Youth organization KALikha UPD is demanding the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee to further investigate “anomalous transactions” and question the presence of China in Philippine territories.
In a statement, the group pointed to the recent “sell-out of security-critical islands” of Chiquita and Grande in Subic Bay and Fuga Island in Aparri, Cagayan, along with the “continuous aggression” of the People’s Republic in China in the West Philippine Sea and unauthorized probes in the PH territories in the Pacific Ocean.
“In the past, KALikha UPD has stood its ground in questioning the advances of China in the West Philippine Sea that terrorized local fisher folks of Bataan, and the deals made for the Kaliwa Dam, which threatens to displace indigenous peoples in the area and compromise the Sierra Madre mountain ranges,” it said.
They maintain that China has no business on Philippine soils and has to leave.
“Our national sovereignty is an issue of prime importance. We are talking about our statehood here. We must defend our territories at all cost,” said Amber Quiban, KALikha UPD National Campaigns and Advocacies Officer.
“In the past, the Senate has started probing the questionable operations of POGOs in the country, but we have to demand more action from them. We cannot afford losing strategic and security critical islands to Chinese conglomerates which could harm us in the future,” Quiban added.
In addition to concerns about national sovereignty, the group also questions the justifications used for these anomalous deals.
KALikha UPD reiterates that selling parts of Philippine territory for development’s sake “is moot when ordinary Filipinos could not feel the progress that these transactions bring, only their negative effect.”
“The net effect of these deals should be development for all Filipinos, not just for some, and ultimately, not China,” it said.