Maniolas

Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana told a House committee on Wednesday that the Philippines did not have the capability to enforce the rights of the country in disputed territories in the West Philippine Sea. Photos show the BRP Ramon Alcaraz (top), the most ‘modern’ ship in the Philippine Navy, and the Chinese guided missile destroyer Taizhou (bottom). INQUIRER FILE / AP FILE Lacking the capability to enforce the Philippines’s rights in the West Philippine Sea, Manila will maintain the status quo in territories also being claimed by other countries, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said Wednesday, September 14, 2016. Delfin made the disclosure before the House committee on appropriations during the hearing for the Department of National Defense’s proposed P178.2 billion budget for 2017. Following the previous administration’s falling out with China, President Duterte has called for bilateral talks with Beijing over the resource-rich waters. Duterte has been perceived as favoring China over long-time ally, the United States. “As per the pronouncement of the President, we will maintain status quo in the West Philippine Sea so that there would be no miscalculations,” Lorenzana said. “We don’t have any assets to confront the other claimants in the area,” he added. The Philippines won its maritime case against China over the West Philippine Sea, after the United Nations Arbitral Tribunal in the Hague ruled that Beijing’s nine-dash line claim to almost all of the South China Sea had no historic and legal basis. The tribunal said the West Philippine Sea was within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ). READ: Philippines wins arbitration case vs. China over South China Sea  Duterte expressed Read More …

The Harmony of the Seas cruise ship leaves the STX shipyard of Saint-Nazaire, western France, for a three-day offshore test, on March 10, 2016. A Filipino crewman was killed and three others were hurt during a safety drill on board the cruise ship. With a capacity of 6.296 passengers and 2.384 crew members, the Harmony of the Seas, built by STX France for the Royal Caribbean International, is the world’s largest ship cruise. AFP MARSEILLE, France — A Filipino crewman was killed Tuesday during a safety drill on the world’s biggest cruise liner, the Harmony of the Seas, while it was docked in Marseille, a city official said. The 42-year-old and four other crew members were in a lifeboat that plunged 10 meters (35 feet) into the water during a safety drill in the southern French port. Three other Filipinos and an Indian man were hurt in the incident, and two were fighting for their lives. READ: Filipino dies in cruise ship safety drill accident in Bermuda A fire service spokesman said: “One person is dead and four are injured, including two whose lives are in danger.” Marseille’s deputy mayor Julien Ruas told AFP the five were the only people in the lifeboat at the time when it became detached from its fastenings and “fell 10 meters” into the harbor. The city’s prosecutor Xavier Tarabeux said a similar drill is carried out every week on the ship. “It involves putting a lifeboat to sea,” he said. Sudden drop An investigation has been Read More …

President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday, August 17, 2016, lashed out at the United Nations for its ‘stupid’ criticism of his government’s war against drugs. Duterte said even killings done by crime and drug syndicates were being attributed to his government. INQUIRER FILE President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday hit out at “stupid” United Nations’ criticism of his controversial crime war that has claimed 1,000 lives, warning the global body not to interfere. The political outsider, who swept to a landslide election victory in May largely on a pledge to kill tens of thousands of criminals, said he would continue his anti-drug crackdown despite mounting criticism, including from UN chief Ban Ki-moon. “Why would the United Nations be so easily swayed into interfering in the affairs of this republic? There are only 1,000 (killed),” he said at an event marking the 115th anniversary of the police force. READ: Duterte slams UN for ‘interfering’ in Philippine drug war | UN body condemns ‘illegal’ killings of PH drug suspects Duterte criticized the “stupid proposition” where the killings done by drug and criminal syndicates were being attributed to his government. Ban Ki-moon in June condemned Duterte’s apparent support for extrajudicial killings, saying they were “illegal and a breach of fundamental rights and freedoms”. The UN’s anti-drugs office also this month said it was “greatly concerned” by reports of extrajudicial killings of suspected drug dealers and users in the Philippines. The UN has made “a very stupid proposition”, Duterte said, warning them not to meddle in the country’s politics. Read More …

In this July 14, 2016 file photo, Marcopolo Tam, a member of a pro-China business group in Hong Kong, points to what is now known as the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea on a Japanese World War II era map. An international arbitration panel has decided that there is no basis for China’s claim to almost all of the South China Sea. The Asean has been trying to issue a joint declaration on the illegal Chinese claim but Cambodia has reportedly been spoiling the attempts. AP FILE PHOTO VIENTIANE, Laos — Southeast Asian foreign ministers will hold crunch talks in communist Laos on Sunday at a summit already overshadowed by infighting over Beijing’s saber rattling in the South China Sea. The gathering in Vientiane is the first major regional talks since the UN-backed tribunal ruled earlier this month that China did not have historic rights to vast swathes of the strategic sea. READ: Cambodia blocking Asean consensus on South China Sea—diplomat US Secretary of State John Kerry, who arrives in Laos on Monday, and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi are among the delegates attending meetings on the sidelines of the summit. The 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which includes four members who have competing claims with Beijing over parts of the strategic sea, has long presented itself as the best place for China to negotiate with neighbors over disputes. Beijing has resisted that approach, insisting that territorial disputes must be settled bilaterally. In recent years ASEAN has Read More …

INQUIRER.net By: Kristine Angeli Sabillo, Nestor Corrales, August 18th, 2015 12:43 PM Communications Secretary speaks to media in this file photo. INQUIRER The Philippine government on Tuesday denounced the bombing in central Bangkok, which has killed at least 20 people. “We condemn the bomb attack that killed and wounded scores of tourists, commuters and residents in Bangkok, Thailand, last night,” Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said in a statement. “This violent incident underlines the need for solidarity against those who sow terror and inflict violence,” he added. Coloma said the Philippine embassy in Thailand is still coordinating with authorities “to ascertain the safety and well-being of our citizens.” Reports from Thai media said a Filipino was among those killed in the blast but the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said was still no confirmation of the news. “The Philippine Embassy in Bangkok is in coordination with the hospitals in the area to verify if any Filipinos are among those who perished or have been injured and to provide assistance,” DFA Secretary Albert de Rosario said in a statement. In the statement, Rosario deplored the “horrific” bombing which “apparently has the intention to sow terror.” He said Filipinos in Bangkok had been advised by our Embassy to remain calm and to observe necessary precautions to ensure their safety. Kristine Angeli Sabillo, Nestor Corrales RELATED STORIES Death toll in ‘brutal’ Bangkok blast rises to 20; 125 hurt‘Arab-like’ man seen leaving bag at Bangkok shrine before blast Latest 7th Mayor Ramon Bagatsing Cup set Read More …