ACCORDING to the December 2023 Fourth Quarter Tugon ng Masa Survey by OCTA Research, seventy-seven percent, or three out of four Filipinos, are willing to sacrifice their lives.
However, for Roque, one hundred percent of Filipinos should be ready to fight to protect the Philippines.
But when it comes to the dispute in the West Philippine Sea, he asked as to why the lives of the people must be put at risk.
“Why should we die for the advancement of foreign interests? What national interest justifies confronting China? None.”
“Our national interest— will this always provide more food on the tables of Filipinos? If not, it does not align with our national interest. Dying for foreigners is not national interest. That’s why I’m saying, even though war is prohibited by international law, we will ensure that if we die in a war, it is for the motherland and not for foreigners,” Atty. Harry Roque – Former Presidential Spokesperson stated.
Roque also criticized the government’s apparent strategy of raising the issue of the West Philippine Sea (WPS) to escalate tensions and allow U.S. intervention.
If the tension in the West Philippine Sea leads to a war, he said, Filipinos would suffer, not Americans, just like what is happening in Ukraine.
“They didn’t send Americans to fight the Russians in Ukraine. They used were Ukrainians whom they funded and provided with weapons. But what happened? More than two years have passed and the war has not ended. That’s why some say in the dispute in the West Philippine Sea, if it leads to gunfire, America will fight China to the last Filipino,” Roque said.
