Naglabas ng pahayag ang National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) kaugnay sa kumakalat na social media post kung saan makikitang inaangkin ng China ang Palawan bilang teritoryo.

Sa Facebook post ng NHCP nitong Biyernes, Pebrero 28, kinondena nila ang nasabing post at pinabulaanan na minsan umanong naging bahagi ng China ang Palawan.

“The post falsely states that the island of Palawan was once theirs and they have governed it for one thousand years, but the Philippines claims jurisdiction and has named it Palawan. The post originated from the Rednote app, an app similar to Tiktok, and adds that the island should be returned to China,” saaad ng NHCP.

“In the contested claim, Palawan island was called ‘Zheng He Island’ after the famous Chinese explorer and seafarer who travelled the seas and oceans of Asia from the 1300s to the 1400,” pagpapatuloy nila. “It is necessary to note that exploration does not equate to sovereign ownership. There exists no evidence to support the settlement of a permanent Chinese population in Palawan which has been continuously populated since 50,000 years ago through archeological data.”

National

Mga solon, senador supalpal kay Rodriguez: 'Di malayong mabankarote mga Pilipino!'

Dagdag pa ng komisyon, wala umanong umiiral na tala kaugnay sa Chinese settlements noong 1521 batay sa isinulat ni Italian chronicler Antonio Pigafetta na naging bahagi ng kauna-unahang paglalayag sa mundo.

Ani NHCP, “Palawan was populated by communities of similar cultural affinity with the rest of our archipelago. The head of the expedition had, in fact, made a blood compact with the chief of the community that the NHCP recognized to be in the present day Sitio Tagusao, Brooke’s Point, Palawan. This does not, however, preclude the existence of trade relations as our ancestors have, as we are at present, been trading with our neighbors for millennia.”

Bukod dito, makikita rin umano sa iba’t ibang historikal na mapa mula sa iba’t ibang European cartographer na kinikilala na ang isla ng Palawan bilang bahagi ng Pilipinas mula pa man noong 1500 hanggang 1800.

Kaya naman sa huli, nanindigan ang komisyon na ang Palawan ay para sa—at mananatiling sa—Pilipino.