News
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View from Manila: Philippines downplays China’s new coast guard regulations as just ‘scare tactics’
SUMMARY MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines’ security sector on Monday, May 20, called on Filipino fisherfolk not to be afraid of the latest regulation of the China Coast Guard (CCG) on “Chinese waters.” The new directive would not have an effect because it has no legal basis, they said in a press conference. “Continue fishing […]
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[Rappler’s Best] No hell below us
SUMMARY Baguio, the summer capital blessed with more pleasant weather than the rest of our boiling cities, felt some sting of heat last Saturday, May 18, from President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The President, who’s also the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, addressed 278 cadets at their graduation from the Philippine Military Academy […]
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IN PHOTOS: Philippines says China ruined marine environment in Panatag Shoal
SUMMARY MANILA, Philippines – Between 2017 and 2019, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) dutifully compiled images that, according to them, prove how destructive Chinese activities have been in an already fragile marine environment. These images were submitted to the country’s highest offices under former president Rodrigo Duterte: the Office of the President, the National Intelligence […]
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[EDITORIAL] Paano nangyari na naging mayor ang isa umanong Chinese asset?
SUMMARY Nakaaaliw ang mga memes na nagsulputan tungkol kay Bamban Mayor Alice Guo – indikasyon ng pagkaasar ng publiko sa hindi kapani-paniwalang kuwento ng buhay niya – or more accurately, sa kasalatan ng kuwento ng buhay niya. “Your Honor, hindi ko na po maalala,” ang gasgas na gasgas na tugon ni Alice Guo sa mga […]
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In Pag-asa Island, residents make a stand to defend Philippine sovereignty
SUMMARY “Hindi kami aalis dito. Sa amin ito,” declared Maribel Belono, a resident of Pag-asa Island in the municipality of Kalayaan, Palawan province. (We’re not leaving this area. This is ours.) Belono, 49, first set foot in the island in 2002. She just wanted to visit the area. But little did she know that she […]
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[OPINION] John Lennon, the West Philippine Sea, and Atin Ito
SUMMARY What if, as John Lennon wrote in his classic song “Imagine,” there were no countries? What would the situation then be like in the South China Sea and in the West Philippine Sea? I was reminded of the lyrics to Lennon’s famous song and its meaning after watching a China Global Television Network (CGTN) […]
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[PANOORIN] Paninindigan ng mga sibilyan sa Pag-asa Island
KALAYAAN, Philippines – Sa isla ng Pag-asa sa West Philippine Sea, patuloy na naninindigan ang mga residente laban sa China. “Hindi kami aalis dito. Sa amin ito,” sabi ni Maribel Belono. Dagdag niya, bagama’t palagi nilang natatanaw ang naglalakihang barko ng China na nakapalibot sa isla, ni minsan ay hindi sumagi sa kanyang isipan na […]
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[Judgment Call] Philippine seas and a healthy dose of transparency
SUMMARY Extracting quick and timely on-the-record answers from most diplomats is an exercise in hope. Answers, should they come, are seldom quick and rarely timely. But you try anyway. However, hoping for quick, timely, and responsive answers from the Chinese embassy in Manila when diplomatic ties are at a considerable low is an exercise in […]
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Atin Ito coalition calls civilian mission in West Philippine Sea a ‘major victory’
SUMMARY MANILA/BEIJING – A Philippine group leading a civilian supply mission in the South China Sea delivered food and fuel to Filipino fishermen despite being shadowed by Chinese vessels, its officials said on Thursday, May 16, calling it a “major victory.” A 10-member team was sent by the Atin Ito (This is Ours) group to […]
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[Rappler Investigates] Deal or no deal, Duterte?
SUMMARY Rodrigo Duterte ceased to be president in June 2022, yet his shadow continues to loom large over state matters today. Of course, his drug war campaign will be immortalized in Philippine history books as probably the worst that resulted in thousands of violent killings instigated by a president. But, as we have discovered, that’s […]
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46 Chinese ships in vicinity as civilian convoy tries to reach Panatag Shoal
SUMMARY MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) monitored at least 46 Chinese vessels in the “vicinity area” of Panatag Shoal or Bajo de Masinloc on Thursday, May 16, as a civilian mission aboard wooden fishing vessels tried to sail closer to the shoal. According a situation report from the PCG that was shared […]
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WATCH: Massive vessel deployment in Panatag betrays a scared China, says Philippines
MANILA, Philippines – Over 46 Chinese government vessels have been deployed at the vicinity of Panatag Shoal, also called Bajo de Masinloc or Scarborough Shoal, a feature just 120 nautical miles off the coast of Zambales province in the West Philippine Sea. At least 19 of those vessels were in the immediate area of the […]