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(Radio Free Asia) A Chinese coast guard ship passed within 21 meters of a Philippine ship near Scarborough Shoal, Manila says.

The Philippines lodged a new diplomatic protest against China after a Chinese coast guard ship maneuvered dangerously close to a Filipino vessel in the disputed Scarborough Shoal in early March, a senior official said Tuesday.

China’s foreign ministry, meanwhile, insisted that it was within its rights when its ship allegedly engaged in what the Philippine Coast Guard described as a “close distance maneuvering” in South China Sea waters.

“It’s done, we’ve filed a diplomatic protest regarding that,” National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon Jr. told reporters on Samar Island in the central Philippines, where he was attending a government event.

Similar incidents could occur over contending claims in Scarborough Shoal, he warned. Esperon heads the national taskforce for the West Philippine Sea, the Philippine name for territory claimed by Manila in the South China Sea.

On Sunday, the Philippine Coast Guard reported that a China Coast Guard ship had sailed within 21 meters (69 feet) of the BRP Malabrigo during a routine patrol on March 2.

That was the fourth time since May 2021 that Chinese Coast Guard ships had made that type of maneuver against Philippine vessels, Philippine officials said… Read More

(The Manila Times) THE Philippines is among the commodity-dependent group of emerging markets (EM) with generally good fundamentals that will profit once commodity prices fall following the Russia-Ukraine conflict, according to analysts at Nomura Securities Ltd.

Nomura analysts Rob Subbaraman and Si Ying Toh wrote in a research released on Tuesday that they have recently changed to a more nuanced approach, aware of the hazards of assessing EM as one homogeneous group because they perceive a growing difference between EM winners and losers.

The Russia-Ukraine conflict, they argued, adds another degree of difficulty to the EM outlook.

“This is no doubt a major shock for EM economies but, as we will explain, it is not necessarily negative for all; this crisis and surge in commodity prices is likely to drive a further wedge between EM winners and losers,” they said.

The analysts said EM economies are vulnerable to the Russia-Ukraine conflict through two main channels: direct exposure through trade and investment linkages with the warring countries; and indirect exposure through a rise in commodity prices… Read More

(The Atlantic) A conversation about the canned meat’s lasting cultural impact on Filipino American life. By Mary Stachyra Lopez.

For many Filipino Americans, SPAM isn’t just a beloved ingredient in a popular breakfast dish: It is a marker of Filipino identity. But after months of reporting on the canned meat and its cultural meaning, Gabrielle Berbey, an associate producer for The Experiment podcast, came to realize that SPAM’s history was far more complex than she’d originally thought. “SPAM, in my family, had this almost lore-like quality about it,” Berbey says. Yet for others, over time, SPAM came to represent the Philippines’ dependence on fatty, salty canned foods imported from overseas. “It turns out that a lot of people are wrestling with SPAM’s legacy.”

Berbey recently joined Julia Longoria, the host of The Experiment, for a conversation on Twitter Spaces to discuss the podcast’s three-part miniseries, SPAM: How the American Dream Got Canned. They were joined by Dave Jorgenson—a video producer, editor, and writer perhaps best known as “the Washington Post TikTok Guy”—who shared his own lifelong affinity for SPAM, and insights on its cultural resonance in the United States. This conversation has been condensed and edited for length and clarity… Read More

(Time) On Feb. 25, 1986, hundreds of thousands of Filipinos, from nuns to office workers, occupied one of the Philippine capital’s main arteries—the culmination of a four-day mass protest dubbed the “People Power Revolution.” It was unlike anything Asia, or the world, had seen before. By evening, the authoritarian regime of ailing President Ferdinand Marcos ended—with Marcos leaving for exile in Hawaii along with his wife and children. Replacing him was Corazon Aquino, the widow of an assassinated pro-democracy opposition leader.

More than three decades later, in October 2021, the late dictator’s son and namesake, 64-year-old Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., announced his intention to become the next president of the Philippines. He has teamed up with the daughter of outgoing populist President Rodrigo Duterte, Sara Duterte, who is running for vice-president. They make a formidable team, and are far ahead of other contenders in opinion polls: Marcos had an unprecedented 45-point lead over his closest rival—current vice president Leni Robredo—in a February survey.

One data point stands out from opinion polls: The majority of Marcos’ supporters are those under 30, voters who were not born when his father imposed nationwide martial law and presided over human rights violations, corruption, and a massive economic slowdown. The younger Marcos also knows where to meet these supporters: his team engages with millions of users on social platforms—especially TikTok and Facebook—both inside the Philippines and abroad… Read More

(St. Vincent Tribune) ManilaThe Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) on Sunday reported a recent incident of “close distance maneuvering” by a Chinese Coast Guard (CCG) vessel in the disputed South China Sea that “constrained” the movement of a Philippine ship sailing nearby.

The March 2 incident took place during Philippine maritime patrol operations around the Scarborough Shoal, locally known as Bajo de Masinloc, the PCG said in a news release.
It was yet unclear whether the Philippines had lodged a diplomatic protest for the incident. The PCG said it had to wait for the go-signal from the country’s National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea before making the incident public.
The incident involved a Chinese Coast Guard vessel with bow number 3305 that conducted close distance maneuvering over an area of approximately 21 yards (19.2 meters) in the direction of Philippine vessel BRP Malabrigo, the PCG said.
“This constrained the maneuvering space of BRP Malabrigo — a clear violation of the 1972 International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea (COLREGS),” the PCG said… Read More

(Manila Times) REAL estate developer Suntrust Properties Inc. (SPI), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Megaworld Corp., once again proves its potential in providing quality homes for every Filipino.

SPI acquired two awards in the first-ever Carousell Property Awards last March 22, 2022. Its properties Suntrust Kirana was adjudged as Best Affordable Condominium while Suntrust Verona as Best Development: Mid-Range Housing.

“In welcoming our 25th anniversary, we are proud to say that for the longest time, we never failed to deliver. This award symbolizes every hard-working employee that Suntrust has. From the site workers and maintenance to the admins, agents and executives. This can never be possible without each other’s effort. SPI will be devoted to continue providing better homes for each and every Filipino,” said Atty. Harrison Paltongan, president of Suntrust Properties Inc… Read More

(RTHK) The Philippines and the United States began their biggest joint military drills since 2015 on Monday, underscoring renewed defence co-operation as improving ties between Manila and Beijing have cooled over the last year.

The annual “Balikatan” (shoulder-to-shoulder) exercises with US forces will involve 8,900 troops this year. Taking place over two weeks, they will include live fire exercises and training with amphibious assault vehicles.

Since taking office in 2016, the Philippine President, Rodrigo Duterte, has sought closer ties with China in exchange for pledges of loans, aid and investment, and distanced himself from the United States, a treaty ally.

Last year, however, he withdrew a threat to scrap a two-decade old pact that approves the presence of US troops on Philippine territory.

“We are sending a message to the world that the alliance between our countries is stronger than ever,” Philippine Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said in a statement.

At Duterte’s behest, the Balikatan deployment in 2017 fell to as low as 5,500 troops, half the number of the previous year, and was stripped of all combat-related exercises.

Live fire exercises returned in 2018 and 2019 but the scale of the drills remained smaller and in 2020 they were cancelled due to the pandemic. Only 640 troops took part last year.

US exercise director, Major General Jay Bargeron, said the latest drills should not be seen as a show of force. They come, however, as Manila has criticised China’s maritime activities in disputed parts of the South China Sea… Read More

(Journal Online) Philippines – Secuna, the Philippines’ community-powered cybersecurity testing platform, has announced that they now have onboarded 1,300 registered ethical hackers in their platform which is poised to be the largest established hacker community in the country.

This is in conjunction with the company’s goal to encourage the national government agency to use its platform “for free.” Secuna is developing a business model with government agencies that is similar to “Hack the Pentagon” and “Hack the Air Force” cybersecurity programs in the United States, in which ethical hackers identify security holes in an entity’s computer systems.

According to its CEO and Co-Founder AJ Dumanhug, having a large network of ethical hackers is a huge advantage for Secuna in helping companies, organizations, and even the government secure their digital assets. As hackers, they are also privy to cybercriminals’ ways, mindsets, and methods, enabling them to stay one step ahead. They are not only trained to spot vulnerabilities but are also there to prevent further online crimes. Their understanding of the breakdown of a data breach, where the common vulnerabilities are, and how to potentially resolve these before they become a problem helps reduce a company’s risk of being breached… Read More