🇵🇭#Philippines: Ten militants from the Dawlah Islamiya-Maute Group (DI-MG), which has sworn allegiance to ISIS, were killed in a one-hour-long firefight with Philippine government forces in Lanao del Sur earlier today. Of the 10 militants, 4 were reported to be female fighters.
As a result of the clash, four light weapons, a hand grenade, and several IED components were recovered.
Philippines Klondike
#video#Philippines
Pinut-an barangay is known as the Philippines’ underwater Klondike. For years, international corporations have been attempting to start mining operations here, but were driven away by unsteady weather conditions and low profit margins. Ultimately, the area was taken over by the gold divers.
They search for gold nuggets on the seabed — a rather dangerous occupation that can cause injury or death. Besides, place mining is illegal, and divers
form syndicates to work around the law. The truth is, residents have no choice — this is the only job they can have to provide sustenance for themselves and their families. Their only hope is that their children will get an education and do better.
Tune in for the premiere of Diving for Gold right now on RT Documentary.
Follow: https://t.me/rtdocumentary
Children of sex tourism
#video#Philippines
In Angeles City in the Philippines, many children have never seen their fathers and probably won’t ever meet them. That’s because their hometown is a sex tourism hotspot and their fathers travelled to buy sex.
Once home to the largest American airbase outside the US, Angeles City in the Philippines is still teeming with foreign men. Children’s faces tell the story of their birth - fair skin, black skin, Caucasian or Korean features. A lot of sex workers are also children of sex tourism.
These are video greetings some of the children in Angeles City recorded during our documentary filming in the hope their estranged fathers might see them.
Follow: https://t.me/rtdocumentary
Diving for gold
#video#Philippines
The children in the small Philippine town of Paracale get used to working from an early age. They often skip school because they have nothing to eat. Then, to make $2-3 a day, they pan for gold. While kids work on the surface, adults dive into deep, narrow wells to extract the precious metal.
Prospectors use diving masks with snorkels to breathe underwater. But if walls collapse, the divers have no way out. ‘While you’re down the mine, you have one foot in the grave’ is a popular saying in Paracale.
Check out the full documentary to hear more!
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🇵🇭🇺🇸Philippines Seeks US Waiver for Russian Oil
The Philippines has formally requested US permission to extend a sanctions waiver allowing purchases of Russian crude, after crude import disruptions cut at least four million barrels in shipments to its sole refinery since the start of the US-Israeli war on Iran. Philippine Energy Secretary Sharon Garin said the request had been officially relayed to Washington through the Department of Foreign Affairs.
In March, the US eased certain sanctions tied to Russia's war on Ukraine to permit purchases of Russian oil already at sea until April 11, following the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz. About 30 per cent of the Philippines' crude imports depend on supplies transiting that waterway, and local pump prices for diesel have since doubled.
Garin said the Philippines holds approximately 50 days' worth of petroleum supply. If the US waiver extension is not granted, Manila would consider alternative sources including Colombia, the United States, Canada, Brunei, and India.
#Philippines#USA
@asianomics
🇵🇭🇺🇸Philippines Seeks Waivers for Sanctioned-Country Oil
The Philippines is coordinating with the US State Department to obtain waivers and exemptions allowing it to purchase oil from US-sanctioned countries. Philippine Ambassador to the United States Jose Manuel Romualdez confirmed the talks, stating that all options — including Venezuela and Iran — are under consideration.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. declared a state of national energy emergency on March 25, citing supply disruptions stemming from the Middle East war. The government reported approximately 45 days of fuel supply remaining as of March 20 and is procuring an additional one million barrels to build buffer stock.
At least two Russian ESPO crude cargoes are en route to the Philippines this month under a 30-day US sanctions waiver, marking the country's first Russian crude imports in five years. The US also issued a separate 30-day waiver covering Iranian oil already at sea and loaded on or before March 20.
#Philippines#USA
@asianomics
🇺🇸🇵🇭US Plans Philippine Ammo Facility Via PIPIR
The Partnership for Indo-Pacific Industrial Resilience (PIPIR), a US-led initiative founded in 2024, has agreed to explore establishing an ammunition assembly facility in the Philippines to package 30mm-by-173mm rounds used across Manila's maritime and coastal defence platforms. The Pentagon also announced a Japan-led programme to manufacture solid rocket motors and regional cooperation on small military drones.
Recent US military operations in the Middle East have driven daily ammunition costs to between $1 billion and $2 billion, prompting the Pentagon to request $200 billion in supplemental funds from Congress. Analysts describe the Philippines facility as part of a distributed production model in which allied partners handle separate segments of the supply and sustainment chain.
The Makabayan Bloc, a left-wing coalition in the Philippine House of Representatives, has rejected the proposal, arguing it serves US strategic needs rather than Philippine defence requirements. Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr previously told Donald Trump the project would support Manila's self-reliant defence programme, while Trump expressed support for both sides building up their ammunition stocks.
#Philippines#USA
@asianomics
🇯🇵🇵🇭Marcos to visit Tokyo as state guest in May
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. will visit Japan as a state guest for four days from May 26, following Cabinet approval. The itinerary includes bilateral talks with PM Sanae Takaichi, an audience with Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako, and a banquet at the Imperial Palace.
The visit coincides with the 70th anniversary of normalized Japan-Philippines ties. Talks are expected to cover the Free and Open Indo-Pacific framework and strategic alignment, with diplomatic sources citing shared concerns over an increasingly assertive China. Both governments describe the relationship as a strategic partnership built on common values and interests.
Marcos will be Japan's first state guest since Brazilian President Lula da Silva in March 2025, signaling the diplomatic weight Tokyo assigns to Manila in its Indo-Pacific posture.
#Japan#Philippines
@asianomics
🇵🇭#Philippines – 🇨🇳#China: Bottles seized by the Philippine Navy from Chinese sampans operating near Ayungin Shoal in the West Philippine Sea in February and October last year have tested positive for cyanide.
Philippine authorities stated earlier today that the substance is highly toxic and capable of causing severe damage to marine ecosystems and human health.
Officials have accused China of deliberately discarding cyanide in the area, describing it as sabotage aimed at killing local fish populations and depriving personnel stationed aboard the BRP Sierra Madre of a vital food source. The vessel was deliberately grounded on the shoal in 1999 to reinforce the Philippines’ territorial claim.
They also warned that the use of cyanide could damage the reef supporting the vessel, potentially compromising its stability and allowing China to later frame the deterioration as an "environmental crysis" to deflect from their illegal activities in the region.
(via Reuters & pna.gov.ph)
🇵🇭 Près d'un demi-million d'habitants du sud des Philippines ont été touchés par les conséquences de la tempête tropicale Basyang, a annoncé le Bureau de la protection civile à la chaine GMA.
Le fléau a fait douze morts et a provoqué des inondations et des glissements de terrain.
#philippines#victimes
🇵🇭🇺🇸US-Philippines Balikatan Drills Expand Multinational Scope
The annual Balikatan exercises will run from April 20 to May 8 across the Philippine archipelago, with more than 17,000 troops from the US, Philippines, and partner nations participating. Colonel Robert Bunn, US spokesperson for the exercises, described the drills as a demonstration of the alliance commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific.
Japan's Self-Defense Force will conduct live-fire drills for the first time this year, deploying its Type 88 surface-to-ship missile in a maritime strike exercise to sink a decommissioned vessel. Japan and the Philippines signed a reciprocal access agreement in 2024 permitting each country to deploy military forces on the other's territory.
The exercises also incorporate naval vessels, aircraft, and troops from Canada, France, New Zealand, and Australia. Colonel Dennis Hernandez, Philippine spokesperson for the drills, stated the exercises were not directed at any specific country and affirmed the Philippines' right to strengthen its defence capabilities.
#Philippines#USA#Japan
@asianomics