AUGUST 9-11, 2023 Volume 33 - No. 63 • 12 Pages
Chinese aggression threat to peace – US
DATELINE USA FROM THE AJPRESS NEWS TEAM ACROSS AMERICA
by BERNADETTE TAMAYO AND FRANCO JOSE BAROÑA ManilaTimes.net
THE United States Department of State (DOS) on Sunday, August 6 said the recent harassment of Philippine vessels by the China Coast Guard "directly threatened" regional peace and stability. The department said it stands with Manila amid the "dangerous actions." The United Kingdom, through its embassy in Manila, shared the U.S. view.
"Such action poses serious risks to regional peace and stability. [The] UK stands steadfast in its commitment to international law, in particular Unclos, in the South China Sea," the embassy wrote on X (formerly Twitter). The embassy of Canada in the Philippines said "continuing acts of intimidation and coercion by the PRC (People's Republic of China) against its neighbors undermine safety, security and stability across the region, and raise the risks of grave miscalculation." The Chinese Embassy has yet to issue a statement
Details of meeting with Duterte ‘confidential’
The Philippine Embassy in Washington D.C. reminds Filipino citizens that the Overseas Voters Registration in connection with the 2025 Philippine National and Local Elections is still ongoing. SFPCG photo
Register for overseas Filipino voting until Sept. 30, 2024 – PH Embassy
DON’T miss your chance to make your voice heard from abroad. Ensure your participation in shaping the Filipino future – register now and let your vote transcend borders. The Philippine Embassy in Washington D.C. reminds Filipino citizens that the Overseas Voters Registration in connection with the 2025 Philippine National and Local Elections is still ongoing. Applications for Registration/Certification, transfer of registration records, correction of entries in the Voter’s Registration Record, reactivation, and change of address may be filed at the Philippine Embassy or your nearest Philippine Consulate General until September 30, 2024. For more information, visit https:// philippineembassy-dc.org/overseasabsentee-voting/ (Inquirer.net)
on the incident. The DOS called on China to abide by the 2016 arbitral ruling as well as "to respect the freedom of navigation — a right to which all states are entitled." In 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration ruled in favor of the Philippines, invalidating China's claim in the South China Sea and West Philippine Sea which encroached on the Philippines' exclusive economic zone (EEZ). Japanese Ambassador to Manila Koshikawa PAGE 2
by KRISTINA MARALIT ManilaTimes.net
COURTESY CALL. The Philippines and the United States can collaborate for the production of electronic vehicle batteries to meet the huge demand of the American market, U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth said on Tuesday, August 8. Duckworth, who met President Ferdinand R. Marcos during a courtesy call in Malacañang Palace, also shared her conversation with Environment Secretary Maria Antonia Yulo-Loyzaga and Department of Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla about the United States’ transition to renewable energy sources as well as its current challenges. Malacañang photo
PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Monday, August 7 declined to give details regarding his recent meeting with former president Rodrigo Duterte, insisting that matters they discussed were "confidential." Marcos met with Duterte in Malacañang last week. The latter reported about his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in China last month and "also discussed other issues." "There are other things that we discussed which I think need to remain confidential; that's between President Digong and myself," the President told reporters during a chance interview in Bulacan after conducting an inspection of typhoon-hit areas in the province. "Again, these are operational aspects of our military, of our Navy, of our Coast Guard, that's why it is difficult to talk about it openly. I hope you will indulge me there," he added. Duterte and Xi met several days after the Philippines commemorated the seventh anniversary of the arbitral ruling that invalidated China's expansive claims in the South China Sea. The Chinese leader reportedly urged Duterte to continue exerting efforts to promote promotion between the two countries.
Jordan Clarkson, now Marcos to new Army chief: Boost PH won’t leave Ayungin Shoal in Manila, upbeat engagement with foreign counterparts ahead of Gilas’ Fiba World Cup bid by FRANCO JOSE BAROÑA AND BERNADETTE TAMAYO ManilaTimes.net
by JEAN MANGALUZ Inquirer.net
MANILA — Gilas Pilipinas’ naturalized ace Jordan Clarkson arrived in Manila on Tuesday, August 8, feeling optimistic about what lies ahead with the Fiba World Cup just around the corner. “I think we got a good chance to do some things—hopefully, we’d win some games,” Clarkson told reporters at Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 1 in Pasay City following a 15-hour trip from PAGE 3
MANILA — President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. on Monday, August 7 instructed newly installed Philippine Army chief Lt. General Roy M. Galido to enhance the agency’s cooperation with the Philippine Army’s (PA) foreign counterparts. Galido took over from General Romeo Brawner Jr., who was designated as the Chief of staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) in July. “We challenge you to lead and boost your institution’s engagements with its foreign
counterparts. I urge the entirety of our Army to enhance your interoperability and communications, as well as to learn best practices through training and joint exercises, which we intend to further expand,” said the President during the PA Change of Command Ceremony. While the President did allude to a specific situation, this statement from Marcos comes shortly after a China Coast Guard vessel fired a water cannon at a Philippine Coast Guard vessel and another boat on a supply mission in the West Philippine Sea. “I look forward to your plans to protect the shared identity that our past and present PAGE 4
Vice President Sara received P300K, President Marcos zero for Cabinet posts by ELIZABETH MARCELO Philstar.com
MANILA — Vice President Sara Duterte was paid a total of P300,000 last year as the secretary of the Department of Education (DepEd), while President Marcos received zero pay as concurrent secretary of the Department of Agriculture, a Commission on Audit (COA) report showed. Based on the COA’s “2022 Report on Salaries and Allowances” or ROSA uploaded on its website last Thursday, August 3, Duterte received P168,000 in allowances and P132,000 in discretionary and extraordinary and miscellaneous expenses (EME) for a net pay of P300,000. This was for her six
months as DepEd secretary from June 30 to Dec. 31, 2022. Included in the ROSA as the secretary of agriculture, Marcos did not receive any salary, allowances or other pay for the post which he has been occupying since assuming the presidency on June 30, 2022, COA’s breakdown showed. Duterte’s take-home pay as education secretary, meanwhile, appeared to be the lowest compared to the amounts received by other members of Marcos’ Cabinet. The 2022 ROSA showed that Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno got the heftiest paycheck among Marcos’ Cabinet members – a net pay of P28.781 million.
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Diokno’s net pay included P6 million in basic salary as the governor of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas for six months from January to June 2022, prior to his appointment as finance secretary for which he received P1.640 million in basic salary for July to December 2022. Diokno’s net pay also included P7.278 million in allowances; P11.555 million in bonus, incentives and benefits; P2.195 million in discretionary and EME, P24,000 in additional compensation and honorarium and P89,067 classified as “others.” The second highest paid member of Marcos’ Cabinet was Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan with a
net pay of P6.947 million. Balisacan’s net pay included P3.128 million in basic salary as chairman of the Philippine Competition Commission from January to June 2022 until his appointment as socioeconomic planning secretary, which entitled him to P1.646 million in basic salary for July to December 2022. His take-home pay also included P1.182 million in bonus, incentives and benefits; P354,000 in discretionary and EME, P262,000 in allowances, P23,863.63 in additional compensation and honorarium and P350,636 from prior years’ adjustments. Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra, meanwhile, appeared to PAGE 4
THE Philippine government will never abandon BRP Sierra Madre because it is a symbol of its sovereignty in that area of the West Philippine Sea, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said. BRP Sierra Madre, an outpost of the Philippine Marines, is positioned in Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal, which is within the 200-nauticalmile exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of the Philippines. "Ayungin Shoal has only a distance of 115 nautical miles from Palawan. This means that we have sovereign rights and jurisdiction over these waters," Commo. Jay Tarriela, PCG spokesman for the West Philippine Sea, said in an interview on Tuesday, August 8. Tarriela was reacting to a demand made by the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs that the Philippines remove BRP Sierra Madre from Ayungin Shoal. Manila intentionally ran it aground in 1999 to assert Philippine sovereignty in the area. China said the Philippines promised several times to "tow it away but has yet to act." "As far as I am concerned, I cannot recall that our national government PAGE 2
Ship of contention This file photo taken on April 23, 2023 shows Philippine Coast Guard vessel BRP Malapascua (left) patrolling near the grounded navy ship BRP Sierra Madre where Philippine marines are stationed to assert Manila’s territorial claims at Second Thomas Shoal in the Spratly Islands in the disputed South China Sea. AFP photo