7 barko ng China, pinaalis ng PCG sa Sabina Shoal

(UPDATE) — Nag-iba ang takbo ng joint maritime exercise ng Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) at Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) sa Sabina Shoal noong nakaraang linggo nang paalisin nito sa teritoryo ng Pilipinas ang 7 barko na kalauna’y nalamang galing China.

LOOK: 7 ships identified as Chinese Maritime Militia Vessels were chased off Sabina Shoal in the West Philippine Sea on April 27 during a joint maritime exercise by the PH Coast Guard & BFAR

📸:PCG pic.twitter.com/SwmAykvl85

— Anjo Bagaoisan (@anjo_bagaoisan) May 5, 2021

Ayon kay Philippine Coast Guard spokesperson Commodore Armando Balilo, nasa lugar ang barkong BRP Cabra at dalawa pang barko ng BFAR nang mamataan ang una’y 7 unidentified foreign vessel bandang alas-9 ng umaga ng Abril 27.

Nasa halos 120 kilometro ang Sabina Shoal mula sa Mapankal Point ng Rizal, Palawan.

Nakaangkla roon ang mga barko na nadiskubreng mga China maritime militia vessel.

Agad niradyuhan ng Coast Guard sa mga barko para igiit na nasa Philippine Exclusive Economic Zone ang mga ito at pinagpapakilala sila.

Kasama sa mga hiningi ang pangalan ng mga barko, bakit naroon sila at kung saan sila nanggaling at patungo.

Sabi ng PCG, 3 beses hindi sinagot ang pagraradyo nila kaya nilapitan na ng 3 barko ng Pilipinas ang mga Chinese militia vessel. Doon nag-angat ng angkla at nagpaandar ng makina ang mga ito. 

Matatandaang noong Marso nagparada ang Tsina ng 200 barko sa Julian Felipe or Whitsun Reef.

Noong Abril, may naganap ding parehong paghahamon ng barko ng Chinese military sa sasakyan ng mga Pilipinong mangingisda na kasama ng ABS-CBN news team na patungong Ayungin Shoal.

Nitong linggo naman, humingi ng paumanhin si Foreign Affairs Sec. Teodoro Locsin Jr. dahil sa pagmumura sa tweet na gumigiiit na umalis na ang Tsina sa mga isla ng Pilipinas sa West Philippine Sea.

Nanawagan naman si Duterte sa Tsina noong Lunes na hayaan nitong makapangisda nang mapayapa roon ang mga Pilipino, at idinagdag na nananatiling ‘benefactor’ ang Tsina sa Pilipinas.

Samantala, may sagot naman si Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque kay retired Supreme Court senior Associate Justice Antonio Caprio na sinabing "grand estafa" ang sinabi ni Duterte na hindi sya nangakong ibabalik ang mga teritoryo ng Pilipinas na inangkin ng Tsina.

"Kung estapador po ang Presidnte eh ano tawag sa kaniya na siya mismo ang sumulat ng desisyon kung saan nawala ang sangkatutak na teritoryo natin? But we will not stoop down to his level... Panagutan niya ang kaniyang desisyon, panagutan ni dating [Foreign Affairs] Secretary Albert [Del Rosario] ang pagkawala ng Scarborough," patutsada ni Roque.

https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/05/05/21/7-barko-ng-china-pinaalis-ng-pcg-sa-sabina-shoal

ABS-CBN 'never silenced' even after year off air: NUJP

ABS-CBN Corp. was "never silenced" even a year after it was forced to shut down operations by government, a group of journalists said Wednesday.

The shutdown of the country's largest broadcasting company displaced thousands of workers, including those in its regional network, and "denied millions access to news and information" during the pandemic, said the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines.

It added that the network's closure contributed to the Philippines' decline on the World Press Freedom Index and "has drawn comparisons to Marcos' martial law."

"Throughout all this and despite continued attacks and online harassment, ABS-CBN and its courageous journalists have continued to report over the internet and have remained constant companions in dealing with what has become the 'new normal,'" it said.

"We commend the Kapamilyas who have refused to be cowed into silence...We stand with them today in the hope—the certainty—that ABS-CBN will be back on air and will continue the vital work that it has been doing to inform as well as entertain in the service of the Filipino."

In July, a House committee, a majority of which were composed of President Rodrigo Duterte's allies, voted to deny the network a fresh franchise. It followed two months since its free TV and radio broadcast were shuttered at the lapse of its franchise. 

"We refuse to forget how Malacañang wielded the state machinery to clamp down on one of the biggest media outlets in the country. We will not forget all those who were instrumental in this wanton violation of press freedom," it said.

"More than anything, the closure of ABS-CBN proves how the tyrant fears truth-tellers."

https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/05/05/21/abs-cbn-never-silenced-even-after-year-off-air-nujp

Esperon slams Chinese Coast Guard acts targeting PH Coast Guard ships in Scarborough

Chinese militia ships spotted in Sabina Shoal, leave after PH Coast Guard challenge

The government task force handling West Philippine Sea affairs on Tuesday denounced Chinese Coast Guard activities targeting Philippine Coast Guard ships in the Scarborough Shoal area in April.

Task force head and National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon said the "shadowing, blocking, dangerous maneuvers and radio challenges" by the Chinese Coast Guard on vessels BRP Gabriela Silang and BRP Sindangan were a "violation of (Philippine) sovereignty." 

According to the task force statement, those activities happened during "legitimate" patrols and maritime exercises in the vicinity of the Scarborough Shoal on April 24 and 25. 

"We condemn in the strongest terms" those acts, Esperon said.

He emphasized that the Philippines remained keen to protect its "national interest, patrimony and our dignity as a people."

Esperon made the statement amid high tensions between Manila and Beijing over disputed waters in the South China Sea. 

"The government is firm in its resolve to protect what is ours for the benefit of the Filipinos," he said.

"We reiterate our call to all nations and stakeholders to reconsider their actions, cooperate and comply with their international obligations."

The task force has said Chinese ships have been sighted in the West Philippine Sea since early March, defying instructions from Filipino officials to withdraw.

Esperon said that on April 27, PCG vessel BRP Cabra, with two other Filipino vessels, went to the Sabina Shoal situated west of Puerto Princesa, Palawan, and saw 7 Chinese maritime militia (CMMs) ships anchored in "stationary linear formation" in the area.

"The crew of BRP Cabra issued a series of challenges to the offending vessels but elicited no response from the CMMs. After around 20 minutes, however, the CMMs vessels dispersed and left the shoal after being challenged by BRP Cabra," he said.

According to the official, the Cabra returned to Sabina on April 29 and again saw 5 Chinese ships. They left as the Philippine Coast Guard vessel arrived.

Personnel from the PCG and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources have been conducting maritime drills in disputed waters in efforts to increase Filipino presence in the area.

"The NTF-WPS emphasizes that the maritime exercises and patrols routinely conducted by the PCG and BFAR are part of the maritime law enforcement activities of its member agencies in the exercise of Philippine sovereignty and sovereign rights over our territorial seas and EEZ, respectively," Esperon said.

He said Beijing will impose a ban on Chinese fishing vessels "in the areas of the South China Sea north of the 12th parallel" from May 1 to August 16.

"This fishing ban does not apply to our fishermen and the NTF-WPS opposes China’s imposition of the same over the areas within the territory and jurisdiction of the Philippines. The NTF-WPS reiterates that our fisherfolk are encouraged to go out and fish in our waters in the WPS," Esperon said.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. earlier tweeted: “China, my friend, how politely can I put it? Let me see… O…GET THE F*** OUT" as the foreign office protested China's illegal presence in the West Philippine Sea. 

He later apologized for his statement.

In response, China on Tuesday told Locsin to mind his "basic manners."

Beijing does not recognize the 2016 ruling of an arbitral tribunal in The Hague, which junked its "historical" claims to almost the entire South China Sea, within which is the smaller West Philippine Sea, the country's exclusive economic zone in the disputed waters. 

https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/05/05/21/esperon-task-force-chinese-coast-guard-west-ph-sea

Duterte to face 'time of reckoning' for ABS-CBN shutdown, journo says

President Rodrigo Duterte will face a "time of reckoning" in the 2022 elections for ordering the shutdown of ABS-CBN, an award-winning veteran journalist said Wednesday.

"I think the President's people especially Harry Roque did not succeed in convincing the public that President Duterte has nothing to do with the shutdown because everyone in government from the NTC (National Telecommunications Commission) and Congress, which is controlled by the President because of the tremendous support from his allies in Congress, would show that everything was done because of Duterte's wishes," Manny Mogato told ANC.

"I think there will be a time of reckoning for his action maybe in 1 year. During elections," the Pulitzer-prize winning reporter added.

For Mogato, the shutdown of the country's former leading media and entertainment company has "changed the way of life" of Filipinos.

"The impact is more on the people who are deprived of information, especially news coming from a legitimate and reputable organization," he said.

The broadcaster's exit from free television also created a chilling effect on the rest of the industry, ABS-CBN News reporter Mike Navallo said.

"It can't take away the fact that taking out the largest media organization in the Philippines already creates a chilling effect to the rest of the media in the Philippines," he said. 

"Imagine, the biggest network [and] the President can shut it down or his supporters in Congress. Well, that says a lot. What will now be the position of those who are not as well known, who are not as big as ABS-CBN."

The country's telecoms body shut down ABS-CBN's free TV and radio operations on May 5, 2020, a day after its franchise was left to expire despite a long-pending renewal application at the House of Representatives.

A month later, the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) served 2 cease-and-desist orders against ABS-CBN's digital broadcast in Metro Manila and its sister company Sky Cable's direct broadcast satellite service nationwide.

On July 10, 2020, the Committee on Legislative Franchises denied the network's franchise bid after conducting 13 hearings, which tackled various issues such as alleged labor and tax violations and foreign ownership in mass media.

ABS-CBN was first shut down in 1972 when dictator Ferdinand Marcos imposed martial law. 

Some 48 years later, the network was forced off the air under the Duterte administration, which local and international groups condemned as a brazen attack on press freedom.

https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/05/05/21/duterte-to-face-time-of-reckoning-for-abs-cbn-shutdown-journo-says

2 parish priest sa Bukidnon magkasunod na namatay dahil sa COVID-19

Dalawang parish priest sa diyosesis ng Malaybalay, Bukidnon ang nasawi dahil sa COVID-19.

Ayon sa diocese, nasawi si Fr. Diomedes Brigoli noong Sabado at si Fr. Pablo Salengua nitong Martes sa Northern Mindanao Medical Center.

Sila'y parehong kuro paroko ng Sts. Peter and Paul Church sa Dalirig, Manolo Fortich.

Para maiwasan ang hawaan ng COVID-19, isinailalim muna sa lockdown ang residence ng obispo ng diocese.

Nag-negatibo sa rapid antigen test ang staff ng naturang residence.

Kasalukuyang nagluluksa at nanawagan ng dasal ang diyosesis sa pagkamatay ng dalawang pari.--Ulat ni PJ dela Pena 

https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/05/05/21/2-parish-priest-sa-bukidnon-magkasunod-na-namatay-dahil-sa-covid-19