MANILA – Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan defended his proposed Senate Resolution No. 256, stressing the need to uphold the Philippines’ sovereign rights in the West Philippine Sea amid Chinese aggression.

During the Senate plenary session, Pangilinan said the resolution supports the Department of National Defense (DND), the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), and the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) as they continue to face illegal activities by China in the disputed waters.

“Mr. President, yung binanggit ni Commodore Tarriela, dinepensahan na ng ating Department of National Defense at ng Armed Forces of the Philippines. Tapos ngayon, narito tayo, may Senate resolution sumasangayon at sinasangayunan ang posisyon ng Department of National Defense at ng Armed Forces of the Philippines sa mga bitiw na salita ni Commodore Tarriela,” Pangilinan said.

The senator said existing legal instruments, including the 2016 arbitral ruling, are sufficient for the resolution to be adopted.

“Mr. President, we beg to disagree that the coordinates are not clear, that we have not been able to determine it. We have by law. We have by administrative order, and we have by the arbitral ruling,” he added, responding to questions on the exact coordinates of the Philippines’ 200-nautical-mile Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), parts of which are claimed by China.

Pangilinan referred to Administrative Order No. 29 series of 2012, which formally named the maritime areas on the western side of the Philippine archipelago as the West Philippine Sea; Republic Act No. 12064 of 2024, defining the country’s maritime zones and exclusive sovereign rights; and the 2016 Arbitral Tribunal ruling, which invalidated China’s nine-dash-line claim.

“All these should suffice, Mr. President, for us to assert that China is illegally occupying parts of our exclusive economic zone and is claiming likewise 150,000 square kilometers of our continental shelf and 381,000 square kilometers of our EEZ,” he said.

PSR 256 has received support from Senate President Vicente Sotto III, Senate Pro Tempore Panfilo Lacson, Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri, and Senators Erwin Tulfo, Risa Hontiveros, Raffy Tulfo, Win Gatchalian, Loren Legarda, JV Ejercito, Bam Aquino, Jinggoy Estrada, Lito Lapid, Camille Villar, and Mark Villar.

Pangilinan recently drew criticism from the Chinese Embassy after speaking against China’s increasing aggression, which has caused injuries to Philippine military personnel and damage to Philippine-flagged vessels.

The West Philippine Sea, including Scarborough Shoal (Bajo de Masinloc) located roughly 124 nautical miles from Luzon, remains a hotspot of tension. The shoal sits over 470 nautical miles from mainland China’s coast, highlighting the disputed nature of the area where one-third of global trade passes annually.