Proposal to file WPS resolution at UN studied

THE Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) is reviewing a proposal to file a resolution at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) regarding China's rising aggression in the West Philippine Sea (WPS). Nueva Ecija 2nd District Rep. Joseph Gilbert Violago confirmed this during the plenary deliberation on the DFA's proposed P27.392-billion budget for 2025 at the House of Representatives. "The DFA really has a plan to file a resolution with the UN General Assembly on the Philippine's territorial claims in the West Philippine Sea," Violago said. Violago, the agency's budget sponsor, said the decision to file a resolution would require careful consideration and must be subject to necessity and prudence. "The recommendation to file a particular resolution with the United Nations General Assembly would have to be subject to necessity and prudence. The department appreciates the recommendation and continues to study its implication," he said. He explained that the UNGA typically focuses on human development issues. "The DFA maintains the view that the United Nations General Assembly is the venue for decisions on human development issues that concern the conditions faced by humanity as a whole. The United Nations General Assembly is not the venue for political debates where anything short of consensus decision from the assembly, such as one that would require a vote with an uncertain majority, would be a success only if the parameters for success are redrawn," he said. He gave assurances that the DFA would continue its efforts to protect the Philippines' territorial integrity and national interests through diplomatic means.