‘Spratly islands ancestral home of Ph indigenous folk’

LAGAWE, Ifugao – The Spratly islands are part of the ancestral domain of the Philippines because the indigenous peoples of Palawan have been fishing in the disputed territory the past decades, thus, the islands are considered their ancestral fishing grounds, Rep. Teodoro Baguilat, Jr., chairman of the House committee on national cultural communities, said here Thursday.

Baguilat was one of five members of the House of Representatives who recently visited Pag-asa Island in Kalayaan town which is part of the Philippine territory to show their support to the claim of the country over the Spratley islands as part of its exclusive economic zone.

According to him, their visit to the disputed territory is part of the national government’s effort to show moral support to the soldiers, local government employees and the people staying there so that their spirits will be bolstered amidst the escalating word war between ranking Philippine and Chinese diplomats over ownership of the oil-rich islands.

Aside from visiting the disputed islands, the lawmakers also distributed supplies to the residents who were delighted to welcome them in their place.

To bolster the ownership of the Philippines over the Spratleys, Baguilat and his fellow lawmakers filed a resolution with the House of Representatives to change the name of the South China Sea to West Philippine Sea so the government will have a bigger chance of gaining ownership over the oil-rich islands.

The trip of the lawmakers to the Pag-asa Island was considered symbolic because their chartered plane was the first commercial plane to land and they were technically the first tourists to visit the place.

Baguilat urged concerned government agencies to promote Kalayaan town as one of the country’s premier tourist destination to help entice foreign and domestic tourists to visit the place and see for themselves the actual situation in the area and be witness to its scenic spots that are worth exploring.

The advocate for the protection of indigenous peoples rights over their ancestral domain claimed the Chinese are aggressively using their brute force to claim the entire West Philippine Sea, especially the islands obviously owned by the Philippines, because of prospective rich oil and gas deposits that could help enrich the country once appropriately explored, utilized and developed.

Baguilat said the Philippines must not bow down to the whims and caprices of the Chinese who want to flex their muscles to insist their ownership over the Spratleys amidst obvious indications the islands are supposed to be within Philippine territory.

Because of the brewing conflict in the West Philippine Sea, Baguilat is favoring a peaceful solution to the controversy and not to leave the matter unattended considering the Philippines might eventually lose its grip over a rich source of oil and gas that could help spur economic growth in the country in the future. -- Dexter A. See