Monday, May 3, 2021

DFA chief spews profanity at China over sea row. Inquirer Newsletter May 4, 2021

SUPPORTING TRUTH-TELLERS In February, media workers and human rights advocates staged a biking event in Quezon City to call attention to the plight of journalists in the country. Their message is still relevant as the world marks World Press Freedom Day on May 3, when journalists, including those in community papers and the campus press, continue to face threats and risks as they perform their task as truth-tellers. —NIÑO JESUS ORBETA

World

Half of world lost income to pandemic

NAIROBI—One in two people worldwide saw their earnings drop due to the coronavirus, with people in low-income countries particularly hard hit by job losses or cuts to their working hours, research showed on Monday. --REUTERS

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Palace: ‘Not much delay’ in calamity fund release

Malacañang on Monday said the government’s calamity funds would be released as the need arises, adding that any delay in the use of the money had been minimal and was due to the necessary “paperwork” to comply with audit guidelines. —Story by Leila B. Salaverria

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DFA chief spews profanity at China over sea row

The Philippines’ top diplomat on Monday demanded in an expletive-laced message on Twitter that China’s vessels get out of the West Philippine Sea, marking the latest exchange in a war of words with Beijing over its activities in the resource-rich waters.

“China, my friend, how politely can I put it? Let me see … O … GET THE FUCK OUT.” Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. said in a tweet on his personal account.

“What are you doing to our friendship? You. Not us. We’re trying. You. You’re like an ugly oaf forcing your attentions on a handsome guy who wants to be a friend; not to father a Chinese province…,” he said.

The comments by Locsin, known for making blunt remarks at times, follow Manila’s protests for what it calls the “illegal” presence of hundreds of Chinese boats inside the Philippines 370-kilometer exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

‘Right to free speech’

Asked if Malacañang approved Locsin’s use of an expletive in a tweet calling on Chinese vessels to leave the West Philippine Sea, President Duterte’s spokesperson Harry Roque replied: “We will not interfere in Secretary Locsin’s right to free speech.”

Roque reiterated that the President’s policy on the West Philippine Sea would always be “careful, calculated, calibrated,” with Manila maintaining good relations with Beijing but never renouncing Philippine claims and entitlements in the area.

China’s embassy in Manila did not immediately respond to a request for comment to Locsin’s remarks. Its ambassador had earlier told Mr. Duterte that the vessels at the disputed Whitsun Reef (the Philippines calls it the Julian Felipe Reef), were fishing boats taking refuge from rough seas.

China claims almost the entire South China Sea, through which about $3 trillion of ship-borne trade passes each year. In 2016, a United Nations arbitration tribunal in The Hague ruled the claim, which Beijing bases on its old maps, was inconsistent with international law. —WITH REPORTS FROM JEROME ANING, JEANNETTE I. ANDRADE, REUTERS AND AFP INQ

Editorial

Cold comfort

What really happened to the scuttled deal to purchase 200 intensive care unit (ICU) beds from an Austrian company last year? As reported in this paper, the Philippines is now renegotiating the purchase after the opportunity to acquire the ICU beds in October 2020 fell through.

Read full story: opinion.inquirer.net