THE municipal council of Kalayaan town in Palawan is set to discuss a resolution opposing Sen. Rodante Marcoleta’s controversial remarks suggesting that the Philippines give up the Kalayaan Island Group (KIG).
Kalayaan Vice Mayor Maurice Philip Alexis Albayda said the resolution is scheduled for deliberation today, February 10, during the regular session of the Sangguniang Bayan.
The resolution seeks to formally request the Committee on Appointments (CA) to expunge Marcoleta’s statement from the official record or transcript of a recent hearing.
During the CA hearing last week, Marcoleta said: “Ano ba talaga ang ipagpapatayan natin dito? We will offer our lives including the lives of our children, and to die for it for something that is not even within our EEZ? Ang gawin natin po para madali, i-give up natin ‘yung KIG.”
The senator argued that the KIG lies outside the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone and that relinquishing it would make coordination easier.
The remarks drew criticism from various sectors, including local officials of Kalayaan, who reiterated the Philippines’ sovereign claim over the island group.
