PBBM ORDERS FORMATION OF NAT’L FORENSIC INSTITUTE
20 .00
NEWS | A3
IN MET R MANILAO
VOL. XXXVIII • NO. 345 • 3 SECTIONS 12 PAGES JANUARY 26, 2025
ZELENSKY WARNS OF PUTIN PLOY AGAINST TRUMP WORLD | A4
www.manilastandard.net • mst.daydesk@gmail.com
DINAGYANG 2025 HUB. SM City Iloilo transforms into the hub of Dinagyang 2025.
From awe-inspiring tribal costumes to delectable Ilonggo cuisine and exciting events, the SM City Iloilo became a showcase of the best of Ilonggo artistry. Inset shows performers during the Dinagyang ILOmination that illuminated the city’s major business districts. The event featured a parade of illuminated floats and street dance performances by various tribes adorned in colorful, lighted costumes. Norman Cruz
US AID FREEZE WON’T ‘SEVERELY AFFECT’ PH
SENIOR DFA OFFICIAL SAYS FREEZE TEMPORARY, WON’T IMPACT ON EDCA By Charles Dantes
T
HE United States’ freeze order on foreign aid is not expected to “severely affect” the Philippines, a senior Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) official said on Saturday. The US State Department issued a “stop-work” order on January 24 (Washington time) for all existing foreign assistance and paused new aid for 90 days pending a review of efficiencies and consistency with President Donald Trump’s recently announced foreign policy directions. Only emergency food programs and military aid to Israel and Egypt were to continue, according to a memo issued by US Secretary of State
Marco Rubio. The US is one of the Philippines’ top donors of the Official Development Assistance, contributing around USD147.7 million in 2023. Last year, the US pledged an additional US$500 million in military aid to the Philippines during the visit to Manila of Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III and Secretary of State Anthony J. Blinklen. “There is the regular aid that they
provide. We’re still talking to the Americans about that. I can’t give the exact data about that, but freezing is not a permanent freeze,” Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Eduardo Jose De Vega said in a news forum. “Now, the reason why Egypt and Israel are always exempted from that is because of the Middle East situation -- because it’s very important that those two countries maintain the peace,” he added. De Vega also clarified that the financial support allocated for EDCA sites is distinct from other aid programs, ensuring its continuity regardless of broader funding decisions. “It’s not part of that aid package that we’re talking about. They will not suddenly abandon the EDCA sites,” he said. “They know the importance of EDCA for both the US and the Philippines,” De Vega added.
The Presidential Communications Office (PCO) said the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) is consulting with the US State Department to evaluate its potential impact on the Philippines. In a statement, the PCO said the DFA is communicating with relevant US agencies to gather more details about the situation. “The DFA is working with partners in the US Department of State and the US government to determine how this will affect the Philippines,” the statement read. The Philippines is a longstanding ally of the United States, with the latter remaining one of the country’s largest sources of foreign assistance. Washington has provided significant aid to the Philippines over the years, including funding programs in areas such as disaster response, education, and public health.
DFA OFFICIAL ASKS PINOY ILLEGALS TO LIE LOW, LEGALIZE STAY A SENIOR official of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) yesterday advised undocumented and overstaying Filipinos in the United States to “keep a low profile” and work to legalize their stay as the Trump administration tightens immigration policies. “Our advice is to keep as low a profile as possible and work for your legalization,” Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Eduardo Jose De Vega said in a news forum even as he assured Filipinos that the DFA will extend aid to those who will reach out to the Philippine Embassy or the consulates in the US. He noted that President Donald Trump said he can work with Democrats about illegal aliens who are not “criminals and terrorists.” “That means they will make legal means to encourage these productive overstaying aliens to be totally legalized. So, take advantage of that,” he added. De Vega noted that all Filipinos, even if undocumented, traveled to the US with at least a visa in their possession. “Everyone had a visa, it might just have expired. No one crossed without at least one document,” he said. De Vega also said it is “almost impossible” that the estimated 300,000 Filipino illegals in the US could be deported by the end of the Trump administration. During the first Trump presidency, De Vega said the US deported “only a few hundred or less” undocumented Filipinos every month, much less than the number during the Obama administration. “Let’s see if by six months it balloons to thousands then there really is an increase. Let’s not conclude until we see the data in six to eight months,” he said. He reiterated that the government is ready to respond should this planned mass deportation impact Filipinos. He added that the government could easily tap the DFA Assistance-to-Nationals fund and the Department of Migrant Workers’ Aksyon (Agarang Kalinga at Saklolo para sa mga OFW na Nangangailangan) Fund.
BFAR TEAM SUSPENDS RESEARCH OFF PAGASA DUE TO CHINESE HARASSMENT
By Rex Espiritu
THE Philippine Coast Guard said Saturday it had suspended a scientific survey in the contested West Philippine Sea due to “dangerous” harassment by Chinese navy and coast guard vessels and aircraft. Three Chinese coast guard vessels and four smaller boats made “aggressive maneuvers” toward two Philippine Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources ships and their inflatable boats on Friday near Pagasa (Thitu) island, according to Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) Spokesperson Commodore Jay Tarriela. The vessels were transporting scientists intending to conduct a “ma-
rine scientific survey and sand sampling” at a sandbar off Pagasa, the largest Philippine-occupied island in the disputed Spratlys chain, he said. Pagasa lies about 430 kilometers from the major Philippine island of Palawan and more than 900 kilometers from China’s nearest major landmass of Hainan Island. Chinese forces garrison the Subi Reef near Pagasa. Tarriela also said a Chinese navy helicopter “hovered at an unsafe altitude” above the fisheries agency’s inflatable boats on Friday, “creating hazardous conditions due to the propeller wash.” “As a result of this continuous harassment and the disregard for safety exhibited by the Chinese maritime
forces”, the Coast Guard said it and the fisheries agency “regrettably suspended their survey operations and were unable to collect sand samples” from the unoccupied sandbars of Sandy Cay off Pagasa. Despite the “dangerous confrontations,” no accidents occurred, the coast guard added. The incident happened on the same day that Philippine forces resupplied and rotated without incident troops manning a derelict navy vessel grounded on the Ayungin Shoal (Second Thomas Shoal), the foreign affairs department said. The government had deliberately grounded the vessel on the reef to assert its claim over the area.
HARASSMENT
A Chinese military helicopter buzzed Filipino researchers and scientists on rigid hull inflatable boats of Sandy Cay near Pag-asa Island while a Chinese coast guard boat follows a Bureau of Fisheries vessel near the Cay. PCG
CHINA EMBASSY DENIES SPY ALLEGATIONS; ASKS FOR ACCESS TO SUSPECT By Rachelle Tonelada The Chinese Embassy in the PHILIPPINES called on the government to cease making “baseless accusations” regarding the alleged “Chinese spy” and confirmed it has requested consular access to provide assistance to the Chinese national. Chinese national Deng Yuanqing, along with two Filipinos, was arrested by Philippine authorities
last Monday on suspicion of spying on key civilian and military installations. The suspect had been posing as a businessman to conceal his true intentions, a high-ranking military official said. “This Chinese national has been residing in the Philippines for over 10 years, married to a Filipina, and established businesses in the country,” said Armed Forces of the Phil-
manilastandard.net
@ManilaStandardPH
—“—
(His) equipment was used to map and survey critical infrastructures, strategic areas including police and military camps, ports, and even malls, airports, seaports, and the country’s communication and energy grid. —AFP spokesperson Col. Margareth Padilla
@mnlstandardph
@manilastandard
@ManilaStandardYT
ippines (AFP) spokesperson Col. Margareth Padilla in an interview. “These businesses served as fronts to receive substantial funds for their illicit activities.” Padilla revealed that the individual utilized highprecision equipment for topographic mapping and 3D modeling to gather data
on military installations and critical infrastructure within the Philippines. “This equipment was used to map and survey critical infrastructures, strategic areas including police and military camps, ports, and even malls, airports, seaports, and the country’s communication and energy grid,” she explained.
Missed your copy of Manila Standard? Call or text our Circulation Hotline at 0917-8848655 or email: circulation@manilastandard.net . For advertisement: email: advertise@manilastandard.net •09173382170 / 85646229