News Roundup 04 May 2024
May 04, 2024 • 5 min Read
‘Hindi kami duwag’: PCG addresses criticisms on latest water cannon incident | PHILSTAR.COM – MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) brushed off public criticisms regarding their response to the latest harassment of China in the West Philippine Sea, saying they did what they could to avoid escalating tensions in the region.
Commodore Jay Tarriela of the West Philippine Sea Transparency Office of the PCG made the statement after refusing to retaliate, despite the China Coast Guard once again firing its cannons at Philippine vessels delivering supplies to Filipino fisherfolk at Bajo de Masinloc.
“We have a chain of command. We respect the guidance of our president,” said Tarriela in a news forum on Saturday.
“The guidance of the president is that we should not be provoked, we should not be the reason of intensifying the escalation for China to justify to once again bring the next level of aggression.”
Chinese ships fired their cannons and rammed through PCG vessel BRP Bagacay and Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) vessel BRP Bankaw last Tuesday. This occurred as Beijing persists in asserting claims over features within the West Philippine Sea.
The attacks resulted in over P2 million worth of damages to the vessels’ railing and canopy. Among those aboard the Filipino ships were members of the media.
While the Coast Guard personnel share the same level of emotion with the public, Tarriela said that they must remain unprovoked. He also claimed that it’s unfair to describe the PCG personnel as cowards, saying that they were just doing their patriotic duty.
“But we cannot do otherwise because we have to comply and we know for a fact – we trust our commander-in-chief, the National Task Force-West Philippine Sea, of course the National Security Adviser – but we have to maintain professionalism in dealing with this kind of bullying of the Chinese Coast Guard,” he continued.
Full Story at: ‘Hindi kami duwag’: PCG addresses criticisms on latest water cannon incident | Philstar.com
US slams China’s ‘irresponsible behavior’ in South China Sea | PHILSTAR.COM – MANILA, Philippines — Damage to Philippine vessels and injuries to their crew in the South China Sea constitute “irresponsible behavior” in disregard of international law, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Thursday, weighing in on the latest flare-up involving China.
Manila and Beijing have traded barbs almost daily since Tuesday’s confrontation at Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal, where ships of the China Coast Guard blasted two Philippine vessels with water cannons, prompting outrage from its government.
“We’ve been very clear to everyone, to include Beijing, that the kind of behavior that we’ve seen, where Filipino crews are put in danger… sailors have been injured and property damaged, that is irresponsible behavior,” Austin told a joint press conference in Hawaii.
Austin reiterated the US would continue to support its former colony the Philippines, as outlined in a 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty.
“Our commitment to the treaty is ironclad and we stand with the Philippines,” he said after a meeting with defense counterparts of the Philippines, Australia and Japan.
Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro refused to speculate about the conditions in which Manila might invoke the treaty, saying that would be a “political decision.”
Full Story at: US slams China’s ‘irresponsible behavior’ in South China Sea | Philstar.com
Corals, cays in Pag-asa Island now degraded, UP biologist says | INQUIRER.NET – MANILA, Philippines — The corals and cays, the small islands atop coral reefs, on Pag-asa Island are now in a degraded state, an expert from the University of the Philippines Institute of Biology said.
“Many of the corals here in this island, at Pag-asa Island itself, and the cay are now degraded,” Professor Jonathan Anticamara said as he reported the findings of their marine resource assessment with the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) and National Fisheries Research and Development Institute last March.
“Many of the corals are now small; many of the large corals are now dead, and there are not a lot of live corals in the area,” he added.
The professor also said there were not many fish in the area, and those that they found were only small ones.
“My assessment, based on my experiences with the rest of the reef in the Philippines, is that the Pag-asa coral reefs, the cay, the Pag-asa Island itself have coral reefs that are now experiencing either a decline or degradation of overfishing and the habitat itself is not in a good condition,” Anticamara said.
Full Story at: Corals, cays in Pag-asa Island now degraded, UP biologist says (inquirer.net)
Nurse shot dead by rider he assisted | INQUIRER.NET – MANILA, Philippines — In an unfortunate turn of events, the good deed of a nurse who assisted a motorcycle rider who fell from his vehicle led to tragedy as he, and another individual, were shot dead by the latter.
The victims were identified by the Caloocan City Police as nurse Mark John Blanco, 38, and construction worker Willy Manarom, 39,
The incident took place around 8:10 p.m. last April 28 along Road 17, corner Road 6, Lagumbay Street, Upper Congress Village, Barangay 173, Caloocan City.
Based on initial investigation, the suspect, Joel Vecino, 54, a security officer, fell from his motorcycle, and Blanco tried to help him.
Vecino, who was under the influence of alcohol, got irked when he failed to restart his motorcycle and pulled out his Glock 9mm pistol and shot Blanco.
“Victim 2 tried to pacify the suspect but the latter also shot the former. Both victims were dead on the spot,” the police report read, referring to Manarom.
Full Story at: Nurse shot dead by rider he assisted | Inquirer News
