NextGen Day

MANILA, Philippines — Hermogenes Esperon Jr., chairwoman of the National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea (NTF-WPS), stated they will investigate claims made by presidential candidate Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson that some Filipino fisherman went missing in these waters.

“Mag-check lang ako kasi wala syang sinasabing dates (I’ll verify because he didn’t offer any dates),” Esperon, who is also the National Security Adviser, said in a Monday night interview with reporters.

When asked if he had gotten similar allegations earlier, Esperon replied he couldn’t say for sure because he didn’t have anything concrete to work with.

“So ang magagawa ko lang (what I could do now) is to check also, and I’ll check, but as of now, wala sa fingers ko yan eh,” Esperon remarked.

Lorenzana, the Defense Secretary, also stated that he had yet to receive any information about the incident.

“No, I don’t think so (have information). I’ll look into it “When asked for comment, he said.

Lacson said during a campaign stop in Quezon on Monday that they have received information that several Filipino fishermen had gone missing after being rammed by Chinese Coast Guard ships while fishing in the WPS.

He went on to say that he got the information from fish wholesalers who were approached by one of the missing fishermen’s families.

This report is also being verified, according to the presidential candidate.

As the situation unfolded, Lacson stated that he wanted to supply the Philippine Armed Forces (AFP) with additional digital and electronic technologies.

Lacson disclosed his strategy at a public forum at St. Anne College Lucena, Inc., where he and running mate Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III campaigned with four senatorial candidates and local government officials.

When a concerned citizen from Quezon province highlighted the WPS issue and inquired how Lacson intended to address the area’s ongoing maritime conflict if he is elected as the 17th president, the idea of increasing the AFP’s defensive capability came up.

Lacson stated that he will pursue a “balance of power” in the region as a matter of foreign policy.

On top of fully executing Republic Act 10349, or the Revised AFP Modernization Act, which has a PHP75 billion budget, this entails developing deeper partnerships with military superpowers.

Unlike previous administrations, where the Philippine Army received the lion’s share of the AFP budget, the presidential hopeful stated he wants to allocate more cash to the Philippine Navy and the Philippine Air Force this time.

“So, I’m going to enhance the Philippine Navy and the Philippine Air Force. Bukod sa archipelago ay dapat medyo bawasan na natin ‘yung infantry. Idagdag natin’yung budget para sa air force at saka sa navy para makatapat man lang tayo Given that we are an archipelagic country, I believe we should minimize our infantry requirements. We’d rather raise the budgets for our air force and navy so that we can at least catch up), “In a statement, he continued.

Following the recent events in Ukraine, when Russia began a full-scale invasion, he stated that boosting the Philippines’ defensive power is one of his top goals.

The Revised AFP Modernization Act, which was approved in the 15th Congress, was written by Lacson and sponsored by him. He is also the Senate Committee on National Defense and Security, Peace, Unification, and Reconciliation’s current chairperson.

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