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Metro Manila, Philippines – The Philippines has urged China to remove a newly monitored floating platform and other structures in Scarborough Shoal (Bajo de Masinloc), which violate Philippine sovereignty, international law, and Beijing’s commitments under the 2002 Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea. The call was made by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) after Philippine authorities confirmed the presence of what officials described as a movable floating platform inside the shoal, along with other objects and structures monitored in the area. “The Department of Foreign Affairs expresses its concern over the presence of a certain floating platform and structures within and in the vicinity of Bajo de Masinloc,” Foreign Affairs deputy spokesperson Rogelio Villanueva Jr. said in a briefing on Wednesday, June 10.  Villanueva said the country has “indivisible, incontrovertible and longstanding sovereignty” over the shoal. “The Philippines has exercised continuous, uninterrupted sovereignty and…

Metro Manila, Philippines –  The Department of Justice (DOJ) has ordered the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to create a task force to probe the drowning of Ateneo cagers Rene Baterbonia and Divine Adili during a team building in Dipaculao, Aurora. The agency instructed the task force “to conduct a thorough, comprehensive, and impartial investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident.” “As part of its investigation, the NBI will determine whether there is sufficient basis to recommend the filing of charges before the DOJ. The DOJ remains committed to ensuring that the facts are fully established and that justice is served,” the department said on Wednesday, June 10.  The 19-year-old Baterbonia and 21-year-old Adili drowned during an offseason team building on Monday, June 8.  As a result, the “boot camp” led by Ateneo de Manila University Blue Eagles head coach Tab Baldwin has come under intense scrutiny for rigorous training.…

Metro Manila, Philippines –  The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has filed a diplomatic protest and issued several demarches against China over the presence of a floating structure in Scarborough Shoal, locally known as Bajo de Masinloc.  The move comes after the National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea (NTF-WPS) confirmed reports by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) regarding the presence of a platform inside the shoal. In a statement Tuesday, June 9, the DFA said it had already undertaken diplomatic action concerning the structure. “The DFA has undertaken the appropriate diplomatic action, such as several demarches and the issuance of a formal protest, against the structure in Bajo de Masinloc reported by the AFP and the PCG,” the department said. “We are unable to discuss the specific contents of the demarches and the diplomatic protest any further as these are…

Metro Manila, Philippines – The death toll from the magnitude 7.8 earthquake that struck Sarangani has risen to 45 as of Wednesday, June 10, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC). Disaster management officials have also logged 487 injuries, while at least 17 people remain missing. The region continues to be rocked by a series of strong aftershocks ranging from magnitude 1.3 to 6.4. The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) has recorded nearly 2,000 aftershocks since the main tremor on Monday, June 8. Around 41,437 individuals have been displaced from their homes, according to government data. The NDRRMC also logged 2,994 damaged houses and 238 cases of damaged infrastructure, most of which are government facilities. Following the devastating quake, the municipal government of Jose Abad Santos in Davao Occidental declared a state of calamity on Monday night. General Santos City was earlier placed under…

Metro Manila, Philippines – The Senate, sitting as the Impeachment Court, has set the pre-trial conference on the impeachment case of Vice President Sara Duterte for June 18, amid unresolved internal disputes in the chamber. Acting Senate President Win Gatchalian, the designated presiding officer, issued the notice to Duterte and the House prosecution panel on Tuesday, June 9.  Terry Ridon, Bicol Saro representative and prosecutor, shared a copy of the notice received by the House panel. In Gatchalian’s notice, the parties were directed to attend the pre-trial conference personally or through their counsel. The pre-trial conference will address the following: stipulation of facts and simplification of issues  marking of documentary or real evidence and waiver of objections or admissions on evidence number and identification of witnesses setting of trial dates proposed sequence for the presentation of evidence and possible modification of the order of trial such other matters as will…