It was not a U-turn, after all, but obviously just a signal to the Chinese that we can go the other way if the situation warrants. In the past two weeks, Filipinos were left wondering why after more than two years of appeasing China on the territorial dispute over a few islets and reefs on the South China… Read More »

In the last few days, we have witnessed a seeming turnaround in the Philippine government’s posture towards China’s claims in the South China. After a frustrating policy of acquiescence and appeasement towards China’s aggression in the disputed waters we call West Philippine Sea, President Duterte and key government officials are finally talking sense and defending the country’s territorial… Read More »

With the government either defending, justifying or simply doing nothing about China’s aggressive actions, the country’s giant neighbor has become even bolder to pursue its “creeping invasion” of the disputed territories in the South China Sea. After occupying, reclaiming and building virtual military bases with airstrips, radar equipment and other installations on several disputed islands in the last… Read More »

It’s funny how China has remained silent over a complaint filed by former Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto del Rosario and former Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales against Chinese President Xi Jin-ping for “crimes against humanity” for alleged harassment of Filipino fishermen in the West Philippine Sea, and how President Duterte and other Philippine officials are tripping over themselves to defend… Read More »

ON DISTANT SHORE It’s funny how China has remained silent over a complaint filed by former Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto del Rosario and former Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales against Chinese President Xi Jin-ping for “crimes against humanity” for alleged harassment of Filipino fishermen in the West Philippine Sea, and how President Duterte and other Philippine officials are tripping over… Read More »

O As the world watched the apparent decline of the ISIS-led global terrorism, it now cowers in fear of the rise of a different, yet equally deadly kind of a worldwide terror threat perpetrated by white supremacists, a group no less extremist and fanatical, as shown in the recent attacks on two Muslim mosques in New Zealand. Forty-nine… Read More »

ON DISTANT SHORE By Val G. Abelg 03/08/19 Polls, debates and honesty For decades, various groups have been striving to educate voters, reminding them in every election to thoroughly study the candidates’ qualification to ensure that only those who have the best intentions and competence would lead the country. They emphasize the need for honesty, integrity, competence and… Read More »

Just like all mid-term elections, the coming May elections should be treated as a referendum on whether the people approve of the performance and policies of the present administration and whether they want the same policies to continue in the next three years. With the death of the two-party system and the emergence of patronage-based political coalitions since… Read More »

Finally, a different tone is emerging from the Department of Foreign Affairs on China’s aggressive actions in the South China Sea. On Saturday, Foreign Secretary Teddy Boy Locsin said the Philippines must protest China’s establishment of a maritime rescue center on the contested Kagitingan Reef in the Spratly Islands. Locsin, just recently the country’s ambassador to the United… Read More »

 It seems there is no limit to what the Duterte administration would do to show to its followers that it is serious in making good his promise to combat illegal drugs, crime, and corruption. After sending thousands of mostly young and poor Filipinos to their graves in its bloody and brutal drug war, the administration now wants to… Read More »