Manila Times

1. Navy boosts patrol of PH waters with 'surface action groups'

   MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Navy (PN) has begun deploying "surface action groups" or multiple naval vessels as part of intensified efforts to protect the country's maritime territories.

   In an interview with the Philippine News Agency (PNA) on Wednesday, PN spokesperson Captain John Percie Alcos said this move is part of the Navy's focus on improving its warfighting capabilities.

   "We will be veering away from the conduct of lone ship or 'lone wolf' operations, to the deployment of several warships at any given time. Now that we have a group of warships, which are (called) 'surface action groups' patrolling our seas, we can cover more of our areas and jurisdiction," he said.

   Alcos said the move was part of the Comprehensive Archipelagic Defense Concept (CADC), a strategy that calls for the military to defend Philippine territories, including its 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone.

   Asked if the PN "surface action groups" would be made part of the future "maritime cooperative activities" (MCA) with the United States naval forces or even the annual "Balikatan" exercises, Alcos said they welcomed this move.

   "If our planners for the 'Balikatan' or any other exercise consider this, then we will welcome the conduct of exercises involving the formation of 'surface action groups,'" he added.

   On Jan. 17 to 18, naval and air units from the Philippines and the United States held the first maritime cooperative activity (MCA) in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) for this year.

   The MCA took place in the Palawan area of the WPS.

2. PH continues close monitoring of Chinese vessels in economic zone

   MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) relieved the BRP Gabriela Silang with the 44-meter multi-role and response vessel, BRP Suluan, to continue monitoring the Chinese Coast Guard (CCG) vessel 3304 illegally operating off the coast of Zambales.

   Commodore Jay Tarriela, PCG spokesman for the West Philippine Sea, said the vessel was spotted at a distance of 60 nautical miles to 70 nautical miles.

   As of 9 p.m. Tuesday, the vessel, commonly referred to as the "monster ship" CCG-5901, is now 113 nautical miles away from Zambales but remains within the country's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) at a distance of 19 nautical miles from Bajo de Masinloc, Tarriela said.

   Meanwhile, CCG-3304 is approximately 105 nautical miles from Zambales, approaching Bajo de Masinloc at a distance of 28 nautical miles.

   In a post over X Tuesday evening, Tarriela said CCG-3304 was replaced by another Chinese vessel with bow number 3103.

   The CCG vessel, he said, was smaller than its predecessor, measuring 77.7 meters in length and 10.4 meters in width.

   "Despite challenging sea conditions with wave heights of 2-3 meters, BRP Suluan has maintained close monitoring of CCG-3103, effectively preventing the larger vessel from approaching the Zambales coastline," Tarriela said.

   In a video clip, PCG personnel were shown radio-challenging CCG-3103, asserting that its illegal presence violates the Philippine Maritime Zones Act, the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, and the 2016 Arbitral Award.

   The PCG's monitoring showed that CCG-3103 also continued its illegal patrol off the coast of Zambales, currently 76 nautical miles from Pundaquit, Zambales.

   "The Philippine Coast Guard remains steadfast in its commitment to safeguarding the country's maritime interests and upholding international law without escalating tensions," Tarriela said.

3. Comelec stops anew printing of ballots for May polls

   MANILA, Philippines — For the second time, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) once again moved the printing of ballots for the midterm polls in May after the Supreme Court (SC) issued two new temporary restraining orders (TROs).

   Comelec Spokesman John Rex Laudiangco in a late night viber message, said new adjustments have to be made to accomodate the names of senatorial aspirant Francis Leo Marcos and Albay gubernatorial aspirant Noel Rosal in compliance with the directive of the High Court.

   To include the names of Marcos and Rosal, Laudiangco said the Commission has to amend again the candidates' database, add their names in the election management system using the add feature, generate anew 1,667 ballot faces, have the ballot faces checked and verified, and serialize all the ballots.

   Chairman George Erwin Garcia that with these developments, printing of ballots would instead resume on Saturday.

   He said the Commission, particularly the Legal Department and the Information Technology Department, would render overtime work during the next three days leading to the start of printing on Saturday.

   "Our staff will work overtime, overnight again, to change the database, carry out a new serialization of each ballot and also change 1,697 ballot faces for the whole country," added Garcia..

   Garcia stressed that in deference to the authority of the High Court, the Commission would do everything possible to comply with its order but also pointed out that there might come a time that the Comelec would no longer be able to comply with the Court's order.

   Garcia said that the Comelec lost 14 days in its 77-day timeline for the printing of 73 million ballots.

   He admitted that the two week-delay in the timeline would move the completion of printing from April 20 to April 14 but said that they were not giving up on their original timeline and would do everything possible to meet it.

   "We need to make adjustments onward, before the end of April, so that we would be able to finish the printing of ballots," he said.

   Printing of the 73 million ballots for the scheduled synchronized May 12 national and local elections and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) parliamentary elections started Jan. 6.

   The Comelec, however, stopped it on Jan. 14 after the high tribunal issued TROs against the disqualification of a senatorial candidate and five local aspirants.

   While Comelec was in the course of complying with the first five TROs, the High Court issued three more and another one, on Monday or two days before its scheduled resumption. The last two TROs were issued on the eve of the resumption of printing.

   The TROs resulted in the waste of six million printed ballots which cost P22 each.

   Garcia said Comelec still needsedto pay the National Printing Office for the cost of the wasted ballots, even as he clarified that only the good ballots would be paid.

   Related to the issuance of TROs, the Comelec issued a resolution deputizing the NPO, placing it under its control and supervision, to speed up the printing of ballots through the use of its four printing machines in addition to the two machines provided by technology provider Miru Systems of South Korea.

4. No storm expected until end of Jan but 3 weather systems to continue affecting PH — Pagasa

   MANILA, Philippines — No storm is expected until the end of January, the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said on Wednesday.

   Weather specialist Benison Estareja said three weather systems - shear line, easterlies and northeast monsoon ('amihan') - would continue to prevail in most parts of the archipelago.

   "The country could expect to experience these weather systems in the coming days with the likelihood of no single storm entering the Philippine Area of Responsibility until the end of the month," the Pagasa forecaster said.

   The convergence of hot and cold air or shear line has been affecting the Bicol Region and Eastern Visayas where scattered rains and isolated thunderstorms were likely, he said.

   The easterlies - winds coming from the east and passing through the Pacific Ocean that carry humid and warm weather - will be experienced over Dinagat Islands, Surigao del Norte and Surigao del Sur, the state-run weather agency said in its 5 a.m. advisory.

   Metro Manila and the rest of Luzon will likely have partly cloudy to overcast skies with isolated light rains due to amihan.

   The rest of the country will be experiencing isolated rain showers or thunderstorms also caused by the easterlies, the national weather bureau said.

5. No winning bettors in Ultra, Superlotto draws for Jan 21

   MANILA, Philippines — There were no winners in Tuesday night's Ultra Lotto 6/58 and Superlotto 6/49 draws, the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) said.

   The winning combination for Ultra Lotto 6/58 was 43-09-22-39-52-45, which would have netted a jackpot prize of P49,500,000.00 for the winner.

   There was also no winner for the Superlotto 6/49, which drew the winning combination of 29-47-44-19-40-32 and which had a top prize of P32,733,816.00.

6. US deportations worry labor, govt

   (UPDATE) ORGANIZED labor expressed its readiness to partner with the government to come up with a unified response to address the threat of mass deportation facing undocumented Filipinos in the United States under the second Trump administration.

   The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP), the country's largest labor center, on Tuesday, proposed the establishment of an interagency body to synchronize efforts among government agencies, civil society, and Filipino organizations in the US to assist the hundreds of thousands of undocumented Filipinos in the US who are facing possible deportation during the incumbency of President Donald Trump.

   "With nearly half a million undocumented Filipinos facing the potential threat of what could be the largest mass deportation in American history, the TUCP looks forward to working together with the Marcos administration to consolidate efforts with urgency and dispatch to ensure the just transition of our kababayan either as legal immigrants continuing to pursue the American Dream or as returning Filipinos with adequate viable opportunities back home to unlock the promise of 'Bagong Pilipinas,'" TUCP Vice President Luis Corral, in a statement, said on Tuesday.

   The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) estimated that there are some 370,000 undocumented Filipino immigrants in the US.

   Tom Homan, the Trump administration's incoming border czar, earlier said that the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) "will start arresting public safety threats and national security threats on day one," raising concerns about large-scale extensive operations to detain and deport undocumented immigrants after Trump's inauguration on Jan. 20, 2025.

   "We strongly advocate for a unified, coherent response, ranging from legal assistance to reintegration services, not only to enable the government to effectively oversee these initiatives but also to empower our kababayan with a one-stop shop for accessible and comprehensive services," added Corral.

   Trump announced severe new restrictions on immigration and asylum in the United States hours after taking office Monday, declaring that he would send troops to the US-Mexico border and attempt to end birthright citizenship.

   Trump declared a national emergency at the southern border and used a careening press conference in the Oval Office to announce the controversial order seeking to revoke the right of US nationality to anyone born in America.

   "That's a big one," he told reporters.

   The move to reverse a right enshrined in the US Constitution will face stiff legal challenges, an inevitability the president acknowledged.

   "I think we have good grounds, but you could be right," he said when asked about the pushback.

   Another executive order declared a national emergency on the US-Mexico border.

   "I'm fine with legal immigration. I like it. We need people, and I'm absolutely fine with it. We want to have it," he said. "But we have to have legal immigration."

   Earlier, in his inaugural speech, he announced he would be sending troops to the US-Mexico border "to repel the disastrous invasion of our country."

   "All illegal entry will immediately be halted, and we will begin the process of returning millions and millions of criminal aliens back to the places from which they came," he said.

   White House Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly announced earlier that the administration would end the practice of granting asylum.

   Appointments canceled

   The first effects of Trump's stance became apparent minutes after his inauguration when an app unveiled under President Joe Biden to help process asylum seekers went offline.

   US media reported that 30,000 people had appointments scheduled.

   Trump's key adviser and noted immigration hardliner Stephen Miller took to social media to announce that the doors were shut.

   "All illegal aliens seeking entry into the United States should turn back now," he wrote.

   "Anyone entering the United States without authorization faces prosecution and expulsion."

   Kelly said the administration would also reinstate the "Remain in Mexico" policy that prevailed under Trump's first administration.

7. Comelec resumes printing of ballots

   (UPDATE) AFTER an eight-day hiatus, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) resumes today, Wednesday, the printing of 73 million ballots that will be used for the national and local elections and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao parliamentary polls in May.

   Chairman George Erwin Garcia said on Tuesday that the new ballots to be printed would be compliant with the order of the Supreme Court to include the names of the nine aspirants, one senatorial and eight local positions, and the corresponding number on their names based on alphabetical arrangement.

   Garcia expressed hope that the printing process would proceed smoothly until its completion, and the latest temporary restraining order (TRO) issued by the court on Monday in favor of petitioner Jonas Cortes, a mayoral aspirant in Mandaue City, Cebu, would be the last.

   "We will proceed with the printing by Wednesday. If there will be new developments, we will see what we can do," added Garcia.

   But the Supreme Court issued two more TROs on Tuesday.

   The first prevents the Comelec from declaring Francis Leo Antonio Marcos a nuisance candidate, while the second halts the poll body's decision to annul the certificate of candidacy of Noel Rosal for the position of Albay governor.

   Both Marcos and Rosal contested the resolutions issued by Comelec, which they argue unfairly affect their political ambitions.

   Even without Tuesday's TROs, Garcia said, their 77-day timeline — from Jan. 6 to April 14 — has already been reduced by 14 days because of the tedious process involved in complying with the court's orders.

   "We need to make adjustments onward, before the end of April, so that we would be able to finish the printing of ballots," he said, as he admitted that the two weeks delayed in their timeline could possibly move the completion of printing from April 14 to April 20.

   But Garcia said that they were not giving up their April 14 timeline because the commission is doing everything necessary to meet the target date, which includes the deputization of the National Printing Office (NPO) and the use of its four printing machines in addition to the two machines provided by technology provider Miru Systems of South Korea.

   "The NPO machines can print 1.5 million ballots a day. We have high expectations on the performance of the NPO machines. That is why we stick to our April 14 [printing] deadline," he added.

   Garcia stressed that in deference to the authority of the Supreme Court, the Comelec would do everything possible to comply with its order but also pointed out that there might come a time when the Comelec would no longer be able to comply with those orders.

   This is the first time in the country's electoral history that the Comelec stopped the printing of ballots to comply with a Court order.

   Garcia said this week is crucial because the Supreme Court will have its en banc session on Wednesday and pending election cases against the Comelec might be discussed, and a new TRO might be issued.

   "We do not know who will get a TRO. We declared 117 nuisance candidates for senator, 17 at the House of Representatives, 67 local positions and almost 200 declined or dismissed petitions for party-list groups application. A lot of them went to the Supreme Court," he said.

   What is important now, Garcia said, is to finish the printing of ballots on time and to distribute election paraphernalia to their intended destinations two weeks before the elections.

   "We will do the final testing and sealing one week before the elections. We will test all the machines with 10 ballots per precinct. Before we start with the final testing and sealing of all the materials, ballots must be there," Garcia added.

8. Marcos keen on working with incoming US president

   (UPDATE) PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Tuesday said he was looking forward to "working closely" with his US counterpart Donald Trump as he congratulated him on his inauguration.

   In a statement, Marcos extended his well-wishes to the new US leader as he reaffirmed the Philippines' "strong and lasting" alliance with the United States.

   "Congratulations to POTUS @realdonaldtrump and to the American people on another peaceful transfer of power in their nation's nearly 250-year history. I look forward to working closely with you and your administration," Marcos said.

   "The strong and lasting PH-US alliance will continue to uphold our shared vision of prosperity and security in the region," he added.

   Trump assumed office on Monday. He served as president from 2016 to 2020.

   Philippine Ambassador to Washington Jose Manuel Romualdez represented Marcos during Trump's inaugural at the US Capitol in Washington, D.C.

   Before Trump assumed office, Marcos this month said he was hopeful Manila and Washington would maintain their "strong and dynamic" relationship under the new US administration.

   In November last year, Marcos and Trump had a "friendly" and "productive" call, where the Filipino leader expressed the Philippines' desire to further deepen its ties with the US.

   Marcos also expressed hope that Washington and Manila would continue their "durable partnership" and "unshakeable alliance" as a "force of good that will blaze a path of prosperity and amity in the region and in both sides of the Pacific."

   The US has a decades-old security alliance with the Philippines that includes a mutual defense treaty and a 2014 pact that allows the US military to store equipment on nine Philippine bases.

   Manila has stepped up security cooperation with Washington to blunt China's efforts to control most of the disputed South China Sea.

9. DMW issues warning vs 'third-country scheme'

   (UPDATE) THE Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) on Tuesday cautioned Filipinos seeking overseas employment to be wary of a "cross-country" scheme by illegal job recruiters.

   The scheme involves job recruits stopping over one other country before going to their final point of destination.

   The DMW said it received reports on possible human trafficking for forced criminality involving Filipinos going to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates but with Nigeria and other Western African countries as final destinations.

   "The DMW has reminded the public to be cautious and not fall for fake recruiters to avoid becoming victims of illegal recruitment, human trafficking, and online scams," it added.

   The public was encouraged to report illegal recruitment activities to the DMW's official Facebook page or via email: airtipinfo@dmw.gov.ph.

10. Marcos vetoes defunding of police's IT program

    PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has ordered the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) to reinstate the scrapped allocation for the Philippine National Police's information technology program.

    Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla said the money to be returned would be used for the country's integrated 911 system.

    "As instructed by the president to our budget secretary, the budget for the [PNP] IT [program] will be reverted, and the additional P500 million intelligence fund placed in the GAA (General Appropriations Act) will be allocated to this. So, the [intelligence fund] will return to the original budget of P820 million instead of P1.3 billion," he said during a Palace briefing.

    "Savings from that will be put aside for the launching and bidding out process of the integrated 911 system for the whole Philippines. So, it will be from the intelligence fund to 911. It will be a fully audited system under scrutinous bidding,'' Remulla added.

    Marcos' veto states "that in cases of appropriations and new budgetary items introduced by the Congress in the budget shall be subject to the national government's cash programming, of service or prudent fiscal management, applicable budget execution rules and procedures and approval by the President based on the programs by priorities of the government."