By Charissa Luci-Atienza MAGDALO partylist Rep. Gary Alejano said on Tuesday the Duterte government's supposed "secret dilopmacy" is not working and continues to put the country's sovereignty in a losing end. Magdalo Partylist Rep. Gary Alejano
(MANILA BULLETIN FILE PHOTO) "Whatever secret diplomacy the Duterte administration is pursuing, it is clearly not working. In fact, China even stepped up its aggressive actions under Duterte’s foreign policy," he said after Malacañang said it does not consider China a threat to national security. He said the government cannot protect the country's interest in the West Philippine Sea by engaging in discreet negotiations with Beijing. "While they are insisting that there have been diplomatic actions, the result that we are seeing on the ground is an emboldened China pushing our limits," Alejano said. "Paano magtitiwala kung sinisikreto ng gobyerno at iniiwan ang taumbayan sa napakahalagang isyu na ito? The public demands transparency and concrete actions – not silence and neglect," he said. He said the more effective approach to address the issue is through multilateral engagements and open diplomacy and making use of the UN Permanent Court of Arbitration ruling as leverage. "There is no need to go to war - as what Duterte has been insisting to the public," he said. He said the Duterte administration will only put in jeopardy the security of the region with its alleged silence and subservience to China. "We are becoming a liability to other claimant nations and neighboring states," he said. "Let me remind the President that the Philippines is a sovereign nation. Tungkulin ng isang Pangulo na pangalagaan ang kalayaan na ito sa mapayapa at matalinong pamamaraan. Kung kabaligtaran naman ang ginagawa ng Pangulo, para saan pa ang kanyang katungkulan?," Alejano asked.