CONGRESSMAN Jose de Venecia Jr., of the fourth district of Pangasinan, has defended the Joint Seismic Marine Undertaking (JSMU) on the Spratlys among the Philippines, China and Vietnam signed by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo for the Philippines.

“The agreement was very good and I could praise President Arroyo for that, ”De Venecia said in a talk to newsmen shortly after groundbreaking rites on the proposed Capilla San Juan de Evangelista here.

He added that Arroyo and Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo must reveal all the signed documents regarding the Spratlys before the people.

“All these documents should be revealed to the Filipino people,” De Venecia told newsmen.

He said that he is in favor of this agreement because it is now about time to convert the Spratlys in the South China Sea into a zone of peace and development, instead of a zone for war.

He said this will decrease tension and avert war over the Spratlys between China and the Philippines and between China and Vietnam.

Besides, he said, the Philippines needs oil because it is still buying oil from Saudi Arabia and Dubai, brought in by ships that cross the China Sea, from Strait of Moluccas, Gulf of Thailand, Indian Ocean, Arabian Sea and Persian Gulf.

“Under the agreement, we will co-own the oil of the Spratlys with China and Vietnam,” the former House Speaker said.

He said the situation today is, China and Vietnam lack oil while the Philippines almost has no oil.

He said those making the issues about the Spratlys seem to have small minds, adding that “hindi sila nag-iisip at saka nakakahiya”.

De Venecia, however, admitted that he did not know what happened after the signing of the agreement among the three countries involved.

“How they implemented the agreement afterwards, I don’t know,” de Venecia said.