News Roundup 05 March 2024
Mar 05, 2024 • 4 min Read
Philippines says boats damaged, crew injured in incident with Chinese vessels | PHILSTAR.COM – MANILA, Philippines(Updated, 1:55 p.m.) — China Coast Guard (CCG) ships collided with and fired water cannons at Philippine boats conducting a resupply mission in the West Philippine Sea (WPS), causing minor damage and injuries, authorities said Tuesday.
Commodore Jay Tarriela, Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesperson for WPS matters, said that patrol vessels BRP Cabra and BRP Sindangan faced “dangerous maneuvers and blocking” from the CCG and Chinese maritime militia during a resupply mission to troops stationed at BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal.
“Their reckless and illegal actions led to a collision between [BRP Sindangan] and China Coast Guard 21555 that resulted in minor structural damage to the PCG vessel,” Tarriela said in a post on X.
In a separate statement, the National Task Force for the WPS said that CCG vessels 21555 and 21551 fired water cannons at Unaizah May 4, one of the two civilian boats contracted for the resupply mission.
According to the task force, the use of water cannons shattered the wind shield of Unaizah May 4, causing minor injuries to four personnel on board. This prompted Unaizah May 4 to return to mainland Palawan.
Full Story at: Philippines says boats damaged, crew injured in incident with Chinese vessels | Philstar.com
Senate committee seeks Quiboloy’s arrest | PHILSTAR.COM – MANILA, Philippines — The Senate committee on women, children, family relations and gender equality has requested the arrest of pastor Apollo Quiboloy after his repeated failure to attend a probe on the sexual abuse complaints against him and his church members.
Sen. Risa Hontiveros, committee chairperson, also cited the Kingdom of Jesus Christ founder in contempt after he ignored the subpoena issued by the Senate.
“This committee requests the Senate President to order his arrest so he may be brought to testify,” Hontiveros said.
Hontiveros said that she received a letter from Quiboloy’s legal counsel arguing that compelling him to face the Senate when it has “already pronounced” him guilty “would be violative of his constitutional right against self-incrimination and to be presumed innocent unless proven guilty.”
Hontiveros maintained that the Senate has the power to summon individuals during its investigation of any issue.
Full Story at: Senate committee seeks Quiboloy’s arrest | Philstar.com
PH, US to hold military drills in islands facing South China Sea, Taiwan | INQUIRER.NET – MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines and the United States will carry out annual military exercises next month in key locations including Philippine islands facing the South China Sea and Taiwan, as tensions with China in the region continue to simmer.
The exercises, called Balikatan or “shoulder-to-shoulder”, will move away from sprawling military camps in the countryside to locations in northern and western regions, Philippine army colonel Michael Logico told a briefing on Tuesday.
The move is consistent with the shift in the country’s focus from internal to external defense.
This year’s exercises, which a Philippine diplomat previously said could be larger than last year’s 17,000-strong drills, will also focus on cybersecurity training and “information warfare”.
Full Story at: PH, US to hold military drills in islands facing South China Sea (inquirer.net)
House warns Quiboloy of consequences if he snubs hearings | INQUIRER.NET – MANILA, Philippines — A contempt and an arrest order awaits Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KJC) leader and alleged sex offender Apollo Quiboloy should he skip the hearing of the lower chamber’s Committee on Legislative Franchises on March 12.
In a statement on Tuesday, House Deputy Majority Leader and ACT-CIS Rep. Erwin Tulfo, along with Ako Bicol party-list Rep. Raul Angelo “Jill” Bongalon, said the lower chamber will impose similar actions taken by the Senate during its probe on Quibiloy’s alleged crimes.
“We do not want to preempt the decision of the committee. The committee usually invites the subject through formal invitation, and when you do not appear before us, it will issue a subpoena. If you ignore the subpoena, it insults the committee or authority,” Tulfo said in Filipino.
“So it might happen to him again if he [Quiboloy] does not attend the hearing if he chooses to ignore the subpoena, then we will have a problem,” he added.
Likewise, Bongalon said the House panel will not hesitate to cite Quiboloy for contempt and request his arrest if he fails to attend the next hearing.
Full Story at: | Inquirer News
