SECRETARY of National Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. on Tuesday pushed back against calls from major business groups for Manila to tone down its public exchanges with Beijing over maritime disputes, insisting the government will not back down from telling the truth in the West Philippine Sea.
Teodoro urged commercial organizations to direct their appeals for restraint to China rather than asking the Philippine government to stay silent while defending its sovereign rights.
‘Who should they be telling that to? We are only standing by the truth and transparency,’ Teodoro said in a radio interview.
The defense chief called out the business sector’s selective silence, questioning why these organizations failed to voice similar concerns during previous controversies involving Chinese interests in the country-such as illegal Philippine offshore gaming operators (Pogos), the influx of substandard steel, and foreign-run scam hubs.
‘Why did we not hear these statements before when Pogos became widespread here, when substandard steel was brought into the country, and when scam hubs emerged?’ Teodoro asked, challenging the groups to clarify if their intent was to stop the nation from standing up for itself.
His remarks came a day after a coalition of 22 prominent business, labor, agriculture, and educational organizations-including the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) and the Federation of Filipino-Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry Inc.-issued a joint statement calling on the government to adopt measured diplomacy and tone down public rhetoric to prevent economic damage.
The business coalition warned that escalating tensions could undermine trade, foreign investment, infrastructure, energy, and the livelihoods of overseas Filipino workers in mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macao.
Rejecting the idea that economic fears should weaken national defense, Teodoro asserted that Manila’s policy of public transparency exposes Beijing’s unlawful actions within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ) under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (Unclos) and the landmark 2016 arbitral ruling.
Rather than bowing to economic pressure, Teodoro urged the business community to use the geopolitical tension as a catalyst to build domestic strength and reduce external reliance.
‘This should strengthen our supply chain resilience, diversify our supply chains, and strengthen our industries so they can serve as bridges to genuine prosperity for the country and capital formation, instead of merely producing consumer goods,’ Teodoro said, advocating for robust local manufacturing that supports micro, small, and medium enterprises.