Dispatch from Crame No. 1095:
Sen. Leila M. de Lima's Statement on China's Waste Dumping in Philippine Waters

The reported waste dumping that China is doing in our waters is a serious environmental crime and needs immediate investigation by the DENR, the Philippine Coast Guard, and the Navy.

The waste dumping is happening right after the sudden swarm of Chinese militia vessels in the West Philippine Sea this past month. Not only did they intrude in our waters as a show of force, but they also polluted our waters, consequently killing the marine life and the marine ecosystem that sustains them.

There are other claimants in the contested waters in the South China Sea, but we are the only country being put to this repugnant treatment of waste dumping in our waters by hundreds of Chinese vessels. The contrast in the Chinese treatment of ASEAN leaders is clear: the leaders of our co-claimant neighboring countries are resisting China's bullying and abuse, while Duterte is a consummate puppet whose government readily defends China's abuses, even at the expense of calling our own fisherfolk liars when they report such abuses.

Hindi mahihinto ang ganitong asal sa atin ng China kung patuloy si Duterte sa pagiging tuta ng China. Pinapakita lang ng China na kapag walang gulugod ang Pangulo, tatratuhin lang nilang kubeta ang ating bansa.

(Access the handwritten version, here: https://issuu.com/senatorleilam.delima/docs/dispatch_from_crame_no._1095)