In introducing his 12 candidates to the Senate, President Bongbong Marcos criticized Rody Duterte's 9 candidates. According to Marcos, they seem to be puppets of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) because they are silent about the CCP's pressure in the West Philippine Sea.
Sen. Bato Dela Rosa, who is running for re-election, reacted. He was angry at the accusation that he is pro-China and said he is ready to give guns and ammunitionto anyone who accuses him. He even challenged them to join forces in fighting the enemies of WPS.
But according to critics of Duterte and Dela Rosa, it's easy to pretend to be angry with the CCP.
During the 2016 Elections, Duterte promised fishermen in Pangasinan and Zambales that he would go to the Spratlys on a jetski to plant the Philippine flag and tell China, “This is ours!”
But instead of criticizing China, Duterte even allowed the China Maritime Militia to fish in the WPS without limits on time, place, and quantity of catch.
Five years later, when fishermen asked him what had happened to his promise, Duterte said, "It was just a joke!" He added that he did not know how to swim, and called those who believed him "fools."
Raul Lambino, one of the candidates, is a former head of the Cagayan Economic Zone Authority. He plans to give Fuga Island to a Chinese company to turn it into a gambling and a port for Chinese ships, but the AFP prevented this.
