Filipinos were urged to embrace the protection of the West Philippine Sea as a shared national responsibility, as the country marked the 10th anniversary of the landmark 2016 Arbitral Award.
Speaking at the National West Philippine Sea Summit held on July 8 and 9, Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. reaffirmed the Philippines’ commitment to international law and the defense of its maritime rights and entitlements.
He said protecting the country’s maritime domain must begin with deeper public understanding and stronger national ownership of the West Philippine Sea, the Kalayaan Island Group, the country’s exclusive economic zone, and extended continental shelf.
“There should be increasing awareness and ownership of the West Philippine Sea, Kalayaan Island Group, our EEZ in the whole of the Philippines, and extended continental shelf, in an increasingly granular manner. Such knowledge and awareness must be cascaded heavily so that it forms part of the psyche of our normal citizen, Juan de la Cruz or Juana de la Cruz,” the defense chief said.
He noted that said public awareness must go beyond knowledge and develop into a sense of stewardship and responsibility.
He described this national duty as “pagyakap,” or embracing, saying the protection of the West Philippine Sea should reflect the same care and responsibility that define the bond between a parent and a child.
“I was looking for a Tagalog or Filipino term to capture the spirit of knowledge. I was thinking, pag-ako, pag-angkin, pagmamay-ari, it’s not enough… It’s pagyakap, you embrace. Why do you embrace? It’s because you have ownership. You steward, you don’t kill the people you embrace… You nurture, and you protect… ‘Yakap’ denotes a special bond, like a parent with a child,” he stressed.
He said this mindset is crucial because the country’s maritime rights and resources must be preserved not only for the present generation, but also for future Filipinos.
“Why is this important? To me, it’s really important because we steward these areas, all of these areas, not for ourselves, but for future generations of Filipinos. For whom, in order to steward these areas, we should make major commitments and investments,” he said.
The official also emphasized the need for continued cooperation with like-minded states to uphold a rules-based international order.
He said collective action, shared responsibility, and sustained partnerships are necessary to address security challenges and preserve stability in the region.
“We need adherents, we need co-actors, and for lack of a better term, co-investors to resist any unilateral attempt to reshape the international order for the unilateral and selfish advantage of a leadership,” he said.
The National West Philippine Sea Summit was organized by the WPS Foundation in collaboration with the National Task Force-West Philippine Sea, government institutions, the academe, and the private sector.
The two-day summit gathered government officials, policymakers, legal experts, academics, and other stakeholders to deepen public understanding of the West Philippine Sea and the continuing relevance of the 2016 Arbitral Award.
The event featured capacity-building lectures, policy dialogues, and town hall discussions on the Law of the Sea, maritime governance, national security, and Philippine approaches to the West Philippine Sea.