Senator Risa Hontiveros reminded Filipinos that celebrating the tenth-year anniversary of the 2016 Arbitral Award affirming the Philippines sovereignty over the West Philippine Sea (WPS) is crucial, as the ruling matters as a “shield” against disinformation.

She cited the recent claims made by Chinese scholars on China’s supposed legal right to Batanes by way of Taiwan in emphasizing the importance of such rulings that protect the Philippines’ interests.

“Recently, Chinese academics have gone so far as to claim that Batanes belongs to China. This is a grave insult to every Ivatan, to every Filipino, and further proof of how deeply the Chinese government’s propaganda has taken root in its own people,” Hontiveros said in a social media post on Sunday.

“China’s disinformation campaigns are exactly why the Arbitral Award matters, not only as a landmark ruling etched in the annals of history, but as a shield against those who systematically spread lies,” she added.

She called on Filipinos to remember how the Philippines had “stood up to a giant and won.”

“Let us never forget this victory. Huwag nating kalimutan na lumaban tayo sa isang dambuhala nang mapayapa at may dignidad. Ipagmalaki natin sa buong mundo na ang Pilipinas ay isang bansa na tumindig para sa tama at sa totoo,” she concluded.

On June 30, Chinese scholars claimed during a Jinan University symposium that Batanes legally belongs to China, as a natural geographic extension of Taiwan.

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), Department of National Defense (DND) Secretary Gilberto “Gibo” Teodoro, and the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) have since slammed the claim.

The DFA firmly stated that the Philippines’ sovereignty over the islands of Batanes are “not up for debate,” while Teodoro said the Department of Health (DOH) must be consulted on the scholars’ state of mind.

The NHCP, meanwhile, asserted that such claims have “no rational basis” and “never stand scrutiny” in academic discourse beyond China.