Vice President Leni Robredo has rejected war against China to defend the Philippines’ claim over the West Philippine Sea.
“We don’t need to wage war. What we need to do is to enter into alliances with traditional and emerging partners, allies, so they can help us protect the West Philippine Sea,” she told television host Boy Abunda in a one-on-one interview series of presidential candidates.
Robredo said the Philippines must assert its victory against Beijing before an arbitral tribunal to build a “coalition of nations” that would protect the West Philippine Sea.
To forge alliances by leveraging the 2016 arbitral ruling that nullified China’s historical claim over much of the South China Sea, including portions within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone, is a “low-hanging fruit,” she said.
Earlier, the Vice President maintained that the government’s stand on the West Philippine Sea issue must be consistent so the country could rally support from other nations.
Meanwhile, Robredo said Thursday she was aware that her honest answers in the “fast talk” segment of her recent interview with television host Boy Abunda could elicit reactions from her fellow presidential candidates but these were her “honest opinion.”
“Alam ko na may mga mara-ruffle ako na feathers pero tinatanong kasi ako eh. Ayoko naman na sumagot na parang umiiwas, sa akin lang ‘yung tanong, sinagot ko. In my honest opinion, ‘yun talaga ‘yung palagay ko na kailangan ko isagot,” she said.
In the Abunda interview aired on Wednesday night, the TV host had asked Robredo why people should not vote for the other candidates and named them one by one.
Robredo, in a media interview Thursday, was asked to comment on their reactions but said she no longer wanted to prolong the conversation.
“Ready naman ako, ready ako para mag-react pa sa mga reaction nila, pero tingin ko hindi naman necessary na,” Robredo said.
The Vice President said she has several more interviews lined up next week, including interviews with radio stations DZRH and DZBB, which she thanked for accommodating her schedule.
Explaining her packed calendar, Robredo said she still has to turnover several Angat Buhay projects of the Office of the Vice President (OVP) to their beneficiaries before the official campaign kicks off on February 8.
The Vice President is also set to attend a hearing tomorrow, January 28 with the Commission on Elections (Comelec) on her request to continue the OVP’s COVID response initiatives such as the Swab Cab, Vaccine Express, and Bayanihan E-Konsulta while the campaign is ongoing.
