Philippine Asian News Today Vol 20 No 21 | Page 30

RP NEWS
30
PHILIPPINE ASIAN NEWS TODAY November 1 - 15, 2018
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Rody’s worry: Being forced to side with US vs China
PRESIDENT Duterte yesterday
said a Code of Conduct on the South
China Sea must be crafted “at all
cost” because the Philippines may be
dragged into a potential armed conflict
between the US and China due to the
1951 PH-US Mutual Defense Treaty.
The President, in a chance
interview before the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations (Asean)-
China Summit held in Singapore,
hinted that the signing of a Code of
Conduct between Asean and China
can guide the country on dealing
with other nations in connection with
South China Sea/West Philippine Sea
dispute.
“Everything has been excellent
between China and the rest of Asean,
except for the fact that there is friction
between the western nations and
China and I am worried… that is why
at all cost we must have a COC,” he
said.
The President hinted that the
Philippines may be in a bind if a
conflict arises in the South China Sea
or the West Philippine Sea.
According to the MDT, “each party
recognizes that an armed attack in
the Pacific area on either of the parties
would be dangerous to its own peace
and safety and declares that it would
act to meet the common dangers in
accordance with its constitutional
processes.”
“I expressed it (worry) last
night (Tuesday), because we have a
defense treaty, mutual defense with
the US and there’s some, any serious
miscalculation can, you know, and
because of the treaty, I’d like to tell
China, that is why at all cost we must
have a COC.
Panelo said Duterte was represented
So you are
by Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro
there,
you’re
Locsin, Jr. in the Asean-Australia,
in possession,
Asean-Republic of Korea, Asean
you occupied
working lunch and the Second
it, tell us what
Regional Comprehensive Economic
route shall we
Partnership (RCEP) Summit.
take and what
“We find it amusing that some
kind of behavior
quarters are making a big fuss of the
do you want,”
President’s skipping a few meetings in
Duterte said.
today’s Asean Related Summits. Last
During the
(Tuesday) night, the President worked
Asean-China
late and had only less than three hours
Summit,
the
of sleep. It is unfortunate that the first
President – as
event scheduled today (Wednesday)
the
Country DUTERTE AND ASEAN. President Rodrigo Duterte and other was at 8:30 a.m. In those instances
C o o r d i n a t o r leaders of ASEAN member countries pose for a photo during where he did not attend... he took
for the Asean- the opening ceremony of the 32nd ASEAN Summit at the power naps to catch up on sleep,” he
China Dialogue Shangri-la Hotel on April 28, 2018. Malacañang file photo
said.
Relations,
Panelo said the President was also
reaffirmed
skipping
the gala dinner scheduled
to the completion of the first reading
the importance of maintaining and of the Single Draft COC Negotiating Wednesday night to “rest.”
promoting peace, security, stability, Text by 2019,” he said.
“In important gatherings of
safety and freedom of navigation and
the
Asean
members with dialogue
During the meeting, Duterte
overflight.
partners,
such
as where Chinese
also highlighted the strong economic
“We also reaffirm the need to relations between Asean and China, Premier Li Keqiang, Japanese Prime
enhance mutual trust and confidence, citing that China has been Asean’s Minister Shinzo Abe and Russian
exercise self-restraint in the conduct of largest trading partner for the past President Vladimir Putin addressed
activities and avoid actions that may eight years.
the group, the President attended and
further complicate the situation, and
He said discussions on further expressed the country’s sentiments
pursue peaceful resolution of disputes tariff and investment liberalization and and stand vis-a-vis the three aforesaid
in accordance with international protection between Asean and China leaders’ remarks,” he added.
law, including the 1982 UNCLOS,” would continue as it works closer
After the closing ceremony,
Duterte said.
Duterte
will fly to Papua New Guinea
towards achieving the joint targets of
He said Asean and China will a $1-trillion two-way trade and $150 to attend the APEC Summit from
continue to maintain a conducive billion two-way investment by 2020.
November 17 to 18. He is expected to
environment for future rounds of
President Duterte skipped five return to the Philippines on November
negotiations of the COC.
of his nine events in Singapore to get 18.
“Asean and China have seen some “power naps,” Malacañang said
( JOCELYN MONTEMAYOR,
steady progress in the initial phase Wednesday night.
Malaya)
of the COC negotiations since the
Presidential spokesman and Chief
announcement of a Single Draft COC Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador
Negotiating Text, and looked forward
Prelate urges gov’t not to allow influx of foreign
workers for Build, Build, Build projects
Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo
(CBCP NEWS / ROY LAGARDE / MANILA BULLETIN FILE PHOTO)
With millions of Filipino workers
unemployed, a Catholic prelate has
called on the government not to
allow funders of its Build, Build, Build
projects to bring in foreign workers.
“We should not allow the funders
of Build, Build, Build projects to
make it a condition to bring in foreign
workers,” Manila Auxiliary Bishop
Broderick Pabillo said in an interview.
The prelate said this is so as not
to add anymore to the number of
unemployed here.
What the government should do,
Pabillo said is to train and retrain youth
and workers for the jobs available.
He issued the call amid the
release of a recent Social Weather
Stations survey showing 9.8-million
Filipinos being jobless.
Earlier, Senate Minority Leader
Franklin Drilon claimed there are
around 400,000 foreigners working
in Metro Manila and this alarmed
the Labor department as they only
issued Alien Employment Permit
to more than 115,000 foreign
nationals.
Data from the Bureau of Local
Employment revealed that from
2015 to 2017 of the 115,652 foreign
nationals who were issued with AEP,
51,980 are Chinese, followed by
Japanese with 12,177 and 11,780
Korean.
The Labor department said it’s
possible the other foreign nationals
working might not have valid alien
permits.
But DOLE is not the only permit-
issuing agency that allows foreign
WWW.PHILIPPINEASIANNEWSTODAY.COM
nationals to work in the country.
Other agencies that issue
working permit to foreign workers
aree the Department of Environment
and Natural Resources (DENR) for
geoscience and mining industry; the
Professional Regulation Commission
(PRC) for the practice of regulated
professions; the Department of
Justice for nationalized or partially
nationalized industries; and the Bureau
of Immigration, for the prearranged
employment visa or 9G.
On Monday, Labor Secretary
Silvestre Bello III revealed that they are
going to have an interagency meeting
with other government agencies
to request all the other agencies
giving temporary work permits and
special visas that when it comes to
employment it should only be DOLE
that would decide who can work here
or not.
“When it comes to jobs, it is only
the DOLE that can give you a permit
to work in the Philippines,” he said.
(L.A. Aquino, mb.com)