CLAIM: There is no such thing as the West Philippine Sea
RATING: FALSE
In a congressional hearing on Tuesday, Feb. 4, partylist representative Rodante Marcoleta claimed that the West Philippine Sea (WPS) is just a made-up idea.
“There is nothing as West Philippine Sea. Wala po ‘yon. That is a creation by us,” said Marcoleta, who represents Sagip party-list group (Social Amelioration and Genuine Intervention on Poverty), during the House tri-committee probe on online disinformation and cybercrimes.
The claim was made when Marcoleta stressed the need to empower the people to “distinguish what is fake and what is true,” citing the West Philippine Sea as an example of a misunderstood issue.
The portion of the South China Sea covered by the Philippines’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) was renamed “West Philippine Sea” in 2012 through Administrative Order 29.
The order, signed by President Benigno Aquino III, defined the West Philippine Sea as covering the “Luzon Sea as well as the waters around, within, and adjacent to the Kalayaan Island Group and Bajo De Masinloc, also known as Scarborough Shoal.”
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