MARITIME DISASTERS. Two maritime disasters were recorded over the weekend. On Friday, a Sierra Leone-flagged dredger capsized after colliding with another foreign-flagged vessel in the waters off Corregidor Island while an abandoned vessel caught fire that lasted for 10 hours or until Saturday morning off the shores of Punta Engaño in Cebu. Philippine Coast Guard
VOL. XXXVII • NO. 73 • 2 SECTIONS 8 PAGES APRIL 30, 2023
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2 dead as two vessels collide; another ship burns for 10 hrs n By BUTCH GUNIO THE Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) on Saturday said a Filipino and a Chinese national were among the casualties after two foreign-flagged vessels collided in the waters off Corregidor Island. According to authorities, the collision involved a dredger, MV Hong Hai 189, that originated from Botolan, Zambales, and an oil product tanker, MV Petite Souer, that came from Mariveles, Bataan. The PCG said the Filipino who died was a safety officer onboard MV Hong Hai 189. It added that out of the 20 crew members of the ship, 15 of them were rescued, and three Chinese nationals are still missing. From the 15 rescued, the PCG said four were Filipino nationals. All 21 crew members of MV Petite Soeur were reported to be in good physical condition, the PCG said. The PCG further said BRP Capones was directed to proceed to the incident area after they were informed that MV Hong Hai 189 capsized. On Saturday, the PCG said it has dispatched another vessel, aluminum boats and rubber boats, and is currently conducting an aerial survey to heighten its SAR operations.
More complex PH-US drills Next year’s Balikatan to evolve amid growing threats in the region
n By VINCE LOPEZ
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ore complex and challenging Balikatan military exercises are likely on the table next year, US Ambassador to the Philippines MaryKay Carlson said Saturday as she acknowledged growing “threats” to the region, including “challenges to the rules-based international order through provocations in the West Philippine Sea.” “What happens here is critical to what happens in the Indo-Pacific region,” she said “We’ve seen some threats to this region, probably more in the last several years.” Carlson noted that this year’s military exercises that gathered some 17,000 Filipino, American and Australian troops, was “absolutely the most complex we have ever done.” “Interoperability is hard... They will continue to make the complexity even more challenging because that is what we need to do to meet the challenges of the real world. We can expect the complexities to grow,” she said. The ambassador said it is important for both countries to “strengthen our alliance so that we are better able to respond” to challenges in the region. Amid tensions in the West Philippine Sea, US President Joe Biden is expected to
reaffirm Washington’s continuous support for Manila during President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s visit next week. “I’m certain that at their meeting at the White House, President Biden will reaffirm the strong friendship between our two countries. We are not only friends, partners and allies, we are family… Those connections are deep and they are very, very strong,” Carlson said. President Marcos Jr. will leave for Washington today (Sunday afternoon) United States on Sunday afternoon for his 1st official working visit as President of the Philippines and is set to meet Biden at the White House on May 1. DFA spokesperson Teresita Daza said Mr. Marcos will be in the US until May 4 for his official visit, after which he will proceed to London for the coronation of King Charles III and Queen Consort Camilla.
AFP: Sovereignty patrols in WPS to continue THE Armed Forces of the Philippines will continue with its sovereignty patrols after a Chinese coast guard ship caused a near-collision with a Philippine Coast Guard vessel Sunday last week. The PCG also rejected Beijing’s claim that the Philippine ship’s “premeditated and provocative action” caused the near-collision, saying it was a “routine maritime patrol.” “As for the AFP, we will continue our maritime patrols, our sovereignty patrols, especially in our territorial waters within our exclusive economic zone,” military spokesman Col. Medel Aguilar said. Aguilar, however, said the AFP will leave it up to the National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea, headed by National Security Adviser Eduardo Año, to make policy statements on the issue.
PCG spokesman on the WPS Commodore Jay Tarriela, for his part, said the maritime patrol “did not undermine the interests of other states.” “The routine, seven-day maritime patrol carried out by the Philippine Coast Guard in the West Philippine Sea from April 18 to 24 was non-provocative,” Tarriela said on his personal Twitter account. Last Sunday, a larger Chinese coast guard vessel blocked PCG vessel BRP Malapascua, which was carrying journalists in the vicinity of the Ayungin Shoal, in internationally recognized Philippine waters. The two vessels would have collided had the commanding officer of the PCG vessel not stopped his ship. The Chinese foreign ministry claimed the Philippine boats had “intruded” without China’s permission.
Tarriela, however, upheld that the PCG was “under no obligation to request permission from other nations” when patrolling the waters near Ayungin Shoal. “Throughout their maritime patrol operations, PCG captains consistently follow the 1972 Convention on the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea (COLREGs),” he said. Foreign Affairs spokesperson Ma. Teresita Daza said an investigation into the near-collision is already ongoing and appropriate diplomatic action will then be taken. “First of all, I would like to emphasize that the Philippines has the legal right to carry out routine maritime patrols in our territorial waters and EEZ. The deployment of the BRP Malabrigo and BRP Malapascua in the West Philippine Sea from April 18 to 24 was one such mission,” she said.
18,000 cops to be deployed as protests set on Labor Day n By JOEL E. ZURBANO AND VITO BARCELO
DIGNITY IN LABOR. File photo shows two workers who, along with millions of other Filipinos, will mark Labor Day tomorrow (Monday).
EIGHTEEN thousand policemen will be assigned to ensure peace and order situation before, after, and during the celebration of Labor Day on Monday. “Our chief PNP, Gen. Benjamin Acorda, Jr., gave instructions that we exercise maximum tolerance and that our paramount consideration should be respect for human rights and freedom of expression and speech,” said Philippine National Police spokesperson Col. Jean Fajardo over ABS-CBN’s Teleradyo. Acorda made the deployment of more policemen, two days after Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr. tapped the PNP and local chief executives to ensure public safety during on Labor Day. Various workers’ organizations are set to hold protest rallies Monday to demand a wage increase, end contractualization, and the full recognition of the right to freely unionize.
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HOME AT LAST. After a difficult evacuation journey out of conflict-torn Khartoum in Sudan, the first batch of 17 overseas Filipino workers arrived in Manila Saturday afternoon. Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo welcomed the evacuees at the airport. Twitter account of DFA Secretary Manalo
First 17 Pinoy evacuees arrive from war-torn Sudan THE first batch of 17 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who were evacuated from Sudan arrived in the country on Saturday, the Department of Foreign Affairs said. “As I welcome the 1st batch of repatriates from Sudan, I’m inspired by their fortitude and resilience. I’m grateful to our DFA teams, PH agencies and international partners who work nonstop to ensure the safety of our kababayans. Protecting overseas Filipinos is our government’s solemn pledge,” DFA Secretary Enrique Manalo said in a
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Twitter post. The evacuees flew out Friday from Athens, Greece and Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, the DFA said. Eight of the evacuees were hotel workers in Sudan who left the conflicttorn state through a Greek military evacuation flight. “The remaining nine overseas Filipinos, including one infant, fled Khartoum via Port Sudan where they boarded a C130 plane of the Saudi Royal Air Force bound for Jeddah, Saudi Arabia,” the DFA said.
Data from the DFA showed some 610 Filipinos have been evacuated from Khartoum, more than half of which have crossed to the Egyptian border. In a separate statement, Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) Secretary Susan Ople said some 340 OFWs in war-torn Sudan may be home safe soon. Ople told President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. that a DMW team and a contingent from the Philippine embassy in Cairo are currently attending to a large group of OFWs wanting to flee the conflict in Sudan.
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