MANILA – The Senate adopted a resolution condemning the Chinese Embassy in Manila’s recent remarks against several Filipino lawmakers and government officials.

Senate Resolution No. 256, proposed by Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan, was adopted during the plenary session on February 9, subject to amendments, following an interpellation by Senator Alan Peter Cayetano and a manifestation from Senator Rodante Marcoleta.

The resolution was signed by Senate President Vicente Sotto III, Senate President 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.

During the interpellation, Pangilinan, who sponsored the resolution, said he hopes the Philippines and China can manage their territorial and maritime disputes separately from economic and trade relations.

“Up to a certain extent, yes, definitely, we hope we could be able to distinguish between our territorial disputes as well as our desire for greater trade with China. We’d like to see something like that, yes,” Pangilinan said.

At the same time, he underscored the need for the country to stand firm against China and support the Philippine Coast Guard and the armed forces amid what he described as increasingly aggressive actions by Beijing in the West Philippine Sea.

“It would be difficult to be out and out pro-China, especially when it comes to policies that affect our national interest. I will have to qualify [that] you can be pro-Philippines without being anti-China as a general proposition but when conflict arises obviously between China’s interest and ours then clearly, we stand by the national interest,” he added.

Pangilinan, along with Senators Risa Hontiveros and Erwin Tulfo, ML Party-list Representative Leila De Lima, and Akbayan Party-list Representative Chel Diokno, had earlier been criticized by the Chinese Embassy for their public statements defending the Philippines’ rights in the West Philippine Sea.

The senator said the adoption of the resolution signifies the Senate’s institutional support for the recent statement of the Department of National Defense and the Armed Forces of the Philippines, which reaffirmed the country’s claims in the West Philippine Sea and called for the protection of Filipino fisherfolk and Philippine Coast Guard personnel from harassment in the area.