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APRIL 6-12, 2023 Volume 34 - No. 14 • 12 Pages
T HE F ILIPINO A MERICAN C OMMUNITY N EWSPAPER
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Pentagon: New EDCA sites for ‘regional readiness’ DATELINE USA FROM THE AJPRESS NEWS TEAM ACROSS AMERICA
by FRANCES MANGOSING, JACOB LAZARO Inquirer.net
Corporal Emilie Marie Eve Bolanos, 23, was part of the 101st Airborne Division Soldiers participating in a nighttime training exercise. Photos from Facebook
MANILA — The U.S. Department of Defense said the new sites under the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) with the Philippines were aimed at “regional readiness” to address “a range of shared challenges in the Indo-Pacific region” amid concerns over China’s continued assertiveness in the South China Sea and its potential invasion of Taiwan. The Philippines and the United States on Monday,
April 3 identified four additional locations — including three facing Taiwan and one near Chinese artificial military outposts in the West Philippine Sea — that would allow an expansion of American military presence from the five existing sites under the defense pact signed in 2014. “These new locations will strengthen the interoperability of the [U.S.] and Philippine armed forces and allow us to respond more seamlessly together to address a range of shared challenges in the Indo-Pacific region, including natural and humanitarian disasters,” Pentagon Deputy Press
DFA: EDCA ‘reaffirms’ robust commitment to alliance, economic opportunities for Filipinos
Two PH-born soldiers among 9 killed in US Army copter crash
TWO Filipinos were among the nine soldiers killed in a crash involving two U.S. Army Blackhawk helicopters near Fort Campbell, at the Kentucky-Tennessee border. Cpl. Emilie Marie Eve Bolanos, 23, from Austin, Texas, and Sgt. Isaac John Gayo, from Los Angeles were part of the 101st Airborne Division Soldiers participating in a nighttime training exercise when the crash happened on Wednesday, March 29 at around 10 p.m. Bolanos and Gayo were both born in the Philippines. She enlisted in Austin, he in Los Angeles, both in 2019. Both were in Fort Jackson, South Carolina PAGE 2
Applications open for young Fil-Am leaders PH immersion program THE Filipino Young Leaders Program (FYLPRO) is now accepting applications for its signature immersion program in the Philippines scheduled for the last week of August 2023. The week-long immersion brings 15 young Filipino Americans—aged 25 to 45 years old—from across different industries to the Philippines, where they meet with business, community and civic leaders in an effort to bridge and strengthen ties between the United States and the Philippines. FYLPRO works with the Philippine Embassy and the Consulates General in the United States to search for the most outstanding, next-generation Filipino American leaders to participate in its immersion program in the Philippines. Deadline for the submission of
Secretary Sabrina Singh said in a press briefing in Washington on Monday. The four new sites are the Camilo Osias Naval Base in Santa Ana, Cagayan; Lal-lo Airport also in Cagayan; Camp Melchor dela Cruz in Gamu, Isabela; and Balabac Island in Palawan. The Pentagon official stressed that the United States was not seeking permanent basing, pointing out that “this is really about regional readiness.” “So you’re going to see an increase of rotational forces in the region, but this is more about PAGE 2
by KAYCEE VALMONTE Philstar.com
PASSION PLAY. ‘Senakulo’ actors re-enact the passion of Jesus Christ in Marinduque province’s capital town of Boac on Wednesday night, April 5, as part of the celebration of the Moriones Festival. Senakulo or passion play (pasión y muerte) relives the life, tribulations and sacrifice of Jesus Christ and has become a tradition every Lenten season. PNA photo by Joey O. Razon
MANILA — The Philippines on Tuesday, April 4 said recent developments in the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement reaffirm Manila and Washington’s commitment to their decades-old alliance as these also open up economic opportunities for Filipinos with infrastructure developments on the military sites. “The EDCA will enhance the interoperability of our armed forces to collectively better respond to threats, including those requiring close cooperation and coordination for more rapid and effective humanitarian assistance and disaster response,” the Department of Foreign Affairs said in a statement on Tuesday. “EDCA will lead to the construction of facilities and infrastructure upgrades that directly contribute to the enhancement of the capabilities of the Armed Forces of the Philippines,” it added. The EDCA allows U.S. troops to use Philippine military facilities for equipment and to store materials PAGE 2
China warns Philippine-US base deal ‘endangering regional peace’
CHINA warned on Tuesday, April 4 that Washington was “endangering regional peace” in a new deal with the Philippines that will see four additional bases be used by U.S. troops, including one near the disputed South China Sea and another not far from Taiwan. “Out of self-interest, the U.S. maintains a zero-sum mentality and continues to strengthen its military deployment in the region,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said. “The result will inevitably be increased PAGE 2
military tension and endangering regional peace and stability,” she added. Longtime treaty allies Manila and Washington agreed in February to expand cooperation in “strategic areas” of the Philippines as they seek to counter Beijing’s growing assertiveness over self-governed Taiwan and China’s construction of bases in the South China Sea. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos Malacañang file photo The 2014 Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement, known as EDCA, gave U.S. forces access to five Philippine bases. PAGE 3
Bongbong Marcos, First Lady to attend King Charles Some Filipino tycoons fell off Forbes’ 2023 richest list III’s coronation in London
MANILA — Forbes’ annual list of the wealthiest Filipinos saw some movement in 2023, as mainstays lost some of their glimmer in the new ranking. Noticeable in the new Forbes ranking was the absence of the Uys of Converge ICT wealth, Betty Ang of food giant Monde Nissin Corp., and the late Roberto Ongpin. Dennis Anthony Uy and wife Maria Grace Uy, who runs publicly-traded broadband provider Converge, and Ang, cofounder of Monde Nissin, joined the list in 2022. A Zobel made the list, however. Real estate and retail tycoon Manuel Villar, headlining the list as the wealthiest in the Inigo Zobel, a cousin of Jaime Zobel de Ayala, and whose wealth country, saw his net worth balloon to $8.6 billion in 2023 from $8.3 billion a year ago. Photo from Facebook/MannyVillar came from a stake in Ang-led San
Miguel Corp., eked out a net worth of $1 billion based on the list. The list was built and compiled using stock prices and exchange rates from March 10. Besides that, some mainstays saw their fortunes seesaw in the new list. Real estate and retail tycoon Manuel Villar, headlining the list as the wealthiest in the country, saw his net worth balloon to $8.6 billion in 2023 from $8.3 billion a year ago. Ports and casino tycoon Enrique Razon Jr saw his fortunes turn for the better this year as well. His net worth, estimated at $7.3 billion, grew from $6.7 billion a year ago. Ramon Ang of San Miguel Corp. PAGE 2
AJ FOOTER
by DAPHNE GALVEZ Inquirer.net
PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos will attend the coronation of King Charles III on May 6 in Westminster Abbey, London, Malacañang confirmed on Monday, April 3. Presidential Communications Office Secretary Cheloy Garafil said the President and First Lady had accepted the invitation to attend the coronation and the reception at Buckingham Palace, as invited by the Master of the Household on May 5. “President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. and First Lady Louise Araneta-Marcos have accepted
the invitation to attend the coronation of His Majesty King Charles III and Her Majesty The Queen Consort at Westminster Abbey on Saturday, 6th May 2023,” Garafil said in a statement. “Furthermore, the President and the First Lady have accepted the invitation of the Master of the Household, upon command of His Majesty, to a Reception to be given at Buckingham Palace in advance of the Coronation of Their Majesties The King and The Queen Consort on Friday, 5th May 2023 at 5:00 p.m,” she added.