Golez comments on SC decision declaring EDCA an executive agreement and does not violate the Constitution:

Golez comments on SC decision declaring EDCA an executive agreement and does not violate the Constitution:

This is a momentous victory for sovereignty, territorial integrity and national security in the face of creeping invasion by China into our Exclusive Economic Zone. We should be reminded of Article I of the Constitution that states:

"ART. I

NATIONAL TERRITORY

The national territory comprises the Philippine archipelago, with all the islands and waters embraced therein, and all other territories over which the Philippines has sovereignty or jurisdiction, consisting of its terrestrial, fluvial, and aerial domains, including its territorial sea, the seabed, the subsoil, the insular shelves, and other submarine areas. The waters around, between, and connecting the islands of the archipelago, regardless of their breadth and dimensions, form part of the internal waters of the Philippines."

And Article II:

"SECTION 7. The State shall pursue an independent foreign policy. In its relations with other states the paramount consideration shall be national sovereignty, territorial integrity, national interest, and the right to self-determination."

Entering into an alliance with another country is a sovereign act in the face of extreme pressure from a neighboring power that apparently seeks to dominate us and seize our territory and natural resources.