Search Results for: President Ferdinand Marcos

The Philippine Coast Guard vessel BRP Teresa Magbanua has left Escoda Shoal, a disputed area in the South China Sea, following a five-month deployment, according to a Sunday announcement from the Philippine government. This mission, described as successful by National Maritime Council (NMC) chair Lucas Bersamin, marks the conclusion of an extensive operation. The purpose [...]

Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr promised on Wednesday that “heads will roll” as the government investigates how a former town mayor accused of ties with Chinese criminal syndicates fled the country, stating that “the departure of Alice Guo has laid bare the corruption that undermines our justice system and erodes public trust”. On Monday, Senator [...]

The Philippine Senate ordered the arrest of a small-town mayor on Thursday who failed to attend hearings probing her suspected connections to Chinese criminal networks. The Senate president signed the arrest order, authorizing the Senate’s sergeant-at-arms to detain Mayor Alice Guo, also known as Guo Hua Ping, after she missed a second consecutive hearing on [...]

The Philippines on Saturday deployed ships to a disputed area in the South China Sea, where it accused the People’s Republic of China (PRC) of building an “artificial island” amid the two Asian countries’s ongoing conflict over the territory, the office of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said in a statement. “The Philippine Coast Guard (PGC) [...]

The mayor of the Philippine city of Davao, Sebastian Duterte, has declared a new ‘war on drugs’, watchdog Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported Sunday.  In the 24 hours since his announcement, local authorities are reported to have killed at least five people, with an additional seven being killed in the days that followed. Mayor Duterte [...]

Irene Khan, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on freedom of expression and opinion, expressed concerns Friday about the escalating number of journalist killings in the Philippines and called for immediate action. Khan emphasized that the murder of journalists constitutes the “most egregious form of censorship.” Despite global efforts to promote press freedom, the Philippines remains [...]

Philippines President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. reaffirmed on Tuesday that the country would not cooperate with the investigation undertaken by the International Criminal Court (ICC) into the previous administration’s “war on drugs,” led by its former president Rodrigo Duterte, which allegedly took the lives of over 12,000 Filipinos. The Philippines became a party to the Rome Statute, [...]

Through 2023, tensions in the South China Sea between China and the Philippines have escalated, marked by such significant escalations as the removal of a floating barrier by the Philippines near the Scarborough Shoal and the deployment of its Coast Guard amid increased activity by the Chinese Maritime Militia (CMM) near Julian Felipe Reef (or [...]

The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) announced Sunday that it deployed two ships to the Julian Felipe Reef (also called the Whitsun Reef) in response to an alleged increase in Chinese Maritime Militia (CMM) ships in the area. PCG spokesperson Commodore Jay Tarriela stated that the PCG noticed the alleged increase in CMM activity on November [...]

In a joint statement signed last Thursday but announced Tuesday, the government of the Philippines and communist group the National Democratic Front (NDFP) have reached an agreement to reset peace negotiations in an attempt to end a 50 year long conflict. The agreement was facilitated by Norway and signed in Oslo by Philippines Special Advisor [...]