News Roundup 10 March 2024
Mar 10, 2024 • 4 min Read
Seafarers to return to Philippines this week after Red Sea missile attack | PHILSTAR.COM – MANILA, Philippines — Eleven seafarers from the merchant ship attacked by Yemen’s Houthi rebels in the Red Sea will return to the Philippines this week, the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) said Sunday.
Two Filipino seafarers were among those killed after a missile fired by the Iran-aligned militants struck the fuel tanks of the Barbados-flagged, Liberian-owned bulk carrier True Confidence.
Three Filipino crew members were also injured, with two in serious condition.
“Eleven crew members will come home on Tuesday: 10 unharmed and one injured,” DMW officer-in-charge Hans Cacdac said in an interview with Super Radyo dzBB.
In a statement posted on X, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said the 13 surviving Filipino seafarers are currently in Djibouti and are being assisted by the Philippine Embassy in Cairo, Egypt to return home.
“The government is in constant contact with their families, and we will spare no effort in bringing their remains home,” Marcos said, adding assistance will be given to the seafarers and their relatives.
Not yet retrieved
Cacdac said the remains of the two deceased Filipino seafarers have not been retrieved yet.
According to the DMW official, the “heat signature is still high,” preventing the salvaging team hired by the shipowner from entering the vessel.
Full Story at: Seafarers to return to Philippines this week after Red Sea missile attack | Philstar.com
Hontiveros: Quiboloy must answer for alleged extortion of OFWs | PHILSTAR.COM – MANILA, Philippines — Controversial preacher Apollo Quiboloy should also be held accountable for allegedly forcing Filipino migrant workers to donate their salaries to his church, Sen. Risa Hontiveros said on Sunday.
“Araw-gabi kumayod ang mga overseas Filipino workers (OFW), tapos imbes na mapunta sa pamilya nila ang pinagtrabahuan nila, pilit silang hinuhuthutan ni Quiboloy,” Hontiveros said, adding they were also coerced to sell products to remit to the religious group Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC).
(OFWs work hard day and night. But instead of their hard-earned money going to their families, Quiboloy forcibly extorts from them.)
During a Senate hearing last week into the alleged exploitation, sexual and other abuses committed against former workers of KOJC, Reynita Fernandez, an OFW based in Singapore, said that she and other migrant workers were pressured and harassed into giving 90% of their salaries to Quiboloy.
“Reynita lost her home because she gave her entire salary, and she’s definitely not the only OFW victimized,” Hontiveros said. “We call our OFWs our modern-day heroes, yet we are failing to protect them from fraudsters like Quiboloy.”
Full Story at: Hontiveros: Quiboloy must answer for alleged extortion of OFWs | Philstar.com
Duterte to protect Quiboloy ‘Kingdom’ assets — lawyer | INQUIRER.NET – “He shall see to it that assets are protected, payables are paid, receivables collected and all financial matters are handled with due diligence with the end in view of benefiting the members of KOJC (Kingdom of Jesus Christ) in the best possible manner.”
This was how a lawyer of televangelist Apollo Quiboloy described in a nutshell the role to be played by former President Rodrigo Duterte as “administrator” of KOJC, the sect headed by the wealthy, influential and now embattled pastor.
“And as a former President of the Republic, he brings gravitas and an extremely high level of prestige to the duties inherent in an administrator,” said lawyer Ferdinand Topacio in a message to the Inquirer.
As a “seasoned lawyer,” Duterte has the “best legal expertise” to handle all the concerns of KOJC, according to Topacio, legal counsel of the Davao-based church.
Duterte, 78, will be tasked to perform duties related to the “management, stewardship and preservation of the properties of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ as a juridical entity existing under Philippines laws,” he added.
Full Story at: Duterte to protect Quiboloy ‘Kingdom’ assets — lawyer (inquirer.net)
‘Irreparable harm’: China intrusion’s impact on West Philippine Sea ecosystem | INQUIRER.NET – MANILA, Philippines—South China Sea (SCS) has one of the richest marine biodiversity in the world but competing territorial claims and neglect are increasingly threatening its ecosystem.
This was the warning by Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative (AMTI) of Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in a report released late last year and presented at a briefing by the UP Institute for Maritime Affairs and Law of the Sea last Feb. 21.
According to the report “Deep Blue Scars: Environmental Threats to the South China Sea,” increased fishing, dredging, land fill and giant clam harvesting have taken a “devastating toll,” especially on the biodiversity’s main foundation—coral reefs.
Full Story at: ‘Irreparable harm’: China intrusion’s impact on West Philippine Sea ecosystem | Inquirer News
