BY WENDELL VIGILIA

THE chairman of the House committee on foreign affairs said yesterday China's opposition to the bill defining the Philippines' boundaries prevented the chamber from approving the measure despite the deadline set by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Seas (UNCLOS).

Rep. Antonio Cuenco (Lakas, Cebu) said Beijing expressed its objection to House Bill 3216 in a "note" to the Philippine embassy in Beijing last December.

"China is shocked by and gravely concerned with this negative development. We request the clarification from the Philippine side," said the two-page letter which was faxed to Cuenco's office by Ambassador Sonia Brady.

The unsigned note reiterated that China "has undisputable sovereignty over Nansha islands (Kalayaan Group of Islands) including Scarborough Shoal and its adjacent waters."

It said the passage of the bill, despite the Philippines' signing of the Declaration of Conduct of Parties in South China Sea, "will not be conducive to the stability in the SCS and will also disturb China-Philippine cooperation in the area, exerting negative impact on the healthy development of our bilateral relations."

It also noted that the bill's approval would not sit well with China amid the forging of the Joint Marine Seismic Undertaking (JMSU) in the area which critics said could be the basis to charge President Arroyo with treason.

Under HB 3216, the Philippines' archipelagic baseline would include the Kalayaan Island Group and the Scarborough Shoal which are also being claimed by other countries aside from China.

The Philippines has until May 2009 to inform UNCLOS of the extent of its archipelagic boundary.

Cuenco, however, said that while the letter does not have an official attribution, he does not doubt the authenticity of the document. "But if you talk of legal and technical terms, this is just a scrap of paper," he said.

He also disclosed that the Chinese charge d'affaires also expressed his country's opposition to the bill when he met with him last January.

"It's their way of expressing dissent," Cuenco said. "In diplomatic lingo, galit sila."

Cuenco said he would ask the plenary to postpone the passage of the measure on third and final reading until the session's resumption after the Lenten break.

"We need a cooling off period," he said, noting that his committee has already decided to ask the plenary to allow further amendments to the measure.

Cuenco's panel has also decided to cancel its scheduled inquiry into the JMSU today, saying they failed to inform the members three days beforehand as mandated by the rules.

Rep. Roilo Golez (Ind., Parañaque), the principal sponsor of the investigation, said the panel's backtracking smacks of Malacañang influence.

"Very clear na may intervention from the executive especially on the part of the Department of Foreign Affairs," he said.

They said the DFA does not want the House version because this would antagonize the Chinese who have been providing loans to the Philippines. China is one of the claimants in the Spratlys.

NOTHING TO HIDE

Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said documents on the JMSU would be made public during the congressional hearings on the Spratlys issue.

"There is nothing hide about the JMSU. This JMSU is a scientific undertaking, not exploration," Ermita said.

He said the Palace legal team is leaving it to the Department of Energy and the Philippine National Oil Company to recommend to President Arroyo whether the JMSU should be extended beyond June 30, when the agreement expires.

Ermita also said officials of Chinese Communist Party officials are not here because of the controversies surrounding the Spratlys and the Chinese loans, including the national broadband deal. "The Chinese government wants to have a feel of the situation."