BY WENDELL VIGILIA

THE House committee on foreign affairs Wednesday night cancelled its initial hearing on the controversial joint marine seismic undertaking among the Philippines, China and Vietnam in the Spratly islands due to a technicality.

Committee chair Antonio Cuenco (Lakas, Cebu) said the cancellation was because panel members were not informed of the investigation three days beforehand, as mandated by the rules.

Cuenco announced the cancellation before Congress adjourned for its Lenten recess Wednesday.

But Cuenco later admitted he wanted a "cooling off" period as the country's diplomatic relations with China hang in the balance due to the controversy generated by the 2005 tripartite agreement.

The decision drew flak from congressmen who denounced Malacañang as behind efforts to block the investigation.

Rep. Edno Joson (Ind., Nueva Ecija), one of the sponsors of Resolution 496, said the House leadership has "once again" succumbed to the dictates of the Palace.

"Siyempre halos lahat ng committee chairmen are from Lakas at Kampi so no doubt about it. They want to put out the brushfire in the House and then dahan-dahan lang sa Senate," he said.

Rep. Roilo Golez (Ind., Parañaque), the principal sponsor of the resolution, said the technical reasons cited for the hearing's cancellation were obviously misleading.

"I'm very upset that we're not going to hold this hearing because we're talking of national security and territorial integrity with respect to our archipelagic baselines," he said.

Golez has called for an investigation into the Spratly Deal which allows China to undertake seismic data acquisition which he said might have led to the Philippines' loss of valuable pieces of information about the disputed area.

China's People's Daily Online reported on Nov. 20, 2005 that the China Oilfield Services Limited had already completed the seismic data acquisition through its exploration ship codenamed Nanshai 502.

The JMSU, which was signed in 2005, involves the Philippine National Oil Co., the China National Offshore Oil Co. and Vietnam Oil and Gas Corp. (PetroVietnam).

Malacañang has formed a legal team to study whether to push through with the second phase of the JMSU after critics of President Arroyo said she could be liable for treason for allowing the joint exploration of disputed islands in exchange for soft loans from China worth billions of dollars.

Cuenco said he might file a substitute bill that would exclude the disputed Spratly islands and Scarborough Shoal from the country's territorial claim in the light of China's opposition to House Bill 3216.

Under HB 3216, the country's archipelagic baseline would include the Kalayaan Island Group (KIG) or popularly known as Spratlys and the Scarborough Shoal.

The Cuenco panel wants the bill, which is waiting for approval on third and final reading, recommitted to the committee for further deliberation, a move which needs plenary approval.

Cuenco said he was not giving in to China's "pressure" because the Spratlys and the Scarborough Shoal would still be treated as mere "regime islands" under his substitute bill.

"We will pass this bill despite this objection. We are not going to yield to any kind of pressure. We'll not allow to be influenced by anyone," he said.

The Philippines has until May 2009 to inform the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) of the extent of its archipelagic boundary.

In a committee hearing last December, the Cuenco panel opted for the fourth option presented by the National Mapping and Resource Information Authority which set the baseline territory of the country at 12-mile territorial sea, 24-mile contiguous zone and a 200-mile Exclusive Economic Zone.

If the country fails to meet this deadline, Cuenco said the country's territorial claim would be limited to three instead of 12 nautical miles from the baselines.

Detained Sen. Antonio Trillanes expressed outrage that the House and Senate bills relating to the definition of Philippine territory are being sabotaged and mishandled.

"I was informed that House Bill No. 3216 was reverted to the committee level upon the direction of Malacañang, so that it could be tampered with to completely remove our claims over the KIG and Scarborough Shoal. This is despite the fact that the bill was already passed on second reading last December 2007 by the House plenary," he said.

Another immediate concern, he said, is the approaching deadline on May 2009 set by the UNCLOS for the Philippines to pass a law that will officially define its national territory and register its territorial claims, which should include KIG and Scarborough shoal.

"This blatant act indubitably confirms earlier accusations of GMA's sell-out of Philippine sovereignty relating to our claims over the Kalayaan Island Group or the Spratlys in exchange for bribes attached to billion-dollar projects. This is treason," he said.