NATIONAL Security Adviser Eduardo Año recently thanked the public for supporting government actions, noting that over 58% of Filipinos back the Marcos administration’s stance on the WPS. This is good news, but we can do better. More awareness leads to stronger unity.
And genuine unity, especially in a democracy like ours, is not built on silence. It thrives on informed conversations, difficult questions, and principled actions. That is why it matters when local communities hold town hall meetings, when students stage creative protests, when teachers include maritime law in their discussions, and when artists, influencers, and even TikTokers bring this issue into the mainstream.
China’s strategy has been subtle but aggressive: slowly eroding our access, pushing the limits of intimidation, and betting that most Filipinos are either too scared or too distracted to care. But we have seen through history that our kind of resilience has never been about firepower. It is about people standing up even when they are outnumbered.
As former Vice President Leni Robredo once said, the consequences of this issue stretch beyond our lifetimes. This is not just about territory. It is about the principle of standing up to a bully. And in this case, the classroom, the barangay hall, the sari-sari store, the group chat — these are also fronts of that quiet, necessary resistance.
There is, too, an ecological dimension. Coral reefs in the West Philippine Sea sustain ecosystems that connect waters as far as the Sulu Sea and beyond. If we lose those reefs, we do not just lose fish. We lose protection from storms, livelihoods for generations, and a living classroom for marine science and environmental education.
Marine biologist Hazel Arceo noted that the restricted access to Scarborough Shoal has already shifted fisheries dynamics, reducing harvests and reshaping entire coastal economies. As climate change intensifies, preserving our marine territories becomes not only a matter of pride but of survival.
But let us not get carried away by abstraction. Real lives are at stake. A fisherman from Zambales recently told Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (PAMALAKAYA) that his income per fishing trip has dropped by 70% since 2020 because of the harassment by Chinese vessels.
Imagine going to work every day knowing you might be blocked, rammed, or harassed. Then imagine people in cities dismissing your plight as a “military issue.” It is not. It is a human issue. It is a teacher issue. It is a youth issue.
That is why House Bill 8583, seeking to declare July 12 as West Philippine Sea Victory Day, matters. Not just as a legislative move, but as a national reminder. As Sen. Risa Hontiveros puts it, celebrating the victory chips away at China’s propaganda and reinforces our truths. It turns memory into muscle. And we, as educators, must help build that muscle. Not through fear, but through knowledge. Not by preaching hate, but by cultivating hope. Let us turn classrooms into conversations and our conversations into action.
In the end, the West Philippine Sea is not just a body of water. It is a mirror. It reflects how we see our country, our values, and our future. If we allow it to be taken inch by inch without protest, what does that say about what we truly believe is worth defending? If we stand for it now, loudly and wisely, then our children may never have to ask what was lost, only what was preserved./PN
