Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) Commodore Jay Tarriela has blamed the "misconceptions" the previous Duterte administration for what he described to congressmen as the "false sense of security" among the Filipinos when it comes to the West Philippine Sea (WPS).
READ MORE: https://mb.com.ph/2025/2/18/misconceptions-during-duterte-admin-blamed-for-pinoys-false-sense-of-security-in-west-philippine-sea-tarriela
READ MORE: https://mb.com.ph/2025/2/18/misconceptions-during-duterte-admin-blamed-for-pinoys-false-sense-of-security-in-west-philippine-sea-tarriela
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00:00I was honestly pleased to learn about the House of Representatives' decision to hold
00:08a public hearing addressing fake news, disinformation, and misinformation on social media.
00:16I believe this presents an opportunity for us to finally establish legislation that holds
00:23trolls, influencers, and bloggers accountable for their online content.
00:30It is important to note that one of the greatest challenges facing the Philippine government
00:35in the West Philippine Sea, aside from China's bullying, unlawful activities, and aggressive
00:42actions, is combating the spread of fake news and disinformation that obscures the true
00:49narrative of events in the West Philippine Sea, leading to confusion and division among
00:56our people.
00:58When President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. took office in 2022 and declared that he would
01:04not surrender an inch of our territory to any foreign power, many questioned the meaning
01:11behind his words, especially since the previous administration claimed that all was peaceful
01:18and under control in the West Philippine Sea.
01:22This misconception stemmed from the belief that the prior administration had effectively
01:27managed the situation in the West Philippine Sea.
01:31Between 2016 and 2022, only three incidents were reported to the media.
01:38The first one is in 2019 when Filipino fishermen from Mindolo reported that their boat, FB
01:46was rammed by the Chinese maritime militia in Recto Bank.
01:50The second incident was in 2021 when the AAP chartered resupply boat was hit by water cannon.
01:59And the last one on that same year when over 210 Chinese maritime militia were reported
02:05by the Philippine Coast Guard swarming near Julian Piliper Reef.
02:10The limited reporting of these incidents combined with the narrative that the former
02:16president's diplomatic effort had successfully convinced Xi Jinping to allow our fishermen
02:23to operate freely contributed to the false sense of security among the Filipino people
02:29regarding the West Philippine Sea.
02:31Therefore, for President Marcos to deliver his commitment of not surrendering a square
02:37inch of our territory to any foreign power, he has to unite the Filipino people.
02:43And the only way that we can unite our highly polarized country is to awaken their sense
02:49of patriotism with the right information.
02:53This is the reason why the Transparency Initiative of the National Task Force West Philippine
02:58Sea was launched in 2023.
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