makusai

[Jay Tarriela @jaytaryela]

Let me be clear: the Chinese Ambassador’s statement is an admission, not an explanation.

He has confirmed on record that China Coast Guard personnel deliberately approached a commissioned vessel of the Philippine Navy, inside the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone, to conduct what amounts to an inspection of our own ship.

No provisional arrangement — and no interpretation of one — grants the People’s Republic of China policing authority over BRP Sierra Madre a commissioned PN vessel, or over Philippine-occupied features in our own maritime zones.

[Chel Diokno @ChelDiokno]

May mga headline na hanggang ngayon, may itinuturo pa rin sa atin.

Tingnan niyo itong dyaryo mula 1962. Kasagsagan noon ng Stonehill case, isa sa pinakamalalaking corruption scandals sa kasaysayan ng Pilipinas.

Para sa mga hindi pa pamilyar sa kuwento, si Harry Stonehill ay isang American businessman na nagtayo ng malaking business empire sa bansa. Kalaunan, inimbestigahan siya dahil sa mga alegasyon ng bribery, tax evasion, at corruption.

Ang aking ama, si Jose W. Diokno, ang Secretary of Justice noon. Siya ang nag-utos ng raid sa opisina ni Stonehill. Doon nakuha ang tinatawag na Blue Book, na sinasabing naglalaman ng mga pangalan at records ng mga matataas na opisyal na umano’y tumanggap ng suhol mula sa kanya.

Gusto ng aking ama na magkaroon ng full trial si Stonehill dito sa Pilipinas. Dapat ilabas ang lahat ng ebidensya, marinig nang buo ang kaso, at papanagutin ang sinumang mapapatunayang sangkot.

Pero natalo ang ama ko. Sa halip na litisin, ipina-deport lang si Stonehill.

Pagkaraan nito, nagulat ang aking ama nang mabasa sa mga dyaryo na nag-resign daw siya bilang Secretary of Justice.

Sa article na ito, nilinaw niya ang totoong nangyari: hindi siya nag-resign. Sinibak siya sa puwesto.

Kinilala ng ilang historian ang Stonehill case bilang isa sa pinakamalalaking cover-up sa kasaysayan ng bansa. Isang pagkakataon sana para lumabas ang buong katotohanan, pero nauwi sa pagtatakip at pag-iwas sa accountability.

Hahayaan ba natin itong maulit muli?

P.S. Kung may kopya kayo ng iba pang dyaryong nagbalita tungkol dito, pakisend sa akin. Gusto kong basahin. 😊

[外交部 Ministry of Foreign Affairs, ROC (Taiwan) 🇹🇼 @MOFA_Taiwan]

We condemn the PRC’s use of force against Filipino naval personnel in the #SouthChinaSea. We oppose unilateral attempts to alter the status quo by force, coercion & grey-zone tactics. We urge restraint & for all parties to uphold intl’ law & safeguard a free & open #IndoPacific.

[Jay Tarriela @jaytaryela]

Senator Robin Padilla, with all due respect, our transparency initiative is not wartime propaganda. It is simply a means to expose Chinese aggression and harassment — particularly against our Filipino fishermen and our PCG and BFAR vessels. We do not create the incidents; we only document them.

Secondly, I believe it is an insult to the more than 26 million Filipinos who voted for you na tinanggap ninyo po na unggoy tayo.

Hindi po ito sa paningin ng mga white supremacist, kundi sa perspektibo mismo ng Chinese government — sila po ang gumawa at nagpakalat ng video na iyan.

Ako po, bilang Pilipino, ay hindi kailanman tatanggapin na unggoy ang aking lahi — at hindi ko rin matatanggap na unggoy ang mga susunod pang salinlahi ng ating bansa.

Ang tunay na paggalang sa ating lahi ay ang ipagtanggol ito — hindi ang tanggapin ang pang-iinsulto!

HINDI PO MGA UNGGOY ANG PILIPINO!

[Leila de Lima @manayleila]

The racist depiction by China Daily, a Chinese state-controlled media outlet, of Filipinos as monkeys at the mercy of the United States and Japan simply shows that China’s arrogance knows no bounds. It further reveals how little they think of us and how highly they think of themselves. This is another act that reflects the mindset of an entitled bully.

On the other hand, it also shows China’s continued insecurity and frustration because our country refuses to yield in upholding our sovereign rights over the West Philippine Sea. Unlike during the previous administration, we do not kowtow to their caprices.

They can spread propaganda, create AI-generated videos, disseminate lies, and invent imaginary lines all they want, but they cannot erase the fact that the WPS is ours under our Constitution and international law.

Sa ginagawa nilang panggigipit, pagbabanta at mga kasinungalingan, sila ang mas nagiging kahiya-hiya at katawa-tawa sa mata ng buong mundo. Bilang bully, malamang na hindi sila titigil sa ganitong pang-aalipusta hangga't hindi nila nakukuha ang kanilang gusto. Kaya patuloy lang dapat tayong pumalag at manindigan para ipagtanggol ang ating soberanya at pambansang dangal.

[Jeffrey Ordaniel @JeffreyOrdaniel]

ASEAN states surrounding the South China Sea that have REJECTED the nine-dash line:

🇮🇩 Indonesia
🇲🇾 Malaysia
🇵🇭 Philippines
🇻🇳 Vietnam

Other countries that have REJECTED the nine-dash line:

🇦🇺 Australia
🇦🇹 Austria
🇧🇪 Belgium
🇧🇬 Bulgaria
🇨🇦 Canada
🇭🇷 Croatia
🇨🇾 Cyprus
🇨🇿 Czech Republic
🇩🇰 Denmark
🇪🇪 Estonia
🇫🇮 Finland
🇫🇷 France
🇩🇪 Germany
🇬🇷 Greece
🇭🇺 Hungary
🇮🇳 India
🇮🇪 Ireland
🇮🇹 Italy
🇯🇵 Japan
🇱🇻 Latvia
🇱🇹 Lithuania
🇱🇺 Luxembourg
🇲🇹 Malta
🇳🇱 Netherlands
🇳🇿 New Zealand
🇵🇱 Poland
🇵🇹 Portugal
🇷🇴 Romania
🇸🇰 Slovakia
🇸🇮 Slovenia
🇪🇸 Spain
🇸🇪 Sweden
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
🇺🇸 United States

Countries that have accepted the nine-dash line:

🇨🇳 China

[Nothing follows]

#SouthChinaSea #WestPhilippineSea #ArbitralAward

[BRP Sierra Madre @BRPSierraMadre]

WHY WAS THE ORIGINAL POST DELETED? | Chinese scholars publicly pushed the idea of claiming sovereignty over Batanes. Then, the original Jinan University post suddenly disappeared. But the same report and the same narrative continue to circulate through a Chinese state-linked think tank and state media.

Why delete the original?
Is it because the claim was exposed for what it was—an attempt to rewrite history?
Or because of the facts were undeniable—that Batanes has always been Philippine territory, governed by the Philippines, with no legal basis for China's claim?
Or because the backlash made the original publication too embarrassing to defend?

Deleting a post doesn't erase the evidence.
It doesn't erase history.
It doesn't erase international law.
And it certainly doesn't erase Philippine sovereignty.

When a narrative can't survive the truth, sometimes the first thing to disappear is the disinformation.
The claim may have been scrubbed from one site—but Filipinos won't forget who tried to make it. 🇵🇭

#BRPSierraMadre #WPS #WestPhilippineSea #RuleOfLaw #ArbitralAward #UNCLOS #FactsMatter #NotOneMore

[Mikee 🩷💚💙 @MikeeGulla]

Let's keep reminding everyone.

This is the video of VP Sara Duterte herself making statements widely interpreted as a grave threat involving an alleged assassination plot against Pres Bongbong Marcos, the First Lady, and the former Speaker of the HOR.

[BRP Sierra Madre @BRPSierraMadre]

STAND SO THE LAW MAY HOLD | A MESSAGE FROM THE SEA
I am BRP Sierra Madre. I do not stand because I am the strongest. I stand because the law still matters.

Every July 12, the Philippines marks the day the world affirmed what international law has always recognized. In 2016, an international tribunal, constituted under UNCLOS, ruled that China's sweeping claims in the South China Sea have no legal basis. The ruling upheld the Philippines' sovereign rights within its Exclusive Economic Zone.

Yet despite that clear decision, coercion continues. Water cannons replace diplomacy. Dangerous maneuvers replace respect for international law. Steel and intimidation are used in an attempt to erase what no amount of force can change: facts remain facts, and the law remains the law.

I am more than a grounded ship in Ayungin Shoal. I am a reminder that sovereignty is not surrendered through harassment, and rights cannot be rewritten by propaganda or enforced by the size of a coast guard fleet.

The 2016 Arbitral Award did not grant the Philippines new rights—it affirmed rights that already existed under international law. No fabricated map, no repeated disinformation, and no act of intimidation can overturn a final and legally binding ruling.

I remain at my post because abandoning the law would mean surrendering truth. I stand so every Filipino remembers that our rights are not based on power, but on justice.

I STAND SO THE LAW MAY HOLD.

Watch. Remember. Share the message from the sentinel of Ayungin Shoal.

#BRPSierraMadre #WPS #WestPhilippineSea #July12 #RuleOfLaw #AyunginShoal #PHMaritimeRights #ArbitralAward #UNCLOS

[NewsWatch Plus PH @newswatchplusph]

CASTRO TO SARA: ‘BAKIT HINDI NIYA TINURUAN ANG KANYANG AMA?’

WATCH: Malacañang dismissed Vice President Sara Duterte’s criticism that the Tacloban school shooting exposed gaps in the government’s ability to protect young people.

Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro questioned Duterte’s proposal to strengthen intelligence gathering on students, arguing that students are not terrorists.

The Palace official then cited a series of terror attacks during the administration of then President Rodrigo Duterte.

“Bakit hindi niya kaya tinuruan ang kanyang ama?” Castro asked. | @TristanNodalo

[Mara Cepeda @maracepeda]

Sinamahan ako ni Justice Antonio Carpio sa National Library para makita ang 4 na sovereignty maps ng Pilipinas na nagpapatunay na atin ang West Philippine Sea. Maligayang Araw ng Kalayaan sa lahat! 🇵🇭

[Philstar.com @PhilstarNews]

'KUNG MATAPANG KA, PUMUNTA KA DITO BUKAS'

Sen. Raffy Tulfo made a sharp challenge to Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano to attend the Senate's next plenary session on Wednesday, after the latter claimed that the minority was trying to wrest control of the Senate to prevent the hearings of the Blue Ribbon Committee on the flood control crisis.

The statement came after the majority bloc did not appear again for the Senate's plenary session on Tuesday, the second consecutive day of absence after the arrest of Sen. Jinggoy Estrada on Monday.

Related: https://t.co/klpdyW38Np

[Michael Turner @Michael71T]

China has started building structures at the Scarborough Shoal. Soon, these small structures will turn into runways, missile silos, naval dockyard etc.

This is exactly how China converted Mischief Reef into a massive military base. Now it's Scarborough Shoal.

Wake Up, World!

[S.L. Kanthan @Kanthan2030]

“Japan is a model citizen of the world. China is a hegemon”

“China is unfairly digging up the past to vilify Japan to hide China’s own misbehaviour”

— Philippine’s defense minister goes all out at the Shangri La Dialogue — the annual international defense summit.

Shocking!

[HAPPY PEPE @succubus_20]

THIS IS OUR SENATE PRESIDENT

He believes that hyperbole and figure of speech can justify killings without trial.

#boy10k #allanpetercayetano

[Adi Vijaya @adi_vijaya]

Indonesia showed that South China Sea doesn't belong to China, it cannot trespass as it pleases.

Indonesia blew up illegal Chinese vessel operating in its waters.

All ASEAN states have been tolerating China's wrong actions. Let's teach China a lesson. @LembagaKERIS

[Isabella Anderson @IsabellaAn67]

According to Beijing, putting Cyanide in fishing grounds & colliding warships into civilian boats, boosts trust & regional peace!

However, nations conducting peaceful exercises in their own territories, undermine trust & regional peace & security!

I'm sick of China's hypocrisy!

[Nguyen Ho @NguyenHo1096438]

No matter what, China should stick to its EEZ.

[Jay Tarriela @jaytaryela]

Precisely the reason why we need Secretary Gilbert Teodoro at the helm of @dndphl. No matter what our national security challenges may be, we need to have a strong backbone that will not just make us stand up against the bullies but more importantly to gain the respect of the international community.

[Luke de Pulford @lukedepulford]

Is it true that "Taiwan has been a part of China since ancient times", as Beijing often claims?

No, not at all.

Here are some inconvenient facts which most people don't know. I invite the swarm of CCP trolls to try to unpick them.

✅ FACT: Before 1624, Taiwan was inhabited by indigenous Malay-Austronesian populations with no official Chinese administrative presence.

✅ FACT: The Dutch established formal administrative control over Taiwan in 1624, which was recognised by Ming Dynasty representatives as being "beyond [Chinese] territory." The Dutch found no evidence of Chinese administrative control.

✅ FACT: In 1662, the Ming loyalist Koxinga expelled the Dutch after himself being expelled from the mainland. He founded an independent kingdom, seeking to reestablish Ming rule. But the Ming Dynasty itself had already collapsed. This was not rule by "China".

✅ FACT: From 1683 to 1887, Taiwan was managed as a province of Fujien; but Emperor Kangxi considered Taiwan beyond his domain. Indeed, he said as much: ‘Taiwan is outside our empire and of no great consequence.’ There were popular revolts throughout this period.

✅ FACT: Taiwan was formally administered as a province of China for eight years, from 1887 until it was ceded to Japan in 1895. This is the only such period. Shorter than the Dutch.

✅ FACT: Following the 1895 Treaty of Shimonoseki, the Qing Empire ceded Taiwan to Japan "in perpetuity".

✅ FACT: Local leaders briefly declared an independent Formosa Republic in 1895 to resist Japanese rule, but the Japanese shut this down within five months.

✅ FACT: Between 1926 and 1942, both the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the Kuomintang (KMT) supported independence for Taiwan, viewing it similarly to Korea (as an essential part of an anti-Japanese military strategy).

✅ FACT: The CCP changed its mind. After WW2, the party coalesced around an effort to reclaim "lost territories". In 1943 Cairo and 1945 Potsdam declarations were issued which, while not formal treaties, maintained that "all the territories Japan has stolen from the Chinese, such as Manchuria, Formosa (Taiwan), and the Pescadores, shall be restored to the Republic of China". The 1951 San Francisco Peace Treaty left Taiwan’s legal status "undetermined."

✅ FACT: The People's Republic of China (established 1949) has never, in any capacity, exercised control over Taiwan.

As to the territorial claim of what constitutes "China", worthy of note is the highly variable claims to territory (not to mention autonomy and governance structures) over even the past 150 years. See below.