CITY OF SAN FERNANDO – An activist lawmaker has appealed to his House colleagues “to take a brief respite from the election campaign and call a special session that would discuss the ongoing political, military and diplomatic crisis arising from the very complicated and disturbing situation in Sabah.”
Anakpawis party list Rep. Rafael Mariano urged his peers to “do our job and contribute in resolving the Sabah crisis.”
“The House of Representatives should not stand somewhere in one corner and act like paying spectator in a boxing match because this will send the entire nation in fatal default,” he said.
Mariano said that “as lawmakers we should do what we can do to avert the looming mass slaughter of forces identified with the Royal Sultanate of Sulu and the red carpet harassment of more than 800,000 Filipinos in Sabah by the Malaysian authorities.”
He appealed to House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte to “call a special session next week and discuss the situation facing the 200 members of the Royal Sultanate and the rest of the nearly one million Filipinos in the hotly contested territory.”
Mariano also said the occasion that would call for special session of Congress before the Holy Week break could “formulate resolutions including the official revival of the country’s claim on Sabah in aid of legislation.”
He said Congress is also “in the best position to identify possible diplomatic and legal remedies available for the Philippine government to keep the family and other members of the Royal Sultanate of Sulu safe and the resumption of diplomatic talks and negotiations on issues surrounding Sabah.”
“Congress should get into the picture and help prevent the looming slaughter of many Filipinos in Sabah including the men of the Royal Sultanate of Sulu by Malaysian armed forces,” he said.
He said “Pres. Aquino should have explored all diplomatic venues to convince the Kirams and the 200 Filipinos to pursue negotiations.”
