Press Release
November 26, 2018

Dispatch from Crame No. 422:
Sen. Leila M. de Lima's Statement on the Traitors's Sell-out of Our Sovereignty

11/26/18

The break in protocol during the Malacañang honor guard ceremony for Chinese President Xi Jinping is very symbolic of the purpose of his State visit. The purpose was to cement the Philippines' inclusion into China's sphere of influence, if not domination.

The Chinese President, more than just another visiting head of state, came and was welcomed as a victorious conqueror. To symbolize this nature of the visit, Malacañang allowed the Chinese flag to be displayed exclusively during the honor guard ceremony, without the Philippine presidential standard flag, and with Duterte following meekly behind the Chinese President.

True enough, the agreements that were signed throughout the State visit solidified Philippine inclusion into China's global strategic vision known as the 'Belt and Road Initiative.' This means Philippine access to Chinese infrastructure loans, and Chinese access to Philippine developmental projects. As the lender, China is poised to exercise more control over the projects than in previous loan agreements with other countries. This includes the utilization of China's infrastructure resources, including employment of its technical personnel in the projects.

All the while, China continues to undermine the Philippines' internationally-recognized EEZ in the West Philippine Sea, and now acts as the owner of resources our country is entitled to as the exclusive beneficiary under the UNCLOS, as upheld in the decision of the Permanent Court of Arbitration.

We do not need China to give us money. The only thing that China has to do is to get out and stay out of the West Philippine Sea. A country that steals our territory cannot possibly do anything better than to stop stealing from us, and not by pretending to help us by bribing the traitors among us.

This is a critical stage in our nation's history. The context of allowing China to play, not even a dominant, but a dominating role in our national development, which China envisions to be its permanent presence in the lives of Filipinos, bears all the hallmarks of a traitorous sell-out of our sovereignty and national patrimony by the ruling regime. No one has said it better than former Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales. Quoting Cicero, she postulates that the Philippines cannot survive treason from within.

Indeed, a nation can fight and resist invaders. But when its own President and public officials decide to sell the country for thirty pieces of silver, the betrayal is almost irreversible. The invader no longer needs to land its troops on our soil, when our own leaders are themselves the agents of the conqueror in our midst.

We should no longer wonder why the Chinese flag flew high and mighty on that fateful day in Malacañang. Our Presidential Palace is now the headquarters of China's fifth column in the Philippines. It is no longer a Filipino President that holds office there, but a Chinese puppet.

This disturbs me tremendously...

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