SAGIP Party-list Rep. Paolo Henry Marcoleta has responded to criticism over his controversial remark suggesting that certain government officials, including senators, be used as “cannon fodder” in the event of a war between the Philippines and China.
In a Facebook post on Sunday, February 8, Marcoleta said Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo “Ping” Lacson initiated the use of metaphorical jabs in their exchange.
“With all due respect to the good Senator, he was the one who started with metaphorical jabs like, ‘the crazy cat that keeps meowing on the ground floor and the annoying dog that keeps barking on the upper floor,’” Marcoleta said.
The lawmaker claimed he was merely following what he described as a “creative trend” in political discourse.
“The ‘cannon fodder’ thing, as he calls it, which should also be taken figuratively in context, is an indirect challenge on the battle-readiness of the PCG spox and some Senators to be at the frontlines in a worst-case scenario that China declares war on the Philippines amid these tensions,” he added.
Philippine Coast Guard spokesperson Jay Tarriela, however, condemned Marcoleta’s remarks, saying it was alarming for a sitting lawmaker to appear to wish harm on fellow Filipinos.
“Without mentioning your disrespectful and uncourteous remark to the Senators, it is concerning that a member of the House of Representatives would express themselves in a manner that appears to wish harm and demise upon our country,” Tarriela said.
Tarriela also reiterated his invitation for Marcoleta to visit the Kalayaan Island Group to personally see the situation in disputed waters, echoing a previous challenge he had extended to other critics of the Coast Guard’s stance on China’s activities.
