Maniolas

Foreign Affairs Secretary Perfecto Yasay Jr. AP FILE PHOTO WASHINGTON— The Philippines’ top diplomat said Thursday it still regards the U.S. as a trusted ally but will not accept lectures on human rights as a condition for receiving American help. Foreign Secretary Perfecto Yasay said, “We cannot … forever be the little brown brothers of America,” as he appealed for mutual respect between the allied nations. Yasay sought to reassure an audience at a Washington think tank about Manila’s commitment to positive relations with the United States, its former colonial power. READ: US calls for respect of human rights amid drug killings in PH His address came amid strains in the relationship because of recent remarks by the Southeast Asian nation’s new president, Rodrigo Duterte, who has waged a bloody war on the drug trade that has been criticized by the U.S. More than 3,000 suspected drug users and dealers have been killed since he assumed the presidency in June. Last week, President Barack Obama canceled a formal meeting with Duterte at a summit of Asia-Pacific leaders after he used the phrase “son of a bitch” in warning that he wouldn’t accept lectures from Obama on human rights. READ: Duterte to Obama:  Don’t lecture me on rights, PH not a US colony Yasay said the Philippine government would never condone unlawful killings. He said the Philippines shared the U.S. goal for full respect of human rights. He said Filipinos had fully understood about the sanctity of human life since before Read More …

A Malacañang official on Thursday defended the President’s plan to look to China as a source of military equipment despite the Chief Executive’s earlier pronouncement questioning its quality of firearms. Presidential Communications Office Secretary Martin Andanar argued that not everything produced by China is defective. He said many items Filipinos use are made in China and they have had no problems with them. “For me, it depends on the product. Maybe the China-made products that the President mentioned were the ones that were defective,” he said in a press briefing. In a speech at the AFP Medical Center last month, President Duterte said firearms sourced from China were substandard or could have been sabotaged. He made the statement as he promised to procure the best equipment for the soldiers in a government-to-government procurement. The President’s spokesperson, Ernesto Abella, on Thursday said that while Mr. Duterte had directed defense officials to study the option of sourcing equipment from China or Russia, “they’re not closing the options to these two alone.” Abella, noting China’s Vice Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin’s statement that ties between the two countries were at a “new turning point,” said the conversation between the two countries was “friendly.” “You could almost say getting to know you. The whole purpose is to be able to establish warmer relationships,” Abella said. He said he was unaware if there were any preconditions to the two countries’ conversation, but said there was an “openness” between them. Latest Lady Gaga’s new album ‘Joanne’ released Read More …

Rally participants listen to speakers while they wait in front of the Philippine Embassy for the embassy officials to come out, welcome them and receive their statement for President Rodrigo Duterte. CONTRIBUTED WASHINGTON, DC — Filipino American community leaders and supporters of President Rodrigo Duterte held a prayer rally in front of the Philippine Embassy in Washington, D.C. last Sunday, Sept. 11 to declare their support for the president’s programs and the all-out campaign against drugs. While Freddie Aguilar’s campaign song for Duterte played in the background, the rallyists calling themselves U.S. Pinoys for Real Change in the Philippines (USPRCP) wore white tops, carried placards and marched in front of the Embassy, singing and chanting that they wanted change in the Philippines. The 60 or so participants’ placards carried messages expressing support for war against drugs “to save youth, tomorrow’s leaders,” a strong and healthy US –RP relations, due process and respect for human rights, the construction of more rehabilitation centers nationwide, an end to corruption, the disclosures of all killings in the drug war, the war or terrorism and peace talks and end to internal conflicts in the Philippines. They also condemned the bombing in Davao. U.S. Pinoys for Real Change in the Philippines (USPRCP) Chair Atty. Arnedo Valera (center in barong) leads rally participants in prayers in support of the Philippines’ all-out campaign “to prevent it from becoming a narcotics state,” as well as in support for the rule of law and due process. CONTRIBUTED USPRCP Chair Atty. Read More …

Foreign Secretary Perfecto Yasay Jr. is set to meet with US Secretary of State John Kerry in Washington on Thursday in an apparent attempt to mend fences with the country’s staunchest military ally after President Duterte called for US troop withdrawal in Mindanao. The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Yasay would attend a private dinner to be hosted by Kerry on Sept. 15 for visiting senior officials including foreign ministers. He is also expected to attend meetings of the Filipino community, the chief executive officer of the Millennium Challenge Corporation and the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “Secretary Kerry will be hosting a private dinner for visiting high officials including foreign ministers,” DFA spokesperson Charles Jose said in a press briefing on Wednesday. No bilateral meeting   He said that while no bilateral meeting between secretaries Yasay and Kerry has been tabled, the two would have a chance to talk on pressing issues during the private dinner. The chief diplomat would then proceed to New York to attend the annual United Nations General Assembly. Earlier, Yasay said he was ready to respond to any inquiry from Kerry regarding Mr. Duterte’s recent statements on withdrawal of US troops in Mindanao. “I will have the same things to tell him (Kerry) as there is no change in our foreign policy,” Yasay said in a television interview, prior to leaving. He said he would discuss with Kerry “the projects and joint cooperation matters that we will continue to pursue (with the Read More …

GENERAL SANTOS CITY—An Australian pelican that strayed hundreds of kilometers from its nearest known habitat to end up in the Philippines is the first such bird to be seen in the Asian archipelago, according to wildlife enthusiasts. The waterbird flew into a fish breeding farm on the outskirts of the southern port of General Santos in early September, resident Levy Discamento told Agence France-Presse (AFP). “We saw a small flock of swallows chasing this big strange bird. There was an air battle until the big bird gave up and ran toward the mangroves,” Discamento said, recounting his first sighting. The mostly white pelican, a species which boasts the longest bill of any bird, measuring up to 47 centimeters (18.5 inches), has since attracted a flood of Filipino and foreign birdwatchers. They rent dugouts to watch and photograph the bird while it gorges on fish in nearby Sarangani Bay, Discamento said. “We feel (it) is a blessing, bringing good vibes to people,” Jimmy Poja, a local fisherman, told AFP. Most northern place   Willem Van de Ven, a Manila-based biologist and president of the Wild Bird Club of the Philippines, said the species is found all over Australia and occasionally as far as New Zealand, some Polynesian islands, New Guinea, and parts of Indonesia. “General Santos is definitely the most northern place it has been recorded in recent history, and quite a bit farther than usual,” he said. He added that the birds, which do not migrate seasonally, have never been Read More …