MANILA – Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo “Ping” M. Lacson warned that a proposed debate on whether the Kalayaan Island Group (KIG) belongs to the Philippines could affect the basic right of abode of Filipinos already living in the area.

Lacson said the debate suggested by Sen. Rodante Marcoleta was not only “agonizing and pointless” but could also put into question the rights of residents of Pag-asa Island.

He appealed to retired Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonio Carpio and University of the Philippines professor Atty. Jay Batongbacal to refrain from engaging in such a discussion.

“An earnest appeal to Justice Tony Carpio and Atty Jay Batongbacal: Let’s spare our countrymen, especially our ‘kababayans’ from Barangay Pag-asa, KIG, Palawan from the agony of another pointless debate that might put into question their basic right of abode,” Lacson said in a post on his X account.

Lacson maintained that the KIG belongs to the Philippines based on the legal principle of “res nullius,” rejecting Marcoleta’s suggestion that the country give up the territory.

Under the principle of “res nullius,” Lacson said ownership belongs to whoever discovers and occupies the land. He cited lawyer and adventurer Tomas Cloma, who discovered and occupied the Spratly Islands before turning over ownership to the Philippine government.

Lacson also noted that Filipino families are currently occupying the KIG, which is a municipality of Palawan, and said he visited the area in 2021.

Meanwhile, Lacson described the prolonged and heated debates in the Senate plenary on Monday regarding the Philippines’ territorial dispute with China in the West Philippine Sea as painful to watch.

“It was painful to watch a heated plenary debate on the issue of territorial integrity and other related matters involving another country and our own. It is hard to imagine that it can happen in the US Senate or any parliament in the world,” he said in another post on X.

On Monday, the Senate adopted Resolution 256 condemning Chinese diplomats for what it described as hostile statements against Filipino officials and institutions defending the country’s national sovereignty.

The resolution was adopted after nearly three hours of debate between its author, Sen. Francis Pangilinan, and Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano, who argued that Philippine Coast Guard West Philippine Sea spokesperson Commodore Jay Tarriela’s use of a caricature depicting Chinese President Xi Jinping was wrong.

The exchanges became so heated that Lacson, who was presiding over the session at the time, suspended the proceedings twice.

Prior to the plenary debate, Marcoleta had also expressed opposition to the resolution.