MANILA, Philippines - Not a single centavo in the proposed P3.8-trillion national budget for next year is earmarked for concerns related to protecting the country’s territories in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) being coveted by China, opposition Rep. Edcel Lagman of Albay lamented yesterday.

At the hearing on the P19.6-billion outlay for the Department of Foreign Affairs, Lagman said there should be a specific appropriation for the “assertion and defense of Philippine sovereignty in the West Philippine Sea consistent with the ruling of the United Nations Permanent Court of Arbitration favoring our country.”

He said the administration’s failure to provide such funding is probably pursuant to its policy of setting aside the arbitral ruling while seeking harmonious relations with China.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano admitted that there is no appropriation in his department’s 2018 budget specifically for WPS concerns.

However, he told the House appropriations committee chaired by Davao City Rep. Karlo Nograles that he is willing to submit a proposal if the panel so desires.

“We will do our job whether you add a peso or not. Of course the more resources you give us, the more we can assert not only our rights but develop the institutional memory and institutional strength in fighting for our claims,” Cayetano said.

“If you give us a few days, we’ll give a specific proposal with the goal of continuing the gains achieved through President Duterte’s ‘friend to all, enemy to no one’ packaging of the Philippines in Asia and beyond,” he said.

Nograles promised to consider a DFA proposal for a “dedicated budget for WPS concerns.”

“There is more than meets the eye regarding the geopolitical terrain in the WPS and we trust Secretary Cayetano to come up with a sensible and ultimately advantageous plan to address the current issues there,” he said.

“The Duterte administration has already assured our people that it would defend the country’s sovereignty, so the important thing right now is to give the DFA the resources to perform its mandate,” he said.

Cayetano said he wanted to address two WPS issues. “Actually, there are two areas where we would like to do more: the protection and research of our territorial claims... and secondly anti-terrorism,” he said.

During the hearing, Rep. Harry Roque of Kabayan chided Supreme Court Justice Antonio Carpio for continuing to make statements regarding disputed territories in the WPS that contradict the Duterte administration’s policy and pronouncements. – With Evelyn Macairan