Diokno urges Congress to pass bill on WPS history, geography in schools

Jea Nicole

Human rights lawyer and Akbayan party-list Representative Chel Diokno called on lawmakers in the Senate and the House of Representatives to back the proposed bill that would mandate the teaching of the history and geography of the West Philippine Sea (WPS) in all elementary and high schools in the country.

“All Filipino children, even if they are young, should know the importance of the West Philippine Sea and why it is ours,” he said in an interview with Inquirer after the screening of the documentary “Food Delivery: Fresh from the West Philippine Sea” on August 13.

The documentary film follows Filipino fishermen and coast guards as they navigate the dangers in disputed waters while delivering food and aid to affected communities.

Now screening in select theaters nationwide, it was subject to overseas censorship by the government of the People’s Republic of China amid rising tensions in the WPS.

Diokno made the appeal after the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) presented the proposed Php 6.7 trillion National Expenditure Program to the House of Representatives. 

If approved, the education sector is set to receive the largest share of these funds.

The House Bill No. 1625, otherwise known as “An Act Promoting National Awareness through the Mandatory Study of the West Philippine Sea in Public and Private Education Institutions,” proposed integrating into basic education the historical, legal, and geographical basis of the country’s maritime rights over the WPS.

The bill was one of the first batch of proposed legislative measures put forward by the WPS Bloc to assert national sovereignty and counter Chinese propaganda in local governance.

Led by the Akbayan party-list, the WPS bloc includes Diokno, Perci Cendaña, and Dadah Ismula; Mamamayang Liberal (ML) Representative Leila de Lima, Dinagat Islands Representative Kaka Bag-ao, and Albay 1st District Representative Krisel Lagman-Luistro.

On August 11, also days before Diokno called for the bill’s support, a China Coast Guard (CCG) vessel chasing a Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) ship crashed with a Chinese Navy warship near Scarborough Shoal (Panatag).