MANILA - Contrary to the President's orders, the Philippine military could no longer occupy any other island in the disputed South China Sea, Magdalo Representative Gary Alejano said Friday.

Alejano, who had lodged an impeachment complaint against President Duterte last month, said the Chief Executive seemed "unaware" of the issues in the West Philippine Sea after he ordered soldiers to occupy all islands within the Philippines' exclusive economic zone in the waters to boost the country's claims.

"There are no more islands in South China Sea to occupy unless we grab islands from Vietnam and China and run the risk of a shooting war," Alejano, a former Marine, said in a statement.

"Even if assuming there are still uninhabited islands to occupy, new occupation is a violation of the existing Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in South China Sea in which the Philippines is a signatory and is faithfully complying with its provisions even if China is not," he added.

He said territorial disputes in the resource-rich waters date back to the '70s.

"The president is 40 years late in his appreciation since scrambling for islands to occupy by claimant countries happened in 1970s," he said.

While he conceded that Duterte may be referring to the features the Philippines already occupies, Alejano maintained that "his order to occupy is not new."

"'Di na bago ito dahil lahat naman ng mga islang ito ay dati nang okupado ng mga sundalo ng Pilipinas. Sa katunayan, nakatanim na ang ating flag sa mga lugar na ito (This is not new because all of these islands have long been occupied by Philippine soldiers. In fact, our flag is already planted on these islands)," he said.

"The rehabilitation of structures in our islands would be proper because this has long been delayed. The budget has already been approved by Congress. All the President has to do is to implement them in order to make these islands habitable and sustainable, not only for our soldiers but for our fishermen as well," the lawmaker added.

Instead of taking steps that might escalate tensions, Alejano said the Philippines should align its actions with the arbitral tribunal's ruling, which had invalidated China's claims to almost all of the South China Sea.

"I don’t oppose making friends with China. In fact, we should do this, but not at the expense of our national interest and security in WPS, Scarborough Shoal, and Benham Rise," he said, in apparent reference to the President's amiable stance towards the Chinese.

'LET'S HOLD HIM ACCOUNTABLE'

Alejano also said the President should be held accountable for his public pronouncements, noting that he had many times failed to put action into his words.

"Let us try to be more critical on the pronouncements of the President and hold him accountable for it. The truthfulness of words must be seen through concrete actions," Alejano said.

The last time Duterte spoke of raising the flag in a disputed territory, Alejano recalled, it turned out to be a joke.

Duterte had made such statement during the presidential campaign, declaring at a debate that he would "ride a jet ski while bringing the Philippine flag" to the Spratly Islands if China refuses to recognize the arbitration ruling.

China has refused to recognize the landmark decision, asserting its indisputable sovereignty over nearly all of the South China Sea.