AMID NOKOR-GUAM ISSUE :Palace says PHL foreign posts ready for 'emergencies'


Malacañang on Thursday said the Philippine Consulate in Guam is ready to respond to "emergencies" amid North Korea's threat that it is ready to launch rockets that can reach the island's territory.
"As far as I now, especially regarding Filipinos in Guam, the embassies and consulates in general, including the one in Hagåtña, Guam, have contingency plans which are regularly updated to enable them to respond to emergencies," presidential spokesperson Ernesto Abella said.
Pyongyang threatened to shoot four missiles into Guam after US President Donald Trump said North Korea will face "fire and fury like the world has never seen" should it attempt to attack the United States.
According to North Korea's news agency, North Korea's army "will complete its plan to hit Guam before mid-August, reporting it to our nation's nuclear force commander-in-chief, and stay ready for his order of proceed."
"Medyo nagkaroon ng konting panic," he told News To Go early Thursday.
"Kahapon, nagsalita si Governor Eddie Calvo at nagsabi siya na matapos makipag-ugnayan sa Pentagon, sa Defense Department, sa Homeland Security at White House, wala naman talagang imminent threat na atake sa Guam."
De Borja then said that Guam has been targeted since 2013 due to its two fully-staffed US military bases, the Andersen Air Force Base and Naval Base Guam.
Full-time US army personnel and THAAD or Terminal High Altitude Area Defense missile system that can intercept hostile firepower are on stand-by in case of attack.
The 2017 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency states that 26.3 percent of Guam's population are Filipinos or
US citizens of Filipino descent.
De Borja said Guam has 42,835 Filipinos, including US citizens of Filipino descent and 24,000 Filipino citizens, in its shores. —Rie Takumi/KBK, GMA News

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

PCG: China’s bullying in West Philippine Sea undermines international law --- Ghio Ong - The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines — Letting China sustain its aggression in the West Philippine Sea would make other countries doubt the strength of international law currently being asserted by the Philippines, Commodore Jay Tarriela of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said. “Allowing China to blatantly disregard the established rules-based order threatens the very foundation that we all depend on,” he wrote in a post on X last Tuesday. He added, “If we permit this, countries worldwide may forget why this order was created in the first place. Nations could begin to doubt the significance of adhering to international law if powerful bullies can easily violate it.” Tarriela also said defiance of other countries to a rules-based order would result in the prevalence of cruelty. He wrote, “This could lead us back to a time when might makes right, undermining the global structures that keep human greed, savagery and barbarism in check. Such a scenario would not only invite challenges from aggressive ...
Read more

China ships maintain presence in key West Philippine Sea areas --- Michael Punongbayan - The Philippine Star

STAR / Michael Varcas MANILA, Philippines — While Chinese vessels in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) have decreased in number, they have maintained a presence in three key land features where naval and coast guard ships have intensified operations in the past seven days, according to the Philippine Navy. Latest monitoring by the Philippine Navy showed armed ships of the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) maintaining a menacing presence around the grounded BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal, Panatag Shoal and Escoda Shoal. According to the Philippine Navy, there are 17 Chinese military vessels and 28 China Coast Guard (CCG) boats spotted inside the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) between Sept. 23 and 30, or one vessel more than in the previous week Sept.17-23. Five of the warships were seen roaming around the vicinity of Escoda Shoal, along with 10 CCG vessels and 12 maritime militia vessels (MMVs). There are also two PLAN ships in Ayungin Shoal as well as 10 CCG boats and 12...
Read more

Social media seen as cause of rising intermarriages --- Helen Flores - The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) sees social media as the main reason for the rising number of Filipinos marrying or becoming partners of foreign nationals. In 2022, the CFO recorded 6,854 marriages or partnerships with foreign nationals, a 40.1 percent increase from the 4,891 “intermarriages” recorded in 2021. “First of all, what we see in the increase in the marriage rate of Filipinos or Filipinos with foreign partners is because of social media, (that) is number one; matchings; letters, introduction of their friends,” CFO chairperson Romulo Arugay said at the Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon public briefing yesterday. Arugay said the agency has been registering a high number of intermarriages since 2007, but the figures went down during the COVID-19 pandemic. From over 6,500 Filipinos who married foreign nationals, only 600 are men, he said. Most of them are married to Americans, Japanese, Germans, Canadians and Australians, Arugay said. Arugay warned Fi...
Read more