Marcos to Armed Forces: Defend...

he added.

The Philippines and China are embroiled in a longstanding dispute over some parts of the South China Sea, where more than $5 trillion in goods passes through every year. Malaysia, Vietnam, Brunei and Taiwan also have overlapping claims in the area.

In 2016, an arbitral court based in The Hague invalidated China’s historic claims in the South China Sea but the Chinese government refused to recognize the ruling.

“We still need to fight for the rights of every Filipino because the Philippines is a sovereign nation, the Philippines has a functioning government and that functioning government includes the members of the military and that is why it remains to be our duty to protect the country, to protect our citizens,” Marcos said.

Marcos expressed confidence that soldiers would “always stand up to the challenges that the Philippines faces in the best tradition of the military, in the best tradition of our heroes that have gone past.”

“Once again, we continue to see heroes being made in our military. Keep up the good work.

The country thanks you. The country is counting on you,” he said.

“The Armed Forces has never failed the country and a grateful Philippines knows that... The entire Philippines knows how difficult your job is and the entire Philippines is very much thankful for your service.”

The President also reiterated that the country’s foreign policy is “guided by a commitment to peace and guided by the national interest.”

He also thanked the military for helping ensure the conduct of a safe, peaceful and honest elections in 2022. n

Marcos calls for ‘unity, reconciliation’ on...

Filipinos deepen interpersonal relationships and discover how to make things work "better for all."

While touting diversity in Marcos' message, his father was infamous in persecuting political dissidents which lead to the arrests of 70,000, torture of 34,000 and deaths of 3,200 others during the Martial Lawera of 1972 to 1981, according to Amnesty International.

Marcos earlier questioned this data when asked about the abuses of his father's military rule.

The president said that at the heart of democracy is the need to resign from individualism for the sake of the common good and "embrace our infinite love for humanity."

"Let us keep in mind that the world matures and ages in fortitude when people are free to speak their minds and challenge the realities that shake their convictions and beliefs," Marcos said.

"If we truly stand for democracy,

Del Rosario: Marcos ‘taking proper steps...

between the superpowers,” he said, adding that “we were able to maintain that peace and maintain that understanding with all of our neighbors.” let us face the future by making our sense of community and patriotism the defining cornerstones of our society and the overarching goals of all our efforts in nation-building. I wish everyone a meaningful commemoration," he added.

“Now things have begun to change and we must adjust accordingly,” the president said.

The Social Weather Stations on Thursday reported that 62% of Filipino adults feel that the spirit of EDSA People Power is still alive, even after Marcos' 2022 win and the widespead misinformation that supported his candidacy. n

Reopened flights from Clark to boost tourism...

flights as they serve the Marcos administration’s efforts to vastly improve tourism connectivity and spread economic opportunity nationwide,” Frasco said.

“These flights will further invigorate the growing interest in our destinations among both domestic and international tourists, and further add to livelihood and employment opportunities for our tourism stakeholders and frontliners,” she added.

The tourism chief also highlighted that the reopening of the flights are “very timely” for the coming Holy Week.

“The DOT has been working with the DOTr in pushing for the maximization of the Clark International Airport with the goal of establishing it as a viable alternate airport, so it will be utilized to its full potential,” Frasco said.

“With the additional flights, we meet a number of objectives: the decongestion of the NAIA and minimizing crowding in other airports, as well as the further development of the region and attraction of more tourism activities and businesses in the area,” she added. n

“That’s why I say the mission of the AFP… has changed. And we need to guard carefully on the things we didn’t think too much about before,” he said further.

Marcos emphasized that the AFP “will always stand up to the challenges that the Philippines faces in the best tradition of the military, in the best tradition of our heroes that have gone past.”

Protests, summons

The president made these remarks more than three weeks after a China Coast Guard (CCG) ship at Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal, just 195 kilometers off Palawan province, pointed a military-grade laser at a vessel of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), temporarily blinding its crew.

Last week, the National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea reported that at least 30 Chinese militia vessels and a CCG ship were found anchored off Ayungin as well as Sabina (Escoda) Shoal, about 135 km from Palawan, when the PCG conducted a maritime domain awareness flight last Tuesday.

Joint patrols

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) had filed 77 protests against China, including 10 this year, on top of 195 diplomatic notes sent to China last year.

On Feb. 14, Marcos summoned Chinese Ambassador Huang Xilian “to express his serious concern over the increasing frequency and intensity of actions by China against the Philippine Coast Guard and our Filipino fishermen in their bancas.”

Del Rosario issued a statement on Monday, February 27 supporting this and other moves by the president. Del Rosario, chair of think tank

Stratbase ADR Institute, said “we welcome that President Marcos Jr.’s administration is allowing joint patrols with like-minded nations in the West Philippine Sea and establishing additional locations under the USPhilippines Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement.”

“If successfully done, these are steps that have the effect of deterring Chinese aggressions against the Philippines,” said the retired diplomat, a former ambassador to the United States.

‘Policies of aggression’

Del Rosario said further that “all nations of the world, including the US and the Philippines, have an important stake in preserving the rules-based international order against the unlawful policies of aggression being pursued by the leaders of China and Russia.”

“Dismantling the rules-based international order would be catastrophic for humanity as the world would revert to a pre-World War II order where disputes were settled by force and where countless lives were meaninglessly lost through wars and invasions,” he added.

“We should not forget the lesson of the past world wars that a policy of appeasement toward aggressors resulted in disasters,”

Del Rosario also said.

Sen. Risa Hontiveros, in a statement, said the country should look beyond its 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty with the United States and forge similar security arrangements with other countries.

“China will not stop until we surrender the West Philippine Sea so we must also show her that we will never stand down,” she said, adding that “China stands alone on this issue while we enjoy the support of many countries.”

Modernization

The PCG, meanwhile, said it aims to acquire “more than 20 offshore patrol vessels (OPVs)” to sustain its presence in the country’s waters, its spokesperson Commodore Jay Tarriela told ANC on Monday.

Currently, the PCG only has three OPVs capable of two-week deployment—two 97-meter ships acquired from Japan and a 93-meter boat from France.

The PCG has 10 smaller vessels that can only conduct short patrols.

Earlier, it called for more aircraft, port facilities, radars, and lighthouses for its modernization.

(With reports from Tina Santos, Frances Mangosing and Marlon Ramos)