anniversary
celebration of the AFP Western Command, Esperon said he informed
the President Saturday night about his scheduled visit to Pagasa
island, an RP-occupied area which had been turned into Kalayaan
town, Palawan.
"She said ‘I’m going with you, I should be
there. When are you going there?’ I said Monday and she said
‘you should have told me about your trip earlier because I
really wanted to go to Kalayaan’," said Esperon.
But Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said
President Arroyo told him she has no such plans.
Ermita said if Arroyo visits the area, there
would be no diplomatic repercussions because she would not go to
any island that is not part of the territory claimed by the
Philippines.
He said it would also not be necessary to
inform the other claimant countries prior to her visit. "I don’t
think that’s necessary, that’s our territory," he said.
The KIG is being claimed in part or in whole
by the Philippines, Taiwan, China, Malaysia, Brunei, and
Vietnam. The Philippines, China and Vietnam signed in 2005 a
joint marine and seismic survey undertaking covering the
disputed territory.
Esperon said his visit to the troops on
Pagasa island should not be a matter of concern. "I’m visiting a
municipality of Palawan."
"This is also in preparation for a summer
program which they call Kalayaan Summer Outing Program (later
next month). So this summer, by Philippine Navy boats or by
Philippine Air Force planes that would be going there, we will
be bringing in more civilians to the area," he said.
Asked why the President wanted to go to
Kalayaan, Esperon said: "The President has gone to all
municipalities. I do not even know of any municipality she has
not been to, except Kalayaan."
The Arroyo government is under criticism over the Joint
Marine Seismic Undertaking (JMSU) which China National Offshore
Oil Corp. and the Philippine National Oil Co. signed last Sept.
1, 2004 reportedly in exchange for billions worth of soft loans
for projects like the national broadband network project, the
cyber education project, and the North and South Rail projects.
– Victor Reyes
