A remote municipality that administers the Philippines’ northernmost outpost in Palawan has moved to formally bar China’s ambassador to Manila, citing what local officials describe as interference in domestic affairs.
The Sangguniang Bayan of Kalayaan approved Resolution No. 092-016 of 2026 during its regular session on January 27, declaring Ambassador Jing Quan persona non grata within the town’s jurisdiction. The measure was authored by Vice Mayor Alexis Albayda and centers on recent statements issued by the Chinese Embassy calling on Philippine authorities to hold a senior Coast Guard official accountable for his public remarks on the West Philippine Sea.
“The people of Kalayaan cannot remain silent as the representative of a foreign power attempts to dictate how our government should discipline its own citizens or interpret its own sovereign rights,” the resolution stated.
In explaining its position, the council invoked Article 41, Section 1 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, which provides that diplomats are obligated to respect the laws of the host country and refrain from interference in its internal affairs.
The local action followed a separate political response in Manila. On the same day the Kalayaan resolution was passed, Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III raised the possibility of also declaring Chinese Embassy Deputy Spokesperson Guo Wei persona non grata, noting Guo’s frequent public exchanges with Philippine officials, including the Coast Guard’s spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea.
Chinese Embassy spokesperson Ji Lingpeng later addressed the remarks, saying that declaring Ambassador Jing persona non grata “would be the most straightforward approach.”
“As ambassador, he bears responsibility for all words and actions of the Chinese Embassy,” Ji said in a statement issued Wednesday.
The embassy, however, stressed that any such declaration falls under the authority of the Philippine president, adding that the envoy would leave immediately if formally notified by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
The Department of Foreign Affairs separately advised restraint, emphasizing that the persona non grata designation is generally considered a measure of last resort in diplomatic practice.
Albayda, speaking by phone on Thursday, acknowledged that the municipality’s action carries no direct enforcement power over an ambassador’s movements. “We know that he won’t come to Pagasa Island, but this is symbolic,” he said.
“Although we are a small municipality, we stand firm for what is ours, and we stand behind those who fight for our rights,” he added.
Kalayaan’s seat of government is on Pagasa Island, the largest feature in the Kalayaan Island Group, where about 400 civilians live alongside military personnel, law enforcers, and government workers. Manila maintains effective occupation and control over the island and asserts jurisdiction over its surrounding 12-nautical-mile territorial sea.
China continues to claim nearly the entire South China Sea, a position rejected by an international arbitral tribunal in a 2016 ruling that invalidated Beijing’s sweeping claims.
The latest resolution mirrors a previous action by the same municipal council. In 2023, Kalayaan unanimously passed a measure declaring then-Chinese ambassador Huang Xilian persona non grata following a water cannon incident involving Philippine vessels, as reported at the time by Palawan News.
