Marcos: Chinese vessels just tail, no longer block Filipino ships

By Vince Lopez

PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Tuesday said fishing talks between the Philippines and China have progressed, despite recent reports of Filipino fishermen being blocked by Chinese vessels off Pag-asa Island, and the latest incident in which a Chinese military ship tailed a government patrol boat.

“These things do not come very quickly… But we are slowly making progress because the key to that is the improved communication between the Philippine government and the Chinese government,” Marcos said on the sidelines of the Department of Agriculture’s 125th founding anniversary celebration in Diliman, Quezon City.

Addressing the latest incident, Mr. Marcos said unlike before, the Chinese vessel just tailed the BRP Francisco Dagohoy.

“’The latest report was the ship was just followed, it’s not blocked like before, so there’s a little progress there,” the President said.

The Philippines has filed hundreds of protests with Beijing over China’s aggressive and bullying activities in the West Philippine Sea.

In 2022 alone, 193 protest notes were served on Beijing, including 65 by the Marcos administration.

But Mr. Marcos said the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) has even projected a bigger haul for Filipino fishermen due to the improved situation in the area.

“That is because we are continuing to talk to the Chinese government, President Xi [Jinping], in every way,” Marcos said.

The President also said that when he met with President Xi last January, he focused on the issue of fisheries instead

By Macon Ramos-Araneta and Rio N. Araja

THE Philippines may run out of nurses in three to five years if nothing is done about their leaving for better-paying jobs abroad, Health Secretary Ted Herbosa said Tuesday.

To address this problem, Herbosa proposes granting temporary licenses to board-eligible nursing graduates and have them work as nurses in govern- ment

By Macon Ramos-Araneta

ONLY the signature of Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri is needed on the Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF) Bill before it is transmitted to Malacanang.

Deputy Senate Majority Floor Leader JV Ejercito told reporters Tuesday that the enrolled copy of the bill is ready for the signature of the Senate President. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. can then either sign the measure into law or veto the MIF Bill, which he earlier certified as urgent.

Once signed by Zubiri, who has yet to return from an official trip to the United States, the enrolled bill will be transmitted to the Palace.

Ejercito admitted it took the Senate some time to fix the inconsistent provisions on the prescriptive period for the prosecution of crimes and offenses in the bill.

In the final copy of the Senate version of the bill, l Section 50 prescribes a 10-year period while Section 51 sets it at 20 years.

FE.1

may cause severe COVID infections

By Macon Ramos-Araneta

INFECTIOUS diseases specialist Dr. Rontgene Solante yesterday warned that newly detected FE.1 Omicron subvariant may cause severe infection in the vulnerable population.

Because of this, he cautioned individuals with comorbidities and the elderly to always wear face masks.

He noted that they should always keep their vaccination status up to date as their immunity weakens four to six months after receiving the jab.

He also said this new subvariant only causes mild symptoms, particularly in the younger population, since it targets the upper respiratory tract, unlike the Delta variant.

“We should not panic because for almost two years now the health care utilization rate has been good,” he said.

FE.1, a sublineage of the Omicron XBB subvariant, was added to the list

PH,...

of the territorial dispute involving the West Philippine Sea.

“I said let’s prioritize fisheries because it affects innocent people,” Marcos said.

President Marcos also has directed the Department of Agriculture (DA) and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) to come up with comprehensive studies on the rehabilitation and maintenance of the country’s marine habitats to address illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing (IUUF).

As the concurrent DA secretary, Mr. Marcos has emphasized in a meeting on June 13 the need for the Philippines to comply with its international commitments, particularly to the European Union on preventing IUUF. He also highlighted the importance of addressing the concerns of fishery stakeholders by using a science-based approach in

FE.1...

From A1 of variants under monitoring by the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control on June 1, 2023.

The Department of Health (DOH) said it was initially flagged “for its increasing global prevalence” and has been detected in 35 countries so far.

The agency, however, stressed that currently available evidence for the subvariant does not suggest any differences in disease severity or clinical manifestations compared to the original Omicron variant.

“Limited information is available for the variant and researchers are currently characterizing FE.1 in terms of transmissability, immune evasion, and ability to cause more severe disease,” the DOH said.

Solante said bivalent COVID-19 vaccines could provide substantial protection against the FE.1 Omicron subvariant.

On Monday, the country detected its first case of FE.1 subvariant as shown in the DOH biosurveillance report reflecting the genome sequencing results from May 29 to June 12.

US...

From A1 essential to reduce frictions between the two global powers.

“This is an absolutely critical way for us to manage competition, crisis communication, ensure that there is no miscommunication or misperception about each other’s intentions,” Beran told reporters in a digital briefing about the trip. “We remain willing and able at all levels to meet and call on China to respond appropriately to that.”

At the same briefing call on Tuesday, Daniel Kritenbrink, the US State Department’s top diplomat for East Asia, said successful and responsible management of the US-China relationship will only be possible if it is a “two-way street.”

Asserting that all bilateral problems were caused by one party “simply doesn’t reflect reality,” Kritenbrink said.

The most concrete result of Blinken’s trip -- in which he met with China’s President Xi Jinping -- was a commitment to more diplomatic engagements with further high-level US visits in coming months, including possible trips by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo.

During the first visit to China by a US Secretary of State since 2018, the nations agreed to temper rivalries to avoid conflict, but there were no breakthroughs.

China cited US sanctions as an obstacle to military dialogue, which Blinken said he had repeatedly raised with his hosts and would continue to push for.

Chinese defense minister Li Shangfu has been sanctioned since 2018 over the purchase of combat aircraft and equipment from Russia’s main arms exporter, Rosoboronexport.

The lack of open channels between both nations has prompted international jitters, with Beijing’s reluctance to engage in regular military-to-military talks with Washington alarming China’s neighbors.

At one of the most significant USChina exchanges since President Joe Biden took office, the two sides appeared entrenched over several issues, from Taiwan to trade -- including US actions toward China’s microchip industry -- plus human rights and Russia’s war against Ukraine. AFP with Rey Requejo managing marine resources.

With this, the DA and the BFAR were directed to work closely with the Office of the Executive Secretary to ensure the enforcement of an administrative order requiring all commercial fishing vessels to install monitoring systems.

Earlier, the government said it would launch its “Layag WPS” project or the Livelihood Activities to Enhance Fisheries Yield and Econom - ic Gains (Layag) from the West Philippine Sea aimed at protecting Filipino fishermen as well as state floating assets amid continuing incursions of Chinese vessels in the area.

Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources spokesman Nazario Briguera said the government has about P80 million to give comprehensive support to fishermen in the West Philippine Sea.

“BFAR will launch our Layag WPS project in the next few days. We are planning to package this as a special project for this year,” he said in a press briefing over the weekend.

Briguera’s announcement came days

‘Maharlika...

From A1

Ejercito said this problem was fixed and a clean bill will be forwarded to Malacañang.

“It was fixed first... subject to style comma, grammar, numbering,” he said.

However, Ejercito guaranteed that the essence of the bill as approved by the Senate was not changed.

Sandiganbayan...

From A1 prosecution’s bid to present a new witness shows a lack of competence in pursuing the case.

In March 2020, court records also revealed that the Office of the Solicitor General, then led by Jose Calida, had left Civil Case 0178 unattended for the previous 14 months.

Civil Case 0178 alleges that shares of the Marcos couple in ETPI were registered to the following individuals: Rosario Arellano, Victoria Legarda, Angela Lobregat, Pablo Lobregat (in trust for Rafael Valdez), Benito Nieto, Carlos Nieto, Manuel Nieto III, Ramon Nieto, Ma. Rita Delos Reyes, Carmen Tuazon, and Rafael Valdez; To Andres Africa (in trust for Rosario Songco), Lourdes Africa (in trust for Nathalie Africa, Jose Enrique Africa, and Paul Delfin Africa), Victor Africa, Juan De Ocampo (in trust for Rosario Songco), Raquel Dinglasan, Evelyn Romero, and Rosario Songco.

Government prosecutors, represented by the Office of the Solicitor General and the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG), had wanted to replace its nine witnesses with an unnamed officer of the Sandiganbayan Third Division due to the following circumstances:

Witnesses Manuel Nieto Jr. and Rolando Gapud have already passed away;

No information was gathered as to the current addresses of Severino Buan, Jr., Maurice Bane, and Potenciano Roque despite assistance from other government agencies;

Rescuers...

From A1

One of the passengers has been identified as British businessman Hamish Harding, whose aviation firm had posted on social media about his expedition.

Prominent Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood, who is vice-chairm an of the conglomerate Engro, and his son Suleman were also on board, a family statement said.

The 21-foot (6.5-meter) craft, operated by OceanGate Expeditions, began its descent to the wreck on Sunday but lost contact with the surface less than two hours later, according to authorities.

“As of now, contact has been lost with their submersible craft and there is limited information available,” the Dawood family statement said.

“We are very grateful for the concern being shown by our colleagues and friends and would like to request everyone to pray for their safety,” it added.

The US Coast Guard had launched two planes to survey the remote area in the North Atlantic, while its Canadian counterparts had sent a plane and a ship.

Time is a critical factor. The vessel after a Chinese Navy ship tailed a BFAR multi-mission vessel, BRP Francisco Dagohoy, in an area six nautical miles southwest of Pag-asa Island, which is well within the country’s 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone in the West Philippine Sea. The rare encounter with China’s “gray” or military ship after BRP Dagohoy carried P4.95 million worth of fishing and post-harvest equipment to fisher groups in Pag-Asa Island.

Briguera, in an earlier interview, said fisheries production in the West Philippine Sea has dropped by 7 percent between 2021 and 2022.

Based on Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) data, production was down to 275,872 metric tons of fish in 2022, from 295,332 MT in the previous year.

“When we say total production in the West Philippine Sea, we are not just talking about Pag-asa Island. We are referring to the total production of provinces fronting the West Philippine Sea,” he said.

“We cannot change the very essence of the bill because what has been approved on the floor is what will be forwarded to Malacañang,” he added.

Ejercito also said that the Senate is “definitely proud” of ratifying the MIF bill after the House of Representatives concurred to the Senate version during the bicameral conference.

“The Senate version is much much different already from the original ver-

PCGG was able to obtain information on the current residence of witnesses Evelyn Singson and Apolinario Medina, but the PCGG investigating team was refused entry into the subdivision where Evelyn Singson resides, while Medina appears not to be residing in his known address;

Witness Caesar Parlade declined to be a witness in the instant case, as he had already testified in Civil Case 0009, and is abroad with prosecutors unsure of his date of return.

The Sandiganbayan upheld its December 2019 decision on Civil Case 0009 in September 2020.

“This Court finds these circumstances or justifications insufficient to support the plaintiff’s Motion,” the Sandiganbayan said in Civil Case 0178.

“As correctly pointed out by the defendants, it is the plaintiff’s duty to diligently pursue the case and to secure its witnesses. Its inability to locate its witnesses now, after a period of 26 years, demonstrates its complacent attitude or lack of due diligence in pursuing the present case,” it added.

“In fact, even the plaintiff admitted in its Motion that the PCGG is still in the process of searching the whereabouts of the proposed witnesses as of March 20, 2023, or during the initial presentation of plaintiff’s evidence.”

The Sandiganbayan also noted that while the prosecution only intends to present the unnamed Sandiganbayan Third Division employee as a witness to establish that Parlade, Roque, Buan Jr., and Medina had testified in Civil Case 0009 and to identify the transcript of notes (TSNs) of their testimonies, the anti-graft court viewed this as an intention to adopt their tes - has a range of 96 hours for the crew of five, and US Coast Guard Rear Admiral John Mauger said Monday afternoon that he believed it still had 70 or more hours of oxygen remaining.

“It is a challenge to conduct a search in that remote area, but we are deploying all available assets to make sure that we can locate the craft and rescue the people on board,” Mauger told reporters in Boston on Monday.

But with no reported sightings of the vessel or communication signals throughout the day, the US Coast Guard halted its flights for the day.

It said search operations through the night would be led by the US National Guard and the mission’s operator.

The Coast Guard added that searches by Canadian aircraft, which were using buoys to scan underneath the surface, would continue on Tuesday morning.

An OceanGate Expeditions spokesperson told AFP in a statement late Monday that “for some time, we have been unable to establish communications with one of our submersible exploration vehicles which is currently visiting the wreck site of the Titanic.”

“Our entire focus is on the wellbeing of the crew and every step possible is being taken to bring the five crew members back safely.”

There are at least 373,733 fishers that depend on the West Philippine Sea, BFAR data showed.

While the drop in fish production was attributed primarily to the frequent visit of typhoons in the country, Briguera admitted that removing “hindering factors” such as the presence of Chinese vessels could help boost output.

“[If there is no Chinese activity], is it possible to increase fish production in the WPS if there are no issues like this? I would say yes. If we remove these hindering factors, we can better take advantage of the resources in the West Philippine Sea,” he said during a press briefing, Citing data from the UP Marine Science Institute, Briguera said “the value of fisheries resources in WPS could be billions of pesos.” sion. We made sure in the Senate that all the safeguards, safety nets were added in the bill,” he said. timonies and exhibits to form part of the records of Civil Case 0178.

China claims almost the entire South China Sea, and has rejected an arbitral ruling in favor of the Philippines that invalidated its massive maritime claim.

The establishment of MIF, according to the Marcos administration’s economic managers, is part of the Medium-Term Fiscal Framework, 8-Point Socioeconomic Agenda and Philippine Development Plan 2023-2028 which are all instruments in pursuing the country’s economic transformation.

The anti-graft court said this would be a violation of the defendants’ right to due process because Civil Case 0178 defendants were not charged in Civil Case 0009. As such, Civil Case 0178 defendants were not able to cross-examine the said nine prosecution’s witnesses in Civil Case 0009.

“To permit the plaintiff now to introduce the testimonies of Caesar Parlade, Potenciano Roque, Severino Buan, Jr., and Apolinario Medina in Civil Case 0009 through mere identification of their TSNs by an officer of the Third Division would unduly deprive herein defendants their right to be confronted at the trial by, and to cross-examine, the witnesses against them,” the Sandiganbayan said.

“Wherefore, this Court resolves to deny plaintiff’s (government’s) Motion For Leave Of Court To Present Other Witness And Documents for lack of merit,” it added.

The Sandiganbayan had already decided on Civil Case 0009 on December 2019 by ordering Jose Africa and Manuel Nieto Jr. to return their ETPI shares, as well as at least P68 million worth of shares of those of Polygon Investors and Managers, Inc. and Aerocom Investors and Managers, Inc., to the government.

The shareholders of the Polygon Investors and Managers, Inc. and Aerocom Investors and Managers, Inc., as stated in the December 2019 Sandiganbayan ruling, include Civil Case 0178 defendants Arellano, Legarda, Lobregat, Benito Nieto, Carlos Nieto, Manuel Nieto, delos Reyes, Tuason, and Nieto Jr. Rio N. Araja percent in the board exam to work for the government, even though they did not pass the exam, as long as they retake it and pass the board exam after a period of time.

The company uses a submersible named Titan for its dives to the Titanic wreck, with seats priced at $250,000, according to its website.

Harding, a 58-year-old aviator, space tourist and chairman of Action Aviation, had posted Sunday on his Instagram account that he was proud to join OceanGate’s Titanic mission.

“Due to the worst winter in Newfoundland in 40 years, this mission is likely to be the first and only manned mission to the Titanic in 2023,” he wrote.

Paul-Henry Nargeolet, a veteran diver and expert on the Titanic wreck, was also part of the Titan crew, Harding said in his post.

“The team on the sub has a couple of legendary explorers, some of which have done over 30 dives to the RMS Titanic since the 1980s including PH Nargeolet,” the post says.

Action Aviation posted Sunday on Twitter that “the sub had a successful launch and Hamish is currently diving,” and included several photographs of Harding and mission staff on the surface. The Titanic hit an iceberg and sank in 1912 during its maiden voyage from England to New York with 2,224 passengers and crew on board. More than 1,500 people died.

These temporary licensed nurses will then have to render up to four years of return service to a government hospital after they pass their board exam before they are allowed to go abroad.

He acknowledged that this was only a temporary solution, but said it could head off a crisis in years to come.

“I saw the figures More nurses are leaving than what we are producing,” he said in a mix of English and Filipino.

Senator Nancy Binay, however, said a thorough study must be undertaken before the DOH taps unlicensed or board-eligible nurses.

“We should first listen to their sector. There should be a deep and extensive consultation, including the allied sectors in the medical field,” she said.

She said she also wants to see first a clear and concrete DOH program for hospitals as far as alleviating the plight of health care workers is concerned.

Binay also said the most practical way to narrow the gap was to hire unemployed nurses.

She also said if there is a budget for hiring unlicensed nurses, that money should just be given to existing nurses.

Former Philippine College of physicians (PCP) president Dr. Anthony Leachon, on the other hand, said that although there is a lack of nurses, there were certain legal, moral and accountability issues in hiring unlicensed nurses.

“We should not espouse a culture of mediocrity,” he said.

He recommended a health human resources summit involving all the major medical groups.

“We need to have short term , medium term and long term plans towards the realization of the Universal Health Care [Law], “ he said.

Binay said if the DOH is serious in fixing the whole system, address the gap and make the pay of health care workers competitive.

“We in the Senate are willing to provide the necessary tools and budget to improve the state of our public health,” she said.

The DoH proposal, supported by Labor Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma, will allow non-board passers to work in state hospitals under supervision and with temporary licenses. Non-board passers will be given four years to pass the Philippine Nurse Licensure Examination.

After passing the board exam, they have to sign a four-year return service agreement and work in a government hospital.

Meanwhile, Northern Samar Rep. Paul Daza called for the review of barriers to employment, such as the difficulty in passing board exams amid “the shortage of medical professionals, especially nurses.”

In a speech at the House plenary, he cited the perennially low passing rate in licensing examinations, saying from 2017 to 2022 in 36 professions, the passing rate was only 52.58 percent, or half the number of examinees.

The wreckage is in two main pieces 400 miles off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada, some 13,000 feet underwater.

It was found in 1985 and remains a source of fascination and a lure for nautical experts and underwater tourists.

Without having studied the craft itself, Alistair Greig, professor of marine engineering at University College London, suggested two possible theories based on images of the vessel published by the press.

He said if it had an electrical or communications problem, it could have surfaced and remained floating, “waiting to be found.”

“Another scenario is the pressure hull was compromised – a leak,” he said in a statement. “Then the prognosis is not good.”

While the submersible may still be intact during its dive, “there are very few vessels” able to go to the depth to which the Titan might have traveled.

“The clock is ticking, and any submariner/submersible deep divers know how unforgiving the Abyssal domain is: going undersea is as, if not more, challenging than going into space from an engineering perspective,” said University of Adelaide associate professor Eric Fusil in a statement. AFP