SEN. Robinhood "Robin" Padilla said Filipinos must not forget the Philippines' claim for sovereignty over Sabah.

Padilla made the reminders during the plenary deliberations on the proposed Philippine Maritime Zones Act on Tuesday, January 30.

"We must fight for our rights in Sabah. We are talking not of small islands but of a large land mass with oil and minerals over which we Filipinos have rights," said Padilla in Filipino.

"If we can assert our rights in the West Philippine Sea, so must we do the same but in a peaceful manner," added Padilla.

He said Sabah has many natural resources that can be used by Filipinos, especially those in Muslim Mindanao.

Padilla noted the Philippines already has a law — Republic Act (RA) 5446, signed in August 1968 — that regards Sabah as a territory over which the Philippines has acquired "dominion and sovereignty."

In his first privilege speech in 2022, Padilla had also pushed for the Philippines to assert its rights over Sabah.

Because of this, Padilla said he intends to propose an amendment to the definition of baselines under the Maritime Zones bill, to include the Philippines' position on Sabah, which was provided for under RA 5446.

Sen. Francis Tolentino, who sponsored the bill for the proposed Philippine Maritime Zones Act, agreed to include a line that the Philippines is not abandoning its claim to Sabah, so long as it is phrased properly.

"If we can phrase it properly, I will not object to the amendment, so long as it will strengthen not just the bill but our resolve that what is rightfully ours should be ours," said Tolentino.