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A ‘Balikatan’ first: PH-US drills to sink boat in WPS
Read more: https://globalnation.inquirer.net/211945/a-balikatan-first-ph-us-drills-to-sink-boat-in-
wps#ixzz7wB1NFVtn
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MANILA, Philippines — Filipino and American troops will sink a target vessel near Panatag (Scarborough)
Shoal in the West Philippine Sea when the two allies carry out next month their largest joint military
exercise to date, a military official told the Inquirer on Tuesday.
The Philippines and the United States have ramped up defense cooperation under President Marcos in
the face of China’s increasing assertiveness in the South China Sea and its potential invasion of Taiwan
and will put on their biggest exercise in history with the participation of 17,000 troops from both sides.
This is nearly twice the 8,900 soldiers who joined last year.
The annual joint military exercises — called “Balikatan” or “shoulder-to-shoulder” that will run from
April 11 to 28 — will feature some 12,000 US soldiers and 5,000 Filipino troops. Australia will send about
a hundred soldiers, while like-minded countries will join as observers.
The activities will be held across Northern Luzon and the provinces of Palawan and Antique.
The anticipated sinking exercise of an old fishing vessel will be held some 22 kilometers (12 nautical
miles) off Zambales, or about 185 km (100 nautical miles) from Panatag Shoal which China seized from
the Philippines in 2012, according to Balikatan spokesperson Col. Michael Logico.
He said it would be conducted by the two countries for the first time as the forthcoming drills focus on
“maritime defense, coastal defense and maritime domain awareness.”
“We will be sinking a target vessel using a combination of artillery naval gunfire and aviation weapons…
We will be firing HIMARS (High Mobility Artillery Rocket System), our artillery … a combination of
Philippine Air Force and US Air Force rockets and bombs, and our frigates,” Logico said of the sinking
exercise.
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The US Army will also hold its first Patriot missile air-defense exercise in the country as part of a coastal
defense live-fire exercise, Logico added.
Last year, the United States deployed the Patriot, which stands for “Phased Array Tracking Radar to
Intercept of Target,” as part of a mobilization exercise for the Balikatan drills. It was not used for live-fire
training then.
Such a weapon system, touted as one of the world’s most advanced air defense systems, was provided
by the United States to Ukraine to counter Russian missile and drone attacks. It can track and shoot
down incoming missiles and aircraft with a minimum flight time of less than nine seconds and can travel
up to 70 km to a target.
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“This Balikatan seems to be designed to test operational concepts to enhance strategic deterrence
posture of the Armed Forces of the Philippines in the West Philippine Sea,” Rommel Jude Ong, a former
vice commander of the Philippine Navy, told the Inquirer.
He said the large-scale deployment of American troops was a logistics exercise “to assess how it can
rapidly deploy a large number of troops and equipment in theater.”
The sinking exercise would likewise test the Philippine Navy’s sea denial strategy, he said.
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“It is premised on the idea that a land-based anti-ship missile can defend the country’s waters from any
adversary’s naval shipping, even from a distance,” he pointed out.
Prelude to Balikatan
The use of the Patriot, meanwhile, would allow the AFP to understand “the need for an anti-air defense
system which can protect our land and critical infrastructures from conventional ballistic threats,” Ong
said.
When asked if the upcoming joint exercise could stir up China, Logico said: “We have the absolute,
inalienable right to defend our territory. We are here to show that we are combat-ready.”
The defense of the Philippine archipelago from potential foreign aggressors is also the focus of the
ongoing joint drills between the armies of the Philippines and the United States.
About 3,000 soldiers from the Philippine Army and the US Army are taking part in the annual “Salaknib”
(shield in Ilocano) Exercise, which was first held in 2014,
The Army, the Philippine military’s largest service branch, is shifting its focus to territorial defense from
insurgency amid China’s increasing assertiveness in the South China Sea.
“We will now be training on scenarios that would require us to work together to face adversaries from
out of the country,” Army chief Lt. Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. said on Monday on the sidelines of the
opening ceremony of Salaknib at Fort Magsaysay in Nueva Ecija province.
“We will focus on defense operations such as air defense and defense from the shorelines,” he added.
This year’s Salaknib, considered a prelude to the Balikatan exercises, is being conducted in two phases
across northern Luzon, including Fort Magsaysay, one of the first five agreed locations under the
Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement, a deal that gives the US access to Philippine bases for joint
training and prepositioning of equipment.
Read more: https://globalnation.inquirer.net/211945/a-balikatan-first-ph-us-drills-to-sink-boat-in-
wps#ixzz7wB1TIXtP
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Singapore to work with Indonesia, Asean, UN to push Myanmar peace plan–PM
Read more: https://globalnation.inquirer.net/211992/singapore-to-work-with-indonesia-asean-un-to-
push-myanmar-peace-plan-pm#ixzz7wB9hqBrg
SINGAPORE — Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said on Thursday the city-state would work
with Indonesia and other Southeast Asian countries, as well as partners like the United Nations, to push
Myanmar’s military rulers to implement a stalled peace plan.
He was speaking after meeting visiting Indonesian President Joko Widodo.
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Lee said the leaders regretted the lack of progress on a peace plan led by the Association of Southeast
Asian Nations (Asean) on Myanmar, which has been gripped by violence and unrest since a coup in
February 2021 that upended a decade of democratic reforms.
“Singapore will continue working with Indonesia and Asean members, plus Asean’s partners like the
U.N., to push for the full implementation of the five-point consensus,” he said, referring to the peace
plan that Myanmar’s top general agreed to with Asean.
Indonesia currently chairs the 10-member Asean bloc.
In addition, Singapore and Indonesia would work together on developing renewable energy, their
leaders announced.
The agreement was among several memorandums of understanding signed by the two countries,
including Singapore sharing knowledge that could support the development of Indonesia’s new capital
Nusantara.
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push-myanmar-peace-plan-pm#ixzz7wB9p7L63
SINGAPORE — Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said on Thursday the city-state would work
with Indonesia and other Southeast Asian countries, as well as partners like the United Nations, to push
Myanmar’s military rulers to implement a stalled peace plan.
He was speaking after meeting visiting Indonesian President Joko Widodo.
ADVERTISEMENT
Lee said the leaders regretted the lack of progress on a peace plan led by the Association of Southeast
Asian Nations (Asean) on Myanmar, which has been gripped by violence and unrest since a coup in
February 2021 that upended a decade of democratic reforms.
“Singapore will continue working with Indonesia and Asean members, plus Asean’s partners like the
U.N., to push for the full implementation of the five-point consensus,” he said, referring to the peace
plan that Myanmar’s top general agreed to with Asean.
Indonesia currently chairs the 10-member Asean bloc.
In addition, Singapore and Indonesia would work together on developing renewable energy, their
leaders announced.
The agreement was among several memorandums of understanding signed by the two countries,
including Singapore sharing knowledge that could support the development of Indonesia’s new capital
Nusantara.
push-myanmar-peace-plan-pm#ixzz7wB9p7L63
SM and BFP hold simultaneous Nationwide Fire Drill
Read more: https://globalnation.inquirer.net/211972/sm-and-bfp-hold-simultaneous-nationwide-fire-
drill#ixzz7wBEOJwuK
SM Supermalls, the country’s largest chain of malls, in partnership with the Bureau of Fire Protection
(BFP) conducted a nationwide simultaneous fire drill on March 13, 2023.
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BFP Fire and rescue trucks, ambulances in SM City North Edsa during the fire drill.
With the theme “Sa Pag-Iwas ng Sunog Hindi Ka Nag-iisa” and #thinkfiresafetynow the fire drill in highly
dense occupancy such as SM supermalls is one of the ways in which SM and BFP show their
commitments to the creation of risk-resilient societies and advocacy of promoting disaster risk reduction
(DRR) in the country.
Participated in by more than 15,500 tenants, employees, agency personnel, costumers, the fire drill in
more than 90 SM malls is one of the highlights of the celebration of Fire Prevention Month 2023 by both
BFP and the SM Group.
ACTIVITY SHEET
SM City Lanang Fire Brigade Team performing the fire drill inside a restaurant.
A scenario of a strong earthquake hitting Metro Manila causing considerable damage to buildings,
occurrence of fire, search and rescue of victims was simulated in SM North Edsa which was the venue of
the main drill. The personnel of the BFP demonstrated their capabilities by rope rappelling from the
5th floor to the ground floor in rescuing a victim trapped under collapsed structure. The aerial ladder of
the Bureau was used for the high angle rescue. SM fire brigade team members demonstrated their
mastery of the evacuation drill and showed their fire-fighting skills with the use of fire extinguishers and
fire hose.
SM Executives and BFP officials were present in SM North Edsa during the event. Engr. Liza Silerio, Vice
President for Corporate Compliance led the SM team. The BFP contingent was headed by SSUPT Edwin
Vargas, Deputy Director for Fire Safety Enforcement and SSUPT Rodrigo Reyes, Asst. Regional Director
for NCR.
ACTIVITY SHEET
L-R: BFP SINSP Gab Solano, SM CRS AVP Marjorie Orellano, SM CCG VP Liza Silerio, BFP NCR ARD SSUPT
Rodrigo Reyes, BFP NHQ Dep. Director SSUPT Edwin Vargas, SM CCG AVP Atty. Pearl Jayagan Turley, SM
Consultant Gen. Carlito Romero.
Other SM malls simulated fire occurrences in restaurants, parking areas, rooftops, mall canopy. There
were also scenarios of victim rescue and bringing them to the standby ambulance.
The fire drill is one good example of the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) of SM and the BFP which give
priority to the constant training of SM’s personnel to respond to disasters including earthquakes and
destructive fires. The PPP acknowledges the progress made by the two entities in preventing disaster
risks and losses of lives, livelihood and health – in line with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk
Reduction 2015 – 2030.
SM Supermalls, the country’s largest chain of malls, in partnership with the Bureau of Fire Protection
(BFP) conducted a nationwide simultaneous fire drill on March 13, 2023.
Interment covered by 20% seniors’ discount–SC
Interment services are covered by the 20-percent discount on funeral and burial expenses provided by
the Senior Citizens Act and its amending laws, according to the Supreme Court.
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In a full-court session, the high tribunal, in a decision penned by Associate Justice Rodil Zalameda,
granted the petition for review filed for the state by the Office of the Solicitor General, the Office of the
Senior Citizens Affairs, and the Department of Social Welfare and Development, and set aside the 2018
resolutions of Branch 17 of the Cagayan de Oro City Regional Trial Court (RTC) that excluded interment
services from the coverage of the statutorily mandated senior citizen discount on “funeral and burial
services.”
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The RTC had ruled on a special civil action for declaratory relief filed by Pryce Corporation Inc., a local
company selling memorial lots and offering interment services, contending that interment service for
deceased seniors was not among the services entitled to the 20-percent discount provided under
Republic Act (RA) No. 7432, or the Senior Citizens Act.
The lower court explained that the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of RA 9994, or the
Expanded Senior Citizens Act of 2010 that amended RA 7432, only mentioned the services of purchase
of casket or urn, embalming, hospital morgue, and transport of the body to the intended burial site.
It held that the benefits covered by the discount did not include the service of interment, specifically the
digging of land for the grave of the deceased, the concreting of the gravesite, and the other services
done during the actual burial.
Bundle of benefits
The Supreme Court, in its decision, found that the exclusion by the RTC of interment services from the
coverage of the 20-percent senior citizen discount is not provided under the law, noting that the law’s
IRR, which does not explicitly exclude interment services, cannot be interpreted to support the lower
court’s resolution.
The high court stressed that “a law cannot be amended by a mere regulation, and the administrative
agency issuing the regulation may not enlarge, alter, or restrict the provisions of the law it administers.”
READ: A boost for seniors
It emphasized that the Senior Citizens Act is a law created “to grant a bundle of benefits in favor of
senior citizens or those at least 60 years old, giving flesh to the declared policy of motivating senior
citizens to contribute to nation building and encouraging their families and communities to reaffirm the
Filipino tradition of caring for the senior citizens.”
“Death may be the end of one’s life. But from the perspective of those left behind, there are things that
survive a person’s demise. For the romantics, it is the memories and feelings that linger long after the
passing of a loved one. For the pragmatics and businesspersons alike, the financial aspects of funeral
and burial are matters that persist even after one is laid to rest,” said the high tribunal.
It explained that both RA 9257 and RA 9994, in amending RA 7432, do not provide for an exact definition
of the term “funeral and burial services,” but these laws likewise do not limit the scope of the services
falling under ‘funeral and burial services.’”
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It added that based on the definition of the term “burial” as it is commonly understood, “burial service”
pertains to any service offered or provided in connection with the final disposition, entombment, or
interment of human remains.
Not exclusive list
“It follows that burial services necessarily include interment services, such as digging the land for the
deceased person’s grave, its concreting, and other services being done during the actual burial,” it
pointed out.
“This conclusion was supported by the IRRs which prescribe the guidelines in the application of the 20-
percent discount on funeral and burial services in that a comparison of the IRRs of RA 9257 and RA 9994
shows that the two are substantially the same,” it added.
READ: Senior Citizens Law clarified
The exception is that Section 6 of the IRR of RA 9994 expounded on the term “other related services” by
including a sample list of “services” and excluding obituary publication and cost of memorial plot, the
high court noted.
However, the high court said that the enumeration in Section 6 is not exclusive, stressing that the phrase
“other related services” does not refer only to the enumerated examples so as to exclude interment
services.
The court maintained that this interpretation was in keeping with the policies and objectives of the law,
particularly of RA 9994 which echoes Section 4, Article XV of the Constitution declaring that “it is the
duty of the family to take care of its elderly members while the state may design programs of social
security for them.”
The high court added that as pointed out by Justice Amy C. Lazaro-Javier in her concurring opinion, it
would be “unreasonable to infer that Congress intended to differentiate between the deceased’s final
solace for the purpose of granting the 20-percent discount [without] a clear legislative intent to the
contrary.”
Read more: https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/?p=1744174#ixzz7wBM6nwYJ
ACTIVITY SHEET
BFP Fire and rescue trucks, ambulances in SM City North Edsa during the fire drill.
With the theme “Sa Pag-Iwas ng Sunog Hindi Ka Nag-iisa” and #thinkfiresafetynow the fire drill in highly
dense occupancy such as SM supermalls is one of the ways in which SM and BFP show their
commitments to the creation of risk-resilient societies and advocacy of promoting disaster risk reduction
(DRR) in the country.
Participated in by more than 15,500 tenants, employees, agency personnel, costumers, the fire drill in
more than 90 SM malls is one of the highlights of the celebration of Fire Prevention Month 2023 by both
BFP and the SM Group.
ACTIVITY SHEET
SM City Lanang Fire Brigade Team performing the fire drill inside a restaurant.
A scenario of a strong earthquake hitting Metro Manila causing considerable damage to buildings,
occurrence of fire, search and rescue of victims was simulated in SM North Edsa which was the venue of
the main drill. The personnel of the BFP demonstrated their capabilities by rope rappelling from the
5th floor to the ground floor in rescuing a victim trapped under collapsed structure. The aerial ladder of
the Bureau was used for the high angle rescue. SM fire brigade team members demonstrated their
mastery of the evacuation drill and showed their fire-fighting skills with the use of fire extinguishers and
fire hose.
SM Executives and BFP officials were present in SM North Edsa during the event. Engr. Liza Silerio, Vice
President for Corporate Compliance led the SM team. The BFP contingent was headed by SSUPT Edwin
Vargas, Deputy Director for Fire Safety Enforcement and SSUPT Rodrigo Reyes, Asst. Regional Director
for NCR.
ACTIVITY SHEET
L-R: BFP SINSP Gab Solano, SM CRS AVP Marjorie Orellano, SM CCG VP Liza Silerio, BFP NCR ARD SSUPT
Rodrigo Reyes, BFP NHQ Dep. Director SSUPT Edwin Vargas, SM CCG AVP Atty. Pearl Jayagan Turley, SM
Consultant Gen. Carlito Romero.
Other SM malls simulated fire occurrences in restaurants, parking areas, rooftops, mall canopy. There
were also scenarios of victim rescue and bringing them to the standby ambulance.
ACTIVITY SHEET
SM Emergency Response Team in action during the Fire Drill in SM City Marilao.
The fire drill is one good example of the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) of SM and the BFP which give
priority to the constant training of SM’s personnel to respond to disasters including earthquakes and
destructive fires. The PPP acknowledges the progress made by the two entities in preventing disaster
risks and losses of lives, livelihood and health – in line with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk
Reduction 2015 – 2030.
ACTIVITY SHEET
SM City Urdaneta fire drill in the Food court.
SM is a member of ARISE- Philippines, the Private Sector Alliance for Disaster Resilient Societies which is
led by the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR). As a member of ARISE and as a
responsible corporate citizen, SM commits to promote a global and national culture of disaster risk
reduction and resiliency.
drill#ixzz7wBElR900
drill#ixzz7wBEaQ8RC
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drill#ixzz7wBETxmXE

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COPY READING (ENGLISH)

A ‘Balikatan’ first: PH-US drills to sink boat in WPS

Singapore to work with Indonesia, Asean, UN to push Myanmar peace plan–PM

He was speaking after meeting visiting Indonesian President Joko Widodo.

Indonesia currently chairs the 10-member Asean bloc.

Read more: https://globalnation.inquirer.net/211992/singapore-to-work-with-indonesia-asean-un-to-

Follow us: @inquirerdotnet on Twitter | inquirerdotnet on Facebook

He was speaking after meeting visiting Indonesian President Joko Widodo.

Indonesia currently chairs the 10-member Asean bloc.

SM and BFP hold simultaneous Nationwide Fire Drill

Interment covered by 20% seniors’ discount–SC

READ: A boost for seniors

Not exclusive list

READ: Senior Citizens Law clarified

SM City Urdaneta fire drill in the Food court.

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