Archive - Commentary

Riding on an 85 percent approval rating, President Duterte probably thought he could convince Filipinos about the wisdom of his much-criticized policy towards China in the matter of the country’s territorial claim in the South China Sea. He devoted a lot of time on the issue of West Philippine Sea in his State of the Nation address Monday.

If the objective of the #Real Numbers press conference last Thursday organized by the Presidential Communications Operations Office was to clarify about the conflicting numbers related to President Duterte’s drug war, it left us more confused.

President Rodrigo Roa Duterte is correct when he questioned recently whether China can actually claim a huge swath of the ocean – by which he meant the Chinese Nine Dash Line Claim over practically the entire South China Sea (including portions we refer to as the West Philippine Sea).

Writer Floy Quintos wrote this poem after he watched Junel Insigne, captain of the fishing boat Gem-Ver, which was rammed by a Chinese fishing boat midnight of June 9, beside Agriculture Secretary Manny Piñol in a press conference June 19.

Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, speaking on the telephone: Sir, we just got word that a Chinese boat in Recto Bank hit a local fishing boat.

The sinking last week of Filipino-owned wooden fishing boat F/B GimVer 1 by a bigger Chinese ship in Recto Bank presents an expanding dynamic to Chinese expansionist claims over recognized Philippine maritime zones .

President Duterte dismissed what happened in Reed Bank on June 9 where a Chinese fishing boat “Yuemaobinyu 42212” rammed a Philippine fishing boat, F/B Gimver 1 which threw the 22 Filipino fishermen into the waters in the darkness of the night until they were rescued by a Vietnamese fishing boat, as just a “maritime incident.”

Supreme Court Justice Antonio T. Carpio believes that it was not a collision of fishing vessels that happened on June 9 in Reed Bank (Philippine name: Recto Bank; Chinese name: Liyue Tan), 80 nautical miles off Palawan and within the Philippine Exclusive Economic Zone.

The arrest of Davao-based journalist Margarita Valle last Sunday which turned out to be a case of mistaken identity puts into a question how intelligent is this so-called intelligence report which is the basis for the actions of government authorities including the country’s chief executive, President Duterte.

The Department of Health is aiming high: By 2040 they want a cervical cancer-free Philippines.

Always look left, right and left again when crossing the street.

A day after the May 13 elections, the “Marcos Centennial” and “Kabataang Barangay Worldwide” accounts in Facebook became inaccessible.