
The confrontation unfolded during plenary discussions on a Senate resolution affirming the country’s territorial rights. Marcoleta challenged the clarity of the 2016 arbitral award, arguing that the ruling did not clearly define the exact coordinates or boundaries of the West Philippine Sea, making it, in his view, not fully definitive in legal terms.
Pangilinan strongly countered these claims, stressing that the Philippines had won a clear legal victory under the United Nations arbitral tribunal. He stressed that the 2016 ruling upholds the country’s sovereign rights over its exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and that it also invalidated China’s expansive claims under the controversial “nine-dash line.”
The 2016 arbitral award, issued by a tribunal constituted under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), declared that China’s historic rights claims within the nine-dash line “have no lawful effect” to the extent they exceed what is permitted under international law — a decision the Philippines views as strengthening its claim in the West Philippine Sea.
Senators allied with Pangilinan defended the arbitral ruling and related Philippine laws such as the Philippine Maritime Zones Act, which legally defines the nation’s maritime zones, including its 200-nautical-mile EEZ.
At one point, the discussion grew tense as the majority bloc rallied behind Pangilinan’s stance that existing legal frameworks, coupled with the arbitral ruling, provide a sufficient basis for asserting Philippine rights in disputed waters.
The debate reflects ongoing national scrutiny over how the Philippines should uphold its claims against China in international waters, amid continued tensions over fishing rights, military presence, and maritime jurisdiction in the region.
