Sen. Rodante Marcoleta stated that his remarks about giving up the Kalayaan Island Group (KIG) were made in jest and highly hypothetical. He made this clarification during a Senate committee hearing. The comments had drawn criticism from officials and experts.
During a Senate committee hearing on National Defense and Security, Peace, Unification, and Reconciliation on Tuesday, Sen. Rodante Marcoleta clarified that his statement about relinquishing the Kalayaan Island Group (KIG) was not serious. He said in Filipino, 'I was joking. It was a hypothetical statement when I said, “Well, you want to give up the KIG so you can encircle it.” That was highly hypothetical. It was not even a suggestion.'
In a previous hearing of the Commission on Appointments Committee on National Defense, Marcoleta had suggested giving up the KIG to better control the West Philippine Sea. He faced criticism from Philippine Coast Guard spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea Commodore Jay Tarriela, former Associate Justice Antonio Carpio, and University of the Philippines Institute for Maritime Affairs and Law of the Sea director Jay Batongbacal, who argued that the KIG is part of the country's Exclusive Economic Zone.
Marcoleta has repeatedly denied making the suggestion, stating he was only emphasizing the difficulty of plotting the West Philippine Sea due to various obstacles. He accused his critics, including the National Mapping and Resource Information Authority, of misquoting him to portray him as the villain while positioning themselves as national heroes. He has publicly challenged Carpio, Tarriela, and Batongbacal to a debate on the West Philippine Sea.
Marcoleta accused Carpio of treason for allegedly giving up around 240,000 nautical miles of Philippine territorial sea. Tarriela, in turn, accused Marcoleta of treason for defending China. Malacañang has stated that it has no plans to surrender any part of the country's territory or interests in the West Philippine Sea.