There are grounds to declare Chinese Ambassador Jing Quan persona non grata for his remarks referring to the "use of force" against the Philippines over the West Philippine Sea, House Senior Deputy Minority Leader and ML Party-list Representative Leila de Lima said Monday.
"Unless he apologizes or takes back that remark or that statement, I think the Executive Department should seriously consider declaring him as persona non grata. Kasi he's supposed to be a foreign guest, he's a guest here so he must behave accordingly. Hindi yung palaging harsh ang kanyang mga sinasabi, then threatening, and then hostile yung kanyang demeanor [Not always making harsh remarks, then threatening, and with a hostile demeanour]," de Lima said in an ambush interview.
She also cited China's repeated reference to the Philippines as a "troublemaker" in the region.
"Tayo pa daw ang troublemaker sa lugar natin. Tayo pa ang troublemaker! Sino ba yung nangangamkam ng teritoryo? Sino ba yung nagpapatayo ng mga artificial islands? Sino ba ang sumisira sa marine ecosystem? Sino yung nananakot sa ating mga mangingisda? Sino yung mga bumabangga sa ating mga vessels, vessels ng mga fishermen, vessels ng Navy and Philippine Coast Guard? And then tayo pa ang troublemaker? So I think there would be enough grounds, enough basis to declare him as persona non grata kapag hindi siya mag-apologize o bawiin yung kanyang mga sinabi [if he does not apologize or take back his words] at he would behave henceforth," she added.
(And then calling us a troublemaker in our own territory. We're the troublemaker? Who has been usurping territory? Who has been setting up artificial islands? Who has been destroying the marine ecosystem? Who has been threatening our fishermen? Who has been ramming into fishermen's boats and the vessels of the Navy and the Philippine Coast Guard? And then they call us the troublemaker?)
Last week, a social media post by Philippine Coast Guard spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea Rear Admiral Jay Tarriela showed Jing being interviewed where he said, "If we want to use force, we may easily win. But no, we will not use force. You know, we love peace, and in this region, we enjoy the peace."
Threat to ban
On China's threat to ban more Philippine government officials from its territory should the Chinese ambassador be declared persona non grata by the Philippines, de Lima said, "That is, of course, also their prerogative."
China has banned Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. and his family from entering China, including Hong Kong and Macau, claiming he had "repeatedly made erroneous remarks concerning China" which undermined China's "legitimate interests" and bilateral ties.
But she said Philippine government officials should not just keep silent about the Chinese ambassador's threats and demeanor.
"Bakit tayo ang mag-iingat sa sasabihin natin na sila palagi yung nag-uumpisa? And kapag meron akong isang post na sila ang nananakot sa atin, sila ang nagsasabi kung ano-ano tungkol sa Pilipinas. And then sila pa yung, at kung tayo ay nagpu-push back, babaligtarin nila ang naratibo," de Lima said.
(Why should we be the ones who should be careful about what we say when they are always the ones starting it? And when I post that they are the ones trying to intimidate us, they're the ones saying all these things about the Philippines. And when we push back, they try to flip the narrative.)
"So hindi naman pwede manahimik tayo habang naririnig at nakikita yung ganyang pag-uugali ng Chinese ambassador. Sila'y nagdi-disrespect sa international law dahil hindi nila kinikilala yung ruling ng Arbitral Tribunal na invalid supposedly yung nin-dash claim nila," she stated.
(So we cannot stay quiet while we can see and hear the behavior of the Chinese ambassador. They disrespect international law by refusing to recognize the ruling of the Arbitral Tribunal that their nine-dash claim is invalid.)
'Intersectionality'?
Bicol Saro Party-list Representative Terry Ridon, a member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, refused to be intimated by China's threats to ban Philippine government officials.
"Ang aming mensahe sa kanila, 'tsinong' tinakot ninyo? Hindi naman ito hindi pa nangyayari. Ginawa na ito laban kay Secretary Francis Tolentino, laban kay Secretary Gibo Teodoro. So kung gusto nilang gumawa ng dagdag pang listahan ng mga opisyal at tauhan na ipa-ban nila sa China ay gawin na nila yon ngayon," Ridon said.
(Our message to them is, who are you trying to frighten? It's not like this hasn't happened before. They did this to Secretary Francis Tolentino and Secretary Gibo Teodoro. So if they want to add to their list of officials and people to ban from China, they should do it already.)
Ridon, a member of the House Comm on Foreign Affairs, on China’s threat to ban more Phil govt officials: Tsinong tinakot nyo?… Kung gusto nilang gumawa ng dagdag pang listahan… gawin na nila yon ngayon. @gmanews @gmanewsbreaking https://t.co/wBZhVbA7v9
— Tina PanganibanPerez (@tinapperez) October 19, 2026
Ridon added that he and other members of the House of Representatives will be filing a resolution to investigate the alleged "intersectionality ng propagandists ng Tsina sa bansa at ng mga supporters ng ating pamilya Duterte."
([The] intersectionality between the China propagandists and the Duterte family.)
Ridon said there were observations that those defending the Dutertes online are also defending China.
"Kasi pagka tinignan talaga natin yung kanilang social media output, dalawa lang po ang paksa - pagtatanggol sa mga Duterte, pagtatanggol sa Tsina. So magandang pag-aralan po ng Kongreso ito. kung kailangan pong wasakin itong network na ito, dapat din po yung gawin," he explained.
(If you look at their social media output, they have two topics: defending the Dutertes and defending China. So it would be good for Congress to investigate this, if thi snetwork needs to be taken down, what needs to be done.)
Ridon said he is set to file the resolution within the month.
The Makabayan Bloc, on the other hand, said cool heads must prevail as it called on all parties to "immediately de-escalate and return to the path of sober, principled diplomacy."
"As we continue to assert our sovereign rights and legal victory in the West Philippine Sea, we aver that diplomacy and peaceful resolution should be our main path," Act Teachers Party-list Representative Antonio Tinio, Gabriela Party-list Representaive Sarah Elago, and Kabataan Party-list Representative Renee Co said in a joint statement today. — BM, GMA News