News Roundup 22 August 2023
Aug 22, 2023 • 4 min Read
Philippines completes Ayungin resupply mission despite China’s attempt to block | PHILSTAR.COM – MANILA, Philippines — Philippine boats have successfully delivered essential supplies to troops stationed on BRP Sierra Madre in the Ayungin Shoal despite attempts by Chinese vessels to “block” the resupply mission, the government said Tuesday.
The National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea said two supply ships, escorted by Philippine Coast Guard patrol vessels, completed the rotation and resupply mission despite “attempts by China Coast Guard and Chinese maritime militia vessels to block, harass, and interfere.”
Philippine Navy vessels were also on standby during the mission.
The mission comes just over two weeks after the CCG blocked and fired water cannons at Philippine boats carrying food, water and fuel for troops stationed on the rusty World War II-era ship that serves as the country’s outpost in the West Philippine Sea. China’s actions prevented one of the boats from unloading supplies.
The Philippines condemned China’s maneuvers as dangerous and illegal, and summoned Chinese envoy Huang Xilian.
“Routine missions to Philippine outposts on various features in the West Philippine Sea will continue on a regular basis,” the task force said, noting these missions are part of the government’s legitimate exercise of its administrative functions over the waterway.
Full Story at: Philippines completes Ayungin resupply mission despite China’s attempt to block | Philstar.com
Tributes pour in for Toots Ople, champion of Filipino migrant workers | PHILSTAR.COM – MANILA, Philippines — Migrant Work Secretary Susan Ople was a “tireless champion” of overseas Filipinos who answered the call of duty even as she battled cancer, and those mourning her death say they will remember the long years she toiled in service of others.
The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW), which Ople led as its first secretary, confirmed that Ople passed away Tuesday afternoon.
Ople shared in 2022 that her battle with breast cancer in 2020 was a “factor” in whether or not she would accept the position of DMW secretary.
In July, Ople took a leave of absence from work following the deaths of her two elder brothers—former Hagonoy Mayor Felix “Toti” Ople and former journalist Blas Ople Jr. Both died from lung cancer.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Tuesday mourned Ople’s passing, describing her as a “friend” and an “excellent” public servant who championed the country’s labor movement.
Full Story at: Tributes pour in for Toots Ople, champion of Filipino migrant workers | Philstar.com
As rice prices soar, senators dare NFA: Prove your worth | INQUIRER.NET – MANILA, Philippines — As a farmers’ group called for the abolition of the National Food Authority (NFA) over its supposed preference for rice imports, two senators on Monday challenged the agency to prove its worth by helping farmers and buying their produce at higher prices.
“If the NFA is filling up its buffer stock with imported rice, then [it] has a lot of explaining to do. And if NFA really turns out to be an agency that cannot fulfill its role, then I am open to the idea of abolishing (it),” Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel III said.
Sen. Francis Escudero, a member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, also called on the NFA to belie reports it has become useless and ineffective.
“It is basically a statement that the NFA has become inutile and that the government is simply relying on imports… without investing enough on agriculture, with a view to increasing production and thereby providing food security for our country,” he said.
“I think [the farmers’ group] call for the abolition of the NFA is their way of saying that ‘it’s useless anyway, so why not just abolish it,’” Escudero noted.
Full Story at: As rice prices soar, senators dare NFA: Prove your worth | Inquirer News
P20/kg rice hard to attain even if PH becomes self-sufficient, says DA exec | INQUIRER.NET – MANILA, Philippines — The promise to bring down the cost of rice to P20 per kilo will be hard to achieve, even if the country becomes self-sufficient with the staple food, a Department of Agriculture (DA) official said on Tuesday.
During a hearing of House committee on appropriations for DA’s proposed budget for 2024, Agriculture Undersecretary for Rice Industry Development Leocadio Sebastian said, this is because it is the market that will dictate the tag price.
“That is a market — that will be market based. It depends on the market, [on] how will it pay,” Sebastian responded when asked by Basilan Lone District Representative Mujiv Hataman if government can fulfill its commitment.
The 20-pesos-per-kilo of rice was the campaign pledge of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.
The price of the staple now has reached up to P56 a kilo.
Full Story at: P20/kg rice hard to attain even if PH becomes self-sufficient, says DA exec | Inquirer News
