DND insists China 'squatting' in West PH Sea

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines has “possession and position” in the West
Philippine Sea, the Department of National Defense (DND) said on Thursday, August 1,
in a statement on President Rodrigo Duterte’s much-criticized remark in his 4th State of
the Nation Address (SONA) on July 22.

DND spokesperson Director Arsenio Andolong said "the Philippines has two documents
to support its claims versus none for the Chinese,” citing the 1982 United Nations
Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the 2016 UNCLOS arbitral award as
bases of the Philippines’ sovereign rights in the West Philippine Sea.

"Thus, the Chinese presence in the West Philippine Sea is akin to somebody squatting
on a piece of land owned by someone else,” Andolong said.

In his SONA, Duterte said the Chinese could not be driven away from the West Philippine
Sea because they were “in possession” of it.

The remark drew strong criticism from Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Antonio
Carpio, who pointed out that China’s reclaimed outposts in the West Philippine Sea only
comprised 7% of its total area, which falls within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone
(EEZ).
National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon Jr afterwards claimed that the word
Duterte used was "position” and not “possession,” meaning China had a “positional
advantage” in the West Philippine Sea.

Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana then backed Hermogenes’ claim.

However, the official transcript of the SONA from the Office of the President does use the
word “possession” – twice.

“China also claims the property and he is in possession. ‘Yan ang problema. Sila
‘yung (That's the problem. They are the ones) in possession and claiming all the
resources there as an owner,” the official transcript of Duterte's speech states.

Submitted by:
Kyla Mae C. Camacho
Jonalyn M. Tamondong
 AFP to train 255 ex-MILF fighters to help secure Bangsamoro region

CAGAYAN DE ORO, Philippines – The Armed Forces of the Philippines will train around
255 former combatants of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) to join government
forces securing the Bangsamoro region.

The Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) said in a statement
that the Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces (BIAF), the armed component of the MILF,
will be trained to be part of the Joint Peace and Security Team (JPST), in line with the
normalization and decommissioning process under the 2014 peace dealbetween the
government and the MILF.

OPAPP said that the JPST team shall establish security of the residents within the 6
government-acknowledged MILF camps during the decommissioning process which will
begin on September 7.

President Peace Adviser Carlito Galvez Jr said President Rodrigo Duterte will attend the
launch of the decommissioning process.

He said that the training would be the gateway for the former MILF combatants to join the
AFP and the PNP in maintaining peace and order in the Bangsamoro region.

Submitted by:
Paulo S. Sanchez
Marc Salvador