Maniolas

The BRP Ramon Alcaraz, Philippine Navy’s newest warship, after a successful test firing of its main weapons system in Charleston, South Carolina. More than a year after it was acquired from the US Coast Guard. MANILA (Mabuhay) – The Philippine Navy (PN) announced that additional weaponry for its latest acquisition, the BRP Ramon Alcaraz (PF-16), is already in the country. Cmdr. Gregory Fabic, Navy public affairs office chief, said that the two Mark 38 Model 2 “Bushmaster” 25mm automatic cannons are already in a secured location. He declined to comment on where this is for security reasons. “What we are waiting now is the arrival of the US Coast Guard team who will install the weapons,” Fabic said in Filipino. The “Bushmaster” automatic cannons will be fitted to BRP Ramon Alcaraz’s port (left) and starboard (right) side and will act as the ship’s secondary armament. The decision to seek US Coast Guard aid in installing these automatic cannons came in the wake of the high cost of having the guns installed by a private shipyard. The guns were supposed to be installed before BRP Ramon Alcaraz’s Nov. 22 commissioning but the cost of having it done here was just too expensive for the Navy. The weapon was commissioned by the US Navy following the terrorist attack on the USS Cole in 2000, and was designed to counter high-speed maneuvering surface targets.It will be installed in almost all US surface ships by 2015. The remotely controlled chain gun system can fire Read More …

U.S. Army 1st Lt. Brian Johnson poses for a photograph with Philippine soldiers after conducting helicopter insert and extract training on Fort Magsaysay, Philippines, April 29, 2014. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Staff Sgt. Pete Thibodeau MANILA (AFP) – Filipino and Vietnamese troops will engage in a light-hearted round of sports diplomacy on contested islands in the South China Sea, the Philippines said Thursday, as tensions worsen with China. Basketball, beach volleyball and tug-of-war games will be held this weekend on tiny islands that are claimed by nations to show that rivals can still be friends, Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario said. “This is camaraderie. That is a friendly gesture,” del Rosario told reporters. The games will be held in the Spratly archipelago, a powder keg area of the South China Sea that is coveted by the Philippines, Vietnam, China, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan. All the claimants except for Brunei have for decades occupied islands in the Spratlys in a bid to block any of the others. It is part of a broader struggle for control over the South China Sea, which has enormous trade and military significance as it is the main maritime link between the Pacific and Indian oceans. China claims nearly all of the sea, which is also believed to contain vast deposits of oil and gas, even waters approaching the coasts of its neighbors. The Philippines and Vietnam have voiced growing alarm in recent years at what they perceive as China’s bullying tactics in staking its Read More …

President Benigno S. Aquino III, accompanied by the Papal Nuncio to the Philippines and Dean of the Diplomatic Corps His Excellency Archbishop Guiseppe Pinto and Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario, leads the traditional toast for the New Year’s Vin d’ Honneur at the Rizal Hall of the Malacañan Palace on Friday (January 11, 2014). The annual reception which marks the 27th Vin d’ Honneur since the 1986 EDSA Revolution was attended by government officials, members of the Diplomatic Corps, officials of international organizations and businessmen. (MNS photo) MANILA (Mabuhay) – “Judge not lest you be judged.” This was the message of President Benigno Aquino III to Novaliches Bishop Emeritus Teodoro Bacani, who asked his Budget Secretary Florencio Abad to resign from his post amid allegations of involvement in the multibillion-peso pork barrel scam. “[So] pag bukas binanggit ako ni [Janet Lim] Napoles dapat ba sibakin na rin ako? Ang hirap naman yata nun,” Aquino said. Earlier, Bacani called on Abad to resign while the investigation on the pork barrel fund scam was ongoing. The retired bishop also said that the evidence against Abad was strong because both alleged pork scam mastermind Janet Lim-Napoles and principal whistleblower Benhur Luy implicated Abad. Aquino, however, said an accusation is not proof. “Lahat tayo under our laws may presumption of innocence at maglabas ng pruweba,” he said, adding Abad has already proven Napoles’ allegation was untrue. (MNS)

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