News Roundup 22 September 2024
Sep 22, 2024 • 6 min Read
More China boats at shoal; PH ‘to keep them guessing’ | INQUIRER.NET – MANILA, Philippines — China deployed eight more maritime militia vessels to Escoda (Sabina) Shoal on Saturday, according to a US maritime expert, while a government spokesperson said that Manila would no longer publicly disclose details of the movement of its ships following the departure of a Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) vessel from the reef last week.
In a post on X, Ray Powell, the director of SeaLight, a program of Stanford University’s Gordian Knot Center for National Security Innovation that tracks Chinese activities in the West Philippine Sea, said eight Qiong Sansha Yu militia ships were deployed from Panganiban (Mischief) Reef to Escoda.
Powell said that two Chinese militia ships had also been deployed to Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal.
He said that a China Coast Guard (CCG) ship with bow number 5205 was also spotted 74 kilometers southwest of Palawan Island.
“What generated this sudden activity is unclear,” Powell said.
The retired US Air Force colonel earlier told the Inquirer that Qiong Sansha Yu are China’s professional militia ships.
‘Operational adjustments’
“They are identified as fishing ships but they really never fish. They are essentially paramilitary vessels,” he said.
According to the Armed Forces of the Philippines, nine CCG vessels, four Chinese warships and 52 maritime militia vessels were swarming Escoda on Sept. 16, two days after the PCG’s BRP Teresa Magbanua left the shoal after nearly five months of deployment.
Full Story at: More China boats at shoal; PH ‘to keep them guessing’ | INQUIRER.net
Acop tells dela Rosa to stop ‘hiding behind Vice Pres. Sara Duterte’s skirt’ | INQUIRER.NET – MANILA, Philippines — Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa should stop “hiding behind Vice President Sara Duterte’s skirt” and address the allegations against him in connection with former President Rodrigo Duterte administration’s drug war.
Antipolo City 2nd District Rep. Romeo Acop made the statement after dela Rosa claimed that former Iloilo City Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog’s testimony during the quad committee was part of a “demolition job targeting the vice president and her allies ahead of the 2028 elections.”
“There’s no demolition job here. Only legitimate questions that need clear answers,” Acop said.
Acop is the vice chair of the quad committee.
“Sen. Dela Rosa should be man enough to face the facts and take responsibility, instead of hiding behind VP Sara’s skirt,” he dared the senator.
He likewise reiterated that the hearings focus on unveiling the truth behind the extrajudicial killings and human rights violations during Duterte’s war on drugs and its connection to illegal Philippine offshore gaming operators (Pogos) and the drug trade.
“Former Mayor Mabilog’s testimony is crucial. Our goal is to craft laws that will put an end to these crimes, not to play political games,” he added.
Full Story at: Acop tells dela Rosa to stop ‘hiding behind VP Sara Duterte’s skirt’ (inquirer.net)
Lawyer hits quad comm for abuse of contempt power | PHILSTAR.COM – MANILA, Philippines — The lawyer of Cassandra Ong has accused the House of Representatives’ quad committee of abusing the “contempt power of legislature” following the new contempt citation that the panel issued to his client.
According to Ong’s legal counsel Ferdinand Topacio, he could not understand why the lawmakers do not respect his client’s “right to remain silent” which is even guaranteed under the Constitution.
“When you take your oath of office, you swear to uphold and protect all the laws of the Philippines, including the Constitution. They are the lawmakers but they are the ones who break the laws,” he said in an online interview.
Topacio also charged that the panel did not follow an injunction order of the Supreme Court in Pharmally Pharmaceutical Corp. executive Lincoln Ong versus the Senate Blue Ribbon committee in 2023, wherein the tribunal ruled that “if you accuse someone of contempt of the committee, there should be due process; let them explain.”
The lawyer made the statement after Ong, who is currently serving a 30-day detention at a House facility from her first contempt citation, was cited in contempt anew by the panel.
Ong was accused of “lying” after claiming at a hearing that she could not remember her classmates in an Alternative Learning System or ALS class that she supposedly attended.
The committee ordered Ong to be transferred to the Correctional Institute for Women in Mandaluyong City for 30 days after serving her current detention in the House which would end on Sept. 30.
Topacio noted a person could not be immediately accused of lying “just because they have a different opinion from what they are saying.”
Full Story at: Lawyer hits quad comm for abuse of contempt power | Philstar.com
Leni: Everybody’s welcome in Naga | PHILSTAR.COM – Peñafrancia festival is ‘politically neutral’
MANILA, Philippines — A day after being visited by Vice President Sara Duterte, former vice president Leni Robredo also welcomed Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos and Sen. Ramon Revilla Jr. in her house in Naga City yesterday.
The two, like Duterte, were in Naga for the celebration of the Feast of Our Lady of Peñafrancia. Revilla is running for reelection next year, while Abalos is reportedly considering a Senate bid.
Abalos said he went to Naga City for the Peñafrancia festival but thought it would be fine to pay a courtesy call on Robredo. He added he and his family are devotees of the Our Lady of Peñafrancia.
Revilla has not issued a statement on his visit to the former vice president and opposition presidential candidate in 2022.
Robredo, in an interview with reporters, said everyone is welcome to visit Naga City, especially during the annual festival.
“During Peñafrancia, we do not look at political colors. There’s no party affiliation, everything here is politically neutral. Everyone who comes for the Lady is welcome here,” Robredo said in Filipino.
“Since my husband became mayor in 1988, everyone who visits Naga for the Lady is very much welcome,” she added.
Robredo’s husband, the late Jesse Robredo, was the long-time mayor of Naga City.
The former vice president will run for city mayor in next year’s elections.
In an earlier statement, Robredo said the conversation she had with Duterte “was personal and not political.”
Robredo’s spokesman Barry Gutierrez maintained that Duterte’s visit was unexpected.
“She went straight to Robredo’s house unexpectedly. She received her graciously. They talked – not about politics. It was a conversation, not a meeting. And then she left. That’s it,” Gutierrez wrote in Filipino on X.
“I don’t like Sara Duterte’s politics, but it was only right that VP Leni received her with respect. We are not rude people,” he added.
Full Story at: Leni: Everybody’s welcome in Naga | Philstar.com
