‘We are Filipinos, and we do not yield,’ President Marcos says in his 5th SONA, as he spoke of an unnamed ‘common threat’ days after the China Coast Guard harassed Philippine ships in the West Philippine Sea
MANILA, Philippines — Weeks after a China state-run publication released a video depicting the Philippines and Filipinos as monkeys in criticizing the 2016 Arbitral Award, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. used his State of the Nation Address (SONA) to remind “our friends and our detractors” that Filipinos are “not greedy, not racist, and not liars.”
“Our unity and collective consciousness are challenged now greater than ever before. A common threat lies before us, directed against our dignity and self-respect as a people. Of late, our very humanity has been called into question. Let me remind our friends and our detractors: Filipinos are a noble, kind, gracious, and great race,” Marcos said in his 5th SONA on Monday, July 27 before an audience of legislators, officials from the executive, and the diplomatic corps.
“We are not greedy. We are not racists. We are not liars. We are respectful, and we are dignified. We are Filipinos, and we do not yield,” Marcos added, prompting a standing ovation.
While Marcos did not specify who his statements referrred to, his “reminders” to friends and detractors were followed immediately by a mention of the 2016 Arbitral Award and its 10th year anniversary.
Marcos noted the landmark decision, which China refuses to accept, is a “definitive benchmark for the interpretation and application of the [United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea].”
“This is not a claim that we advance alone, nor one that we will abandon. Your government will do all that is necessary to continue upholding this Award, utilizing every peaceful and legal means available to the Republic against any attempt, foreign or domestic, to undermine this achievement,” said Marcos.
This is the lengthiest Marcos has gone in speaking of foreign policy or geopolitics during a SONA, a speech typically devoted to domestic policy and plans.
Yet outside of the SONA, the Philippines has made explicit, in various ways, its view of China as a potential strategic and national security threat. External defense has been a priority by the military since 2023, when the National Security Policy was released. Various defense and security officials have also raised alarm over the threats to the cognitive space — or operations and efforts to influence how Filipinos feels and think, especially over how the country approaches its maritime and territorial defense.
Marcos has said that he wants a “reset” to bilateral ties with China — a goal administration talking heads have echoed. But it has not been easy.
China claims almost all of the South China Sea, including areas that are part of the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ), which belongs to an area that Manila calls the West Philippine Sea.
Just the past week, as Manila hosted Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and other top diplomats from all around the world for Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) meetings, maritime confrontations in Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal and Bajo de Masinloc (Scarborough Shoal) raised already tense bilateral tensions between the Philippines and China.
Marcos himself had summoned Chinese ambassador Jing Quan to the Palace on July 21 over a confrontation in Ayungin Shoal that left two soldiers injured.
In his SONA, Marcos paid tribute to the country’s maritime frontliners — the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the Philippine Coast Guard, and FIlipino fisherfolk — for “[giving] life to the letter and spirit of the Arbitral Award.”
“Mga kapwa kong Pilipino, sa ganitong mga banta sa ating seguridad, sa loob at labas ng bansa, tayo’y tumindig nang taas-noo at magkapit-bisig. Dahil tayo man ay magkakaiba sa maraming bagay, iisa lang ang ating lahi. Tayong lahat ay Pilipino. Pilipino sa diwa; Pilipino sa dugo,” he said.
(To my fellow Filipinos, to these threats to our security, inside and outside our country, we stand with our heads high, together. We may differ in many things, but we are one nation. We are Filipino. Filipino in our thoughts. Filipino in our blood.)
“Sa mga pang-aalipusta, hindi tayo matitinag. Sa manlulupig, hindi tayo pasisiil,” he said, prompting another standing ovation.
(To those who look down on us, we do not cower. We do not surrender to the oppressor.)
The 2016 Arbitral Award, which handed to the Philippines a sweeping victory under UNCLOS, was paid little attention to under former president Rodrigo Duterte, who wanted better ties with Beijing. It has been under the Marcos administration that the Philippines has made strides in trying to protect the Philippines’ entitlements in its waters and its territorial claims in the West Philippine Sea. – Rappler.com
