Sen. Panfilo “Ping” Lacson urged the country’s leaders to stand united on the West Philippine Sea (WPS) issue and stop bickering in public and exposing what could be exploited as a national weakness. “Isn’t it sad and ironic that the WPS issue has degenerated into a finger-pointing argument between ex-Justice [Antonio] Carpio and [President Duterte] and not between the Philippines and China? Don’t you just want to cry, Philippines?” Lacson said on Twitter. The senator posted the tweet after Carpio said in a lawyers’ forum that the President was the main problem in resolving the maritime dispute in the Philippines’ favor because of his subservient attitude to China.

Gascon, M., & Salaverria, L. (2021, May 2). Ping pushes united tack on WPS. Philippine Daily Inquirer, p. A4.