Cagayanos hold...

a potential war between the U.S.-China over the Taiwan issue.”

In his speech during the rally, Cagayan Gov. Manuel Mamba said that for him, “EDCA is simply war.”

“Additional EDCA sites are an obstacle to the economic development of Cagayan. Foreign investors from China, South Korea, Japan and even Taiwan will be afraid of Cagayan because of the fear that Cagayan will become a stronghold in America’s war,” said Mamba.

He said the presence of the EDCA sites will be an obstacle to the realization of the Cagayan Development Agenda 2025 and the Cagayan International Gateway Project (CIGP) which aims to open the international airport in Piat, Cagayan, and the international seaport in Aparri.

“A peaceful and productive relationship with our Asian neighbors will bring prosperity to Cagayan. We want Cagayan to be the center of agro- industrial hubs in the international port, and not the center of foreign military bases whose clear objective is to enable war between America and China,” he said.

Mamba said that the presence of foreign forces in the province puts Cagayan in a “risky situation” if war breaks out between America and China.

“If the EDCA sites are meant to protect our territory in the West Philippine Sea against China, these sites should be established near the West Philippine Sea and not in Cagayan, a province in the North that is very far from the said Philippine territory,” the governor said.

“The only military forces we want and need in Cagayan are our own Armed Forces of the Philippines,” he said.

Mamba said armed conflict as a means of settling disputes between nations is unacceptable.

“Our strength is to be a friend to everyone and not an enemy to anyone,” he said. (ManilaTimes.net)

by Kristine Joy Patag Philstar.com

MANILA — A new trafficking scheme targeting Filipinos who want to work abroad as household workers has them trying to leave the country by claiming to be religious pilgrims.

This is the new scheme that the Bureau of Immigration uncovered after officers of their travel control and enforcement unit intercepted two women trying to fly out to Doha in Qatar.

In a statement on Monday, April 17, BI said the two

by ralPh edwin VillanueVa Philstar.com

MANILA — One of the two remaining drug cases filed against Leila De Lima has been submitted for decision, the former senator’s camp announced on Monday, April 17.

trafficking victims, aged 36 and 37 years old, claimed to be Muslim pilgrims. They said they planned to travel by bus to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to participate in Umrah — a non-obligatory but important pilgrimage for Muslims.

They had also said that they recently converted to Islam and they planned to stay in Saudi for seven days.

“However, the officers noted numerous inconsistencies in their statements,” BI said.

The two later on admitted that their documents were fabricated and that a woman recruited them, via Facebook, and processed their visas and tickets. The victims said they were instructed to pose as Muslims to depart the country.

The two have since been turned over to the InterAgency Council against Trafficking for further investigation and to initiate cases against their recruiter.

Trafficking schemes on the rise

In March, the immigration bureau said it had noted an increase in n the number of young professionals – even