By Mario Casayuran Because of the sensitive nature of the controversial territorial ownership and Chinese militarization of the contested West Philippine Sea (WPS), the Senate foreign relations committee might hold closed-door session in hearing testimonies of top government officials. This was revealed Saturday by Senator Loren Legarda, committee chairwoman, she might choose this option when her committee begins its inquiry into the WPS issue when the Senate plenary session resumes on August 28 following a week-long recess. Senator Loren Legarda
(Facebook / MANILA BULLETIN) There might be sensitive issues that might arise during the Senate public hearing, she said. Aside from her studies at the University of the Philippines (UP) that led her to become a journalist, Legarda told DWIZ radio yesterday that she had studied at the National Defense College of the Philippines. Legarda said the Senate resolutions seeking a public hearing on the reclamation of former islets and atolls by China and its subsequent construction of naval and air bases at the WPS was assigned to her by the Senate leadership. She said she would conduct the public hearing on the WPS despite her being busy in the coming weeks as chairwoman of the Senate finance committee that would conduct hearings on the proposed 2019 P3.7 trillion national budget. ’That is my discretion,’’ Legarda said of the option of her committee conducting a closed-door hearing on the WPS. The WPS is believed to contain hundreds of millions of barrels of oil and gases that both the Philippines and China need badly. The Senate national defense committee chaired by Sen. Gregorio B. Honasan II, a former Army colonel, has been tasked to assist the Legarda main committee. Legarda said Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter S. Cayetano was supposed to appear before her committee early last week but the hearing was reset because of the inclement weather. Despite the growing militarization by China of the contested WPS territory, President Duterte had tried to build economic bridges with China to the consternation of the US. Recently, China earned the ire of the Philippine President for shooing off a Philippine military plane that approached the China man-made territory that the United Nations Arbitration Court has ruled that it is owned by the Philippines and has rejected China’s ‘’historical claim’’ over the WPS and most parts of the South China sea. The UN ruling was issued in 2016. US air and sea craft, using the internationally recognized right of innocent passage, have time and again passed near the contested area only to be warned by China of the US incursion. Former DFA)Secretary Albert del Rosario hailed President Duterte’s call for economically-strong China, a growing global military power, to temper its behavior in the WPS after Beijing warned a Philippine aircraft that had flown over its man-made islands in the disputed region. Del Rosario said he commends President Duterte on his recent remarks about China’s aggressive and unlawful behavior in the South China Sea. He pointed out that nine out of 10 Filipinos would be encouraged and inspired by President Duterte’s manifestation of his positive leadership.