News Roundup 10 August 2024
Aug 10, 2024 • 4 min Read
China air force harassed Philippines plane over disputed reef – military chief | PHILSTAR.COM – MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine military on Saturday accused China’s air force of “dangerous and provocative actions” against a military plane patrolling over a disputed South China Sea reef.
Two China air force aircraft “executed a dangerous manoeuvre at around 9:00am and dropped flares in the path of our NC-212i,” armed forces chief General Romeo Brawner said in a statement, recounting the alleged incident Thursday “over” Scarborough Shoal.
He said the Chinese action “endangered the lives of our personnel undertaking maritime security operations,” adding that the pilot and crew “safely returned” to a northern Philippines air base.
The allegation was the latest in an increasingly tense confrontation between Manila and Beijing, which claims most of the South China Sea and seized the shoal after a 2012 standoff with the Philippines.
In an earlier clash the Philippine military said one of its sailors lost a thumb in a confrontation off Second Thomas Shoal in another area of the South China Sea in June in which the Chinese coastguard also confiscated or destroyed Philippine equipment including guns.
Full Story at: China air force harassed military plane over disputed reef – AFP chief | Philstar.com
SWS: Chiz debuts with ‘good’ satisfaction rating; Romualdez, Gesmundo see gains | PHILSTAR.COM – MANILA, Philippines — Francis “Chiz” Escudero debuted in the Social Weather Stations survey with a “good” +47 net satisfaction rating since becoming Senate president.
The survey conducted June 23–July 1, found that 64% of the nationally representated respondents were satisfied with Escudero’s performance at the helm of the upper chamber so far. About 17% were dissatisfied while 17% were undecided.
He was marked “very good” in Metro Manila, where he earned the highest score with +54. This was followed by “good” levels in the rest of Luzon (+47), Visayas (+43) and Mindanao (+47).
His satisfaction rating was also “good” in both urban and rural areas, at +48 and +46, respectively.
Escudero was elected president by his peers in the Senate in May this year, replacing Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri.
Full Story at: SWS: Chiz debuts with ‘good’ satisfaction rating; Romualdez, Gesmundo see gains | Philstar.com
Lawmakers not yet done lashing back at Sara Duterte | INQUIRER.NET – Members of both houses of Congress on Friday swiped back at Vice President Sara Duterte for insinuating on Thursday at government neglect or wrongdoing.
Senate President Francis Escudero on Friday said he was perplexed that Duterte should take up the matter of a comprehensive flood control program when her father, former President Rodrigo Duterte, failed to implement a program in six years while the Marcos administration has not even been in office for three years.
“Flooding has been a perennial problem. If only something had been done previously, then we could have started implementing now,” Escudero said.
The Vice President’s brother, Davao City Rep. Paolo Duterte, has been in Congress since 2019 and was even deputy speaker during the 18th Congress. Her other brother, incumbent Davao City Mayor Sebastian Duterte, has also been in office since 2019.
“The statements of … Duterte should not be surprising following her resignation from the Cabinet [as education secretary],” Escudero said in a Viber message.
Escudero acknowledged that Duterte has the right to speak her mind regarding the concerns of ordinary people.
But unlike any other Filipino, he said that the Vice President “can actually suggest or do something tangible about them using her position, resources and platform.”
Full Story at: Lawmakers not yet done lashing back at Sara (inquirer.net)
VP’s rant vs gov’t may be a diversionary tactic, says solon | INQUIRER.NET – MANILA, Philippines – The remarks of Vice President Sara Duterte on the government’s disaster response may be an attempt divert attention from her trip to Germany amid the onslaught of Typhoon Carina, Manila 3rd District Representative Joel Chua said on Saturday.
“Well, tingin ko, itong banat po niya recently kay Pangulo, it’s a one way of… parang nililihis lang niya iyong issue para mapagtakpan po iyong totoong issue kasi po noong kasagsagan po noong bagyo, papalipad po siya, papunta po siyang Germany,” said Chua in Saturday News Forum.
(Well, I think, these remarks against the President is one way of… diverting the issue to cover up the real issue during the typhoon when she left for Germany.)
Vice President Duterte and her family flew to Germany on July 25, when rains and a Typhoon Carina whipped and inundated many parts of the country.
“So, apparently, habang nakalubog po iyong Metro Manila at marami po sa mga kababayan natin ang nasa ilalim ‘di ba noong bagyo – binabaha, sinasalanta – ang atin pong Pangulo’y umiikot pero ang atin pong Bise Presidente ay nasa abroad kasama po ang kaniyang pamilya. Kaya sa tingin ko po, ito’y one way of diverting only the issue,” added Chua.
(So, apparently, while Metro Manila was flooded and many were affected, our President was going around around while the Vice President was abroad with her family. That’s why I think, this is one way of diverting the issue.)
Full Story at: VP’s rant vs gov’t may be a diversionary tactic, says solon (inquirer.net)
