Aquino bares AFP buildup vs ‘bullies in our backyard’
President Aquino on Tuesday announced a $1.8-billion military upgrade to help defend the country’s maritime territory against “bullies,” amid an ever-worsening dispute with China.
President Aquino on Tuesday announced a $1.8-billion military upgrade to help defend the country’s maritime territory against “bullies,” amid an ever-worsening dispute with China.
Overseas absentee voting (OAV) turnout was way below the Commission on Elections’ hoped-for 60 percent in major precincts around the globe. Based on available reports, the overseas vote may be even less than the 26 percent achieved in 2010 despite the stepped up OAV campaign, with some major areas logging only five to eight percent voters turnout.
Malacañang has formed a team from the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (Meco) in Taipei to ensure protection for Filipino workers in Taiwan after reports of harassment and attacks by Taiwanese angry over the fatal shooting of one of their fishermen by Philippine coast guards last week.
Malacañang on Saturday rejected Taiwan’s allegations that Filipino coast guards had intentionally killed a Taiwanese fisherman in waters off Balintang Island in northern Philippines last week, triggering a major diplomatic row between the two countries.
The mayor of Kalayaan town in Palawan was harassed by two unidentified vessels while traveling with around 200 others by sea toward midnight on Thursday.
President Aquino on Wednesday formally apologized to Taiwan for the killing of a Taiwanese fisherman by Filipino Coast Guards in disputed waters off Batanes last Thursday.
Angry Taiwanese fishermen burned Filipino flags in protest Monday after the Philippine coastguard fired on a Taiwan fishing boat killing a crew member.
A Filipino teacher and caregiver received last month the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Courageous Citizens Award for foiling a kidnap attempt on her 95-year-old ward who suffers from Alzheimer’s disease.
An Australian, Ewan Marshall, and his girlfriend, Michelle Abad, were among 16 climbers and local guides who were rescued in Mayon Volcano, which exploded Tuesday. The two were reported Thursday in the Australian media to be heading to Boracay to continue their holiday.
The Bureau of Customs (BOC)) on Thursday filed smuggling complaint and a violation of the Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 against a Nigerian national for bringing into the country P24 million worth of methampethamine hydro chloride or shabu.
The United Nations on Wednesday pulled peacekeepers back from an observation post in the Golan Heights ceasefire zone where four Philippine troops were abducted by Syrian rebels, a spokesman said.
The wife of former police Senior Supt. Cezar Mancao II has appealed to the Aquino administration to help protect her husband from Sen. Panfilo Lacson.
