MANILA -- Sen. Imee Marcos on Friday asked for "cooler heads" as tension between the Philippines and China continues in the West Philippine Sea.
Marcos believes that dialogue is still the better way to resolve the tension in the West Philippine Sea, especially since there are also other claimant countries in the area.
“So para sa akin, imbes na magalit, uminit ang ulo, para sa akin ang mas mahalaga mas lalo tayong puspusang makipag-usap at isaayos ang pagpapatakbo ng mga barko. Pilipino ba 'yan, military ba iyan, Intsik ba yan at yung iba pang claimants wag natin kakalimutan na nagka-insidente na rin sa Vietnamese, sa Malaysian at iba pa,” the senator said.
Dialogue must cover the important issues of economy, trade and diplomacy along with the speeding up the drafting of “Code of Conduct,” Marcos said.
She said there are ways to avoid incidents in the West Philippine Sea.
“Kasi its quite unnecessary for this kind of incident to occur if we have better dialogue and firmer understanding and a reglementary authority and Code of Conduct. Mas maganda sana kung ganon,” the senator said.
Marcos also said she would find ways to look for additional funds for the AFP.
“Hahanapan natin ng paraan yan. Unprogrammed man o hindi ang klaro sa akin e kinakailangan mag-patrol at i-assert, panindigan ang presensya ng Pilipinas sa ating teritoryo,” Marcos said.