PH, Vietnam seek maritime pact

By Charles Dantes

PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said he is looking forward to signing an agreement with Vietnam that would strengthen maritime cooperation in the West Philippine Sea.

“Now that we are going to start discussions on the agreement that wehave between the Philippines and Vietnam, I think it is a very, veryimportant – it will be a very, very important part of our relationshipand it will bring an element of stability to the problems that we are seeing now in

‘Grounding...

From A1 ago as China claims. The warship was deliberately run aground in Ayungin shoal to exert Philippine control over it, after China illegally occupied Panganiban or Mischief reef in 1995.

The Estrada administration planned to run more ships aground in “strategic places” in the South China Sea, but an uprising ousted Estrada before the plan was put into effect, Mercado added.

In a text message to Manila Standard, AFP spokesperson Col. Medel Aguilar said that the decision whether to ground more ships to create more outposts in the area is up to the higherups.

"We leave that decision to higher authorities. We follow instructions,” Aguilar said.

AFP WESCOM chief Vice-Admiral Alberto Carlos said that all options are being considered so they can comply with the orders of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. not to leave Ayungin Shoal.

"All options are being considered. We thank the former SND (Mercado) for that suggestion. Everything is being considered to [enable us to] comply with the President's order that we will not leave Ayungin," Carlos said in a press conference at WESCOM headquarters in Palawan.

"I'll leave it at that because I don't want to give details on what options... we are considering,” he said.

Carlos said that in Mischief Reef or Panganiban Reef alone, there were 191 Chinese vessels.

Aguilar also said the Philippines has the right to repair and develop the BRP Sierra Madre if needed.

The comment was made in response to Chinese claims that Filipino supply ships were carrying construction supplies to upgrade or repair the grounded warship.

Aguilar also maintained that the Filipino supply boats were only carrying water, food and other supplies during their rotation and resupply mission.

But he added in Filipino: “Now, if there is a need to develop or repair BRP Sierra Madre because it now old and rusty, it is well within our rights because the BRP Sierra Madre is still a commissioned ship, an active vessel, and it is the obligation of the AFP to repair and maintain it. No one should interfere with this should we decide to do it.”

He also said the AFP is committed to resupplying military personnel manning

SC...

From A1

The High Court said it was putting the focus on the real evil instead — the accumulation of ill-gotten wealth — by allowing simple errors to be weeded out.

The failure to comply with the SALN law has led to the ouster of two chief justices: Renato Corona, who was impeached and convicted in 2012 for failure to disclose assets in his SALNs, and Maria Lourdes Serenowho was ousted in 2018 on a quo warranto petition due to nonfiling of SALNs.

Justice Leonen himself faced an impeachment complaint before the House of Representatives over his supposed failure to file SALNs. It was dismissed, 44-2, due to the complainant's lack of personal knowledge and the absence of authentic documents. The new SC decision on SALN is on top of a 2020 Ombudsman circular which limited access to SALNs to the public offi-

DepEd:...

From A1 to five: 1) Language 2) Reading and Literacy 3) Mathematics 4) Makabansa (Nationalism) and 5) GMRC (Good Manners and Right Conduct).

In the present system, there are seven identified foundational skills or learning areas for students: 1) mother tongue 2) Filipino 3) English 4) Mathematics 5) Araling Panlipunan (Social Studies) 6) MAPEH (Music, Arts, Physical Education and Health), and 7) Edukasyon sa Pagpapakatao (Peer education).

“There are competencies that repeat. There are competencies that are nice to know but not a ‘must to know’ that is why we aimed for essential learning competencies,” Andaya explained in a press conference. The MATATAG Curriculum will the South China Sea,” the President said during a courtesy call of outgoing Vietnam Ambassador to the Philippines Hoang Huy Chung.

Mr. Marcos said the agreement “is going to be a very big step” in maritime cooperation between the Philippines the BRP Sierra Madre and other features in the West Philippine Sea. cial who filed it orthe authorized representative, a court, or the Ombudsman’s field investigation units, bureaus, or offices. be implemented in School Year 20242025 for Kindergarten, Grades 1, 4, and 7. In SY 2025-2026, Grades 2, 5, and 8 will be under the new curriculum with Grades 3, 6, and 9 in SY 2026-2027. Grade 10 learners will join them in SY 2027-2028, the department added.

Meanwhile, the Philippine Coast Guard Commodore Jay Tarriela said it is important to show loyalty to the country given the current situations, after Chinese ships used water cannons and repeatedly blocked Philippine vessels during a resupply mission to Ayungin Shoal.

“If you are a Filipino, whether in government or private sector, regardless of your politics, defending and making excuses for China's aggressive behavior should deem you unpatriotic, and a traitor to the Philippines and to our people,” Tarriela said in a Twitter post.

“While I recognize freedom of speech as an important right guaranteed by our Constitution, it should not be misused as a means to justify unpatriotic actions by acting as China's mouthpiece,” he said.

On Wednesday, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. also said there is no existing agreement between the Philippines and China to remove BRPSierra Madre from Ayungin Shoal, and said if there was such a deal, he would rescind it.

His remarks came after Beijing earlier claimed that Manila had “repeatedly promised to tow away” the grounded warship from Ayungin Shoal, a feature within the Kalayaan Island Group less than 200 nautical miles off Palawan.

“I’m not aware of any such arrangement or agreement that the Philippines will remove from its own territory its ship, in this case, the BRP Sierra Madre from the Ayungin Shoal,” Mr. Marcos said in a video message released by the Presidential Communications Office.

The President added that he would repeal any commitment to move the ship, should there be an existing agreement between the Philippines and China.

At the same time, Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri said hesupported the President 100 percent on the issue of the BRP Sierra Madre.

"Make no mistake, Ayungin Shoal is Philippine territory and the Chinese are squatting all around it," Zubiri said.

Senators Francis Escudero and JV Ejercito also aired their support for the President’s stand.

Also on Thursday, Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Raymund Villafuerte supported the passage of a bill that establishes sea lanes in the West Philippine Sea, in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the decision of the international arbitral tribunal that threw out China's nine-dash-line claim.

In clearing Carlos of dishonesty, the Supreme Court said the government failed to comply with Sec. 10 of RA 6713 or the review and compliance procedure of the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees.

Under the provision, a review and compliance committee should check if SALNs submitted are on time, complete, or in proper form.

According to the tribunal, if SALNs are not filed on time, are incomplete, or are not in proper form, the head of the office has five days to inform the public official or employee to correct the deficiency within 30 days.

If he or she fails to comply, only then can a public official or employee be disciplined.

"Unless the review and compliance procedure is followed, the violation does not arise. Consequently, if there is no violation, there is no liability," the SC said.

Andaya also said kindergarten learning will use “play-based approach” and formal subjects will only begin at grade 1.

Here are the subjects for each grade level: Grade 1: Language, Reading and Literacy, Mathematics, Makabansa, GMRC Grade 2: Filipino, English, Mathematics, Makabansa, GMRC

Grade 3: Filipino, English, Mathematics, Makabansa, GMRC, Science Grades 4-10: Filipino, English, Mathematics, Science, Araling Panlipunan, Technology and Livelihood Education, MAPEH, GMRC. (See full story online at manilastandard.net) and Vietnam.

The ambassador said Vietnam President Vo Van Thuong extended his gratitude to President Marcos and the Philippine government for working closely with them, especially on their common interest in the West Philippine Sea and the prevention of further incidents in the Philippine waters.

“And President, Vietnam, we have very respect for your thought that you are a friend to all, none enemy,” Chung told Mr. Marcos. Meanwhile, the President met with Zimbabwe's non-resident Ambassador-Designate to the Philippines, both sides eyeing to

Tulfo:...

From A1 time? What if they are the members of the People's Liberation Army or members of the Chinese intelligence community gathering information?" he said.

"Therefore our national security is being threatened or it could be compromised already," Tulfo added.

The lawmaker expressed support to the decision of President Ferdinand Marcos to suspend the reclamation projects pending a thorough review.

"I support, and even our Speaker (Martin Romualdez), the move of PBBM to suspend the Manila Bay reclamation pending a thorough review of the said projects," Tulfo said.

Deputy Speaker and Batangas Rep. Ralph Recto shared Tulfo's views.

"There is a gold rush in reclamation. President BBM has every right to sift through the sand and find out which are beneficial to the people, the government, the economy, and which are not," Recto said.

"Reclamation per se is not bad. Netherlands is built on land reclaimed from the sea. Tiny Singapore enlarged its real estate footprint through judicious reclamation. Manila port, Roxas

Speaker:...

From A1 the proposed 2024 budget on time, noting the Department of Budget and Management managed to submit it 20 days earlier than the constitutional deadline.

“I am confident that the House of Representatives will be able to deliberate and pass the national budget on time and transmit the same to the Senate. I can assure everyone that the House of Representatives will not take a break until and unless we have passed this very important legislation,” he added.

Given the five-week deadline, Romualdez exhorted all House members to actively participate in the budget deliberations.

Romualdez stressed that in its exercise of the power of the purse, it is the duty of the House to completely scrutinize the proposed 2024 national budget to ensure it would sustain the gains of the past year and support the priorities identified under the eight-point socioeconomic agenda and the Philippine Development Plan 2023-2028.

“The budget deliberations are a meticulous exercise that requires accuracy, objectivity, and most of all, transparency,” he said.

A briefing given by members of the administration’s economic team on the proposed budget marked the beginning of hearings on the budget proposal that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. submitted to Congress.

It was conducted by Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno, Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman, National Economic and Development Authority Secretary Arsenio Balisacan, and Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Gov. Eli Remolona.

Ako Bicol Rep. Elizaldy Co, chairman

DENR...

From A1 their ecological impact that may affect future generations. President Marcos earlier this week said all reclamation projects in Manila Bay except one have been suspended due to problems in their implementation but did not say what the exception was.

“Until we can get a very good sense of explore stronger bilateral relations.

The President welcomed Ambassador Constance Chemwayi, who will be based in Malaysia, to the Malacañang Palace for the presentation of her credentials.

"I hope that we will find many things to explore. I hope that your coming today will be the beginning of that close ties," President Marcos told Chemwayi.

The President affirmed that the Philippines and Vietnam have a good solid agreement that is beneficial for both counties, making it easier for them to face the “common challenges” “when it comes to territorial disputes in the South China Sea.”

(See full story online at manilastandard.net)