Third District Palawan Representative Gil Acosta Jr. said he will once again take a stand at the House of Representatives plenary to raise concerns over China’s rocket launches that pass through Philippine airspace, with debris falling into waters off the eastern side of Palawan.
Acosta said he has already called for accountability and respect twice after delivering a privilege speech in August last year, where he called out China over the issue.
“Ang pinakanakakatakot is pagdating sa issue na ito, is yung pag-traverse ng rocket, hindi na lang sa west ng Palawan. Noong araw, doon lang sa contested area ng West Philippine Sea, pero ngayon hindi, nandito na, east, Sulu Sea. So kung magtatapon ka ng basura mo, doon sa international waters, huwag dito,” Acosta said in a recent interview with the media.
“So we will file a bill kasama si Congressman Jose Alvarez and si mommy Rose, Rep. Rose Salvame, na gawin nating, i-criminalize natin yung pagtatapon ng debris,” he added.
He also challenged the Department of Foreign Affairs to take more concrete steps, noting that he has already raised the issue twice at the House of Representatives but that it was only referred to the Special Committee on the West Philippine Sea and never fully tackled.
“But one time, nakasingit kami, Palawan reps, naisingit namin yung problema, and it turned out, hanggang ngayon pala, hindi tayo nagfa-file ng protest. So kung ako si China, bakit ko nga naman ititigil ang rocket launch e hindi naman nagfa-file ng formal protest ang Pilipinas,” he said.
“So ang tanong, nakailan na? Kami ba sa Palawan ay second-class citizens na yung reklamo natin ay hindi pakikinggan ng Manila? Kasi every time na bumagsak ang rocket debris, matatakot tayo, merong mangingisda na hindi makakapangisda, at may batang magugutom,” he added.
In his privilege speech last August, Acosta said that while the actions of other nations in space exploration are remarkable, “the safety of our citizens and the integrity of our sovereign territory must never be compromised.”
“We must highlight a glaring issue. China, with its vast territory, the third largest in the world spanning almost 9.6 million square kilometers, has ample inhabited and remote areas within its borders that could serve as safer drop zones for space debris,” he said.
