Turkey ends all rescue efforts except in 2 areas

ISTANBUL—Turkey has ended rescue efforts in all provinces except the two hardest hit by last week's massive quake that killed tens of thousands of people, the Turkish disaster agency said Sunday.

"In many of our provinces, search and rescue efforts have been completed. They continue in Kahramanmaras and Hatay provinces," the agency's chief Yunus Sezer told reporters in Ankara.

The epicentre of the 7.8-magnitude earthquake on February 6 was in Kahramanmaras.

In other developments, former Ghana international football star Christian Atsu was found dead on Saturday under the rubble of his home, almost two weeks after a devastating earthquake in Turkey.

Atsu, 31, was caught up in a 7.8-magnitude quake that rocked Turkey and Syria on February 6, killing more than 46,000 people in both countries.

There were initial reports the former Chelsea and Newcastle player had been rescued a day after the quake, but these turned out to be false.

His manager in Turkey, Murat Uzunmehmet, told DHA news agency on Saturday that his body had been found under the rubble of luxury flats that crumbled in the Turkish southern province of Hatay. (See full story online at manilastandard.net)

From A1 ing greater awareness on the importance of a rules-based maritime order.

Manalo said the Security Council could initiate an open debate not necessarily on the arbitral award but on “rule and order to prevail in the maritime domain and the South China Sea”.

“I think discussions like that would help create greater awareness on the importance of UNCLOS (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea) and also maintaining a rules-based order so that any disputes or conflicts are settled through the rule of law and through peaceful means and not through coercive measures or aggressive moves,” he said.

The call came amid heightened tensions between the Philippines and China after the latter’s coast guard flashed a military-grade laser against a Filipino vessel on Feb. 6, temporarily blinding its crew.

In the same panel discussion, Manalo clarified that the maritime row over the WPS would not be the sum total of Beijing and Manila relations.

“It's a very complex situation, the Philippines and other countries in the region have very strong links with China on the economic and cultural front. So that creates greater, more complexity to the situation,” he said.

While in Munich, Manalo said he had a “candid exchange” with Ambassador Fu Ying, vice chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National People’s Congress of China.

“We talked about the latest incidents around Ayungin Shoal and how to further strengthen (Philippine-China) relations while managing our maritime differences and regional security challenges in IndoPacific,” Manalo said.

International attention

In a radio interview on Sunday, Senator Francis Escudero said the government is on the right track in handling the WPS while commending President Marcos for government” will receive a two-day salary deduction. The fraudulent memo also stated that officers and officials of civil and armed forces, officers and officials holding posts on contract as well as lump sum pay packages, and officers and officials locally recruited in foreign missions will also have a two-day salary deduction.

The Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines Facebook account warned of the fake memorandum titled “Two Days Salary Deduction For the Month of March 2023 From All Government Employees For President Relief Fund For Turkey And Syria.” maintaining strong relations with China and the United States.

“Government officials and employees are hereby advised to practice precaution and to observe vigilance against this deceptive information. For more info on Presidential issuances, visit theOfficial Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines Website and Facebook page," the Official Gazette Facebook post said.

Earlier, Mr. Marcos sent an 87-member Filipino contingent, composed of rescuers and medical personnel, to assist in search and rescue operations in Turkey. Reports showed that more than 46,000 people have been killed in the magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 earthquakes that struck Turkey and Syria on Feb. 6, with many still missing and several buildings destroyed (see story on A2 – editors).

Escudero also noted that the administration, including the military, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and the DFA are more active in issuing separate statements compared to previous administrations.

The latest incident involved a China Coast Guard (CCG) vessel reportedly directing a military-grade laser light at a PCG ship on a rotation and resupply mission of the Philippine Navy in Ayungin Shoal at the WPS on Feb. 6.

Escudero said the actions taken by the government gained international attention as some countries, including the US, Australia, and Japan, also condemned the Chinese action.

Mr. Marcos' comments came days after the Philippines lodged a diplomatic protest over China Coast Guard's use of military-gradelaser, and dangerous maneuvers against Philippine Coast Guard vessel BRP Malapascua on Feb. 3.

In the same speech, the President also said the laser-pointing incident was only a part of the rising tension over the maritime dispute.

"The laser-pointing incident was only a part of what we are seeing as intensifying or escalating the actions of the militia—marine militia of China, the coast guard of China, and the navy of China,” he said.

But Mr. Marcos also emphasized what he told Chinese Ambassador Huang Xilian during their meeting in Malacañang: “We have to find a wayaround this because if we are such close friends such as China and the Philippines, these are not the kind of incidents that we should be talking about."

Also over the weekend, Senator Francis Tolentino disagreed with a suggestion that the laser incident was cause enough to invoke the country's Mutual Defense Treaty with the United States.

From A1

The Office of Civil Defense in Region 5 then produced a photo, taken 6,500 feet above the active volcano, that it said was “the missing Cessna 340 aircraft with tail number RPC2080 (which) was found at6:53 a.m. yesterday. It was taken 350 meters away from the crater of Mayon Volcano.”

But only the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines can confirmif it is the missing Cessna, “as they are the only ones who can identify that plane,” Albay Public Safety and Emergency Management Office head Dr. Cedric Daep said in a dzBB interview, adding the crash site was difficult to access.

This is the second Cessna plane to go missing in Luzon this year, with the first disappearing in Isabela province in January.

For the one that went missing in Albay, Pilot Capt. Rufino James Crisostomo Jr., crew Joel Martin, and the plane’s Australianpassengers, Simon Chipperfield and Karthi Santanan, have yet to be found.

Australian citizens Chipperfield and Santanan are technical consultants of the Energy Development Corporation, which runs theBac-Man geothermal power plant straddling the towns of the Republic of the Philippines has provided valid reasons in support of its application. In particular, it notes the new administration’s logistical and administrative constraints,” ICC Appeals Chamber Presiding Judge Marc Perrin de Brichambaut said in the decision.

The development comes a day after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said on Saturday that the Philippines will not cooperate with the ICC because it has a “good” and working justice system.

Speaking to reporters in Fort del Pilar, Baguio City, Mr. Marcos said the ICC has no jurisdiction over the Philippines, which he emphasized is a “sovereign nation.”

“My position has not changed. I have stated it often, even before I took office as president, that there are many questions about (ICC’s) jurisdiction, and what we in the Philippines regard as an intrusion into our internal matters and a threat to our sovereignty,” he said.

The government, led by Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra, notified the ICC Appeals Chamber on Feb. 3 of its decision to appeal the whole decision of the ICC PreTrial Chamber (PTC) to allow the ICC Prosecutor to resume its probe on the drug war killings in the Philippines, as well as deaths connected to the Davao Death Squad.

The appeal brief was supposed to be due on Sunday, Feb. 19. But on Wednesday, Feb. 15, the government asked for an additional 20 days to file the brief, citing the election of a new President, Ferdinand Marcos Jr., and the difficulties of “newly appointed heads of government agencies” in gathering “comprehensive data and relevant records due to logistical and administrative constraints.”

“The Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) awaits a reply from other relevant government agencies on its request to submit a status update on the pending investigations related to crimes committed on the Philippine territory between 1 November 2011 and 16 March 2019 in the context of the ‘war on drugs’ campaign. It has received responses and documents on separate occasions, but needs additional time to assess the relevance of these documents,” it said (See full story online at manilastandard.net)

Bacon, Albay and Manito, Sorsogon.

Manila-based EDC said the missing plane belonged to the company and it was seeking to confirm if the wreckage spotted on Sunday in "very steep terrain and high altitude of about 6,000 feet" was theirs.

Regional police said rescue teams with sniffer dogs had been deployed to find the crash site. An aerial search will continue Monday to locate the missing people.

"The problem is the weather is bad and it hampers the visibility of the ground search," CAAP spokesman Eric Apolonio told AFP.

"There might be a sudden ash explosion and we could be added to the casualties," Daep told local radio DZBB. "We are not discounting the possibility that they could still be alive."

The plane, a Cessna 340A, left the Bicol International Airport (BIA) at 6:43 a.m. on Saturday bound for Manila before disappearing. It was supposed to land in Manila by 7:53 a.m.

“Authorities are presently investigating the crash site to map out factors that led to the recent incident in town,” said Baldo.

“Search and rescue operations are still in effect unless dead bodiesare found, then it will be declared as search and retrieval operations,” he added. (See full story online at manilastandard.net)