Breaking News: Earthquake strikes Philippines near Manila

April 8/4/2017.  — A series of earthquakes hit Batangas on Saturday afternoon, being felt in parts of Metro Manila and some areas of south Luzon.

According to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs), the first tremor hit 2km northwest of Mabini, Batangas at 3.07 p.m.

As of 4:29 p.m., Phivolcs reported the following earthquake intensities: 

•    Intensity VII - Mabini, Batangas
     Intensity VI - Calatagan, Nasugbu and Tingloy, Batangas
      Intensity V - Batangas City, Sto. Tomas and Lemery Batangas; Tagaytay City
      Intensity IV- Dasmarinas, Cavite: Lucena City; Pateros City
      Intensity III - Makati City; Pasay City; Quezon City; Muntinlupa City; Malabon City; Mandaluyong City; Bacoor, Cavite
      Intensity II - Daet, Camarines Sur  

Phivolcs recorded a second stronger quake at 3:09 p.m. 12 kilometers northwest of Mabini, clocking in at magnitude-6.0.

As of 4:43 p.m., Phivolcs reported the same earthquake intensities as the first one.

A third magnitude-4.1 tremor was recorded at 3:29 p.m. 2 kilometers northwest of San Luis, Batangas.

Meanwhile, the United States Global Survey (USGS) also reported three earthquakes.

A magnitude-5.5 quake in Bagalangit, Mabini, Batangas was recorded at 3:08 p.m., while a stronger magnitude-5.9 tremor was recorded shortly after in Talaga, Tanauan, Batangas.

USGS added a third magnitude 5.0 earthquake hit Taysan, Batangas at 3:29 p.m.

Shortly after the quakes, Batangas Governor Hermilando Mandanas told CNN Philippines there was no electricity in Batangas City, Bauan, and Mabini.

He added so far, only minor damages have been reported and no evacuations have taken place, but they are still closely monitoring the developments for possible action.

Different origins 

Phivolcs Director Renato Solidum Jr. told the media that the USGS report is not entirely accurate.

"Let me correct the estimation, because the USGS, there is a discrepancy on what they will get because they don't have many stations in the Philippines," Solidum said.

He added the origin of the first quake is the local Batangas fault near the Mabini and Tingloy areas.

Solidum clarified that the two consequent tremors originated at the Manila Trench, meaning they are not related to the first one.

The Phivolcs director explained while the second earthquake has a higher magnitude, it is located in a deeper location along with the third one.

He added the first tremor that occurred in Mabini is now part of a series of earthquakes happening in the Mabini-Tingloy area, which includes the magnitude-5.5 tremor that jolted the province on Tuesday night.

Solidum warned of possible aftershocks and smaller quakes, but said a tsunami is unlikely.

He further explained that the recent Batangas earthquakes will not trigger the so-called "Big One," as it lies in the West Valley Fault. 

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Breaking News. South China Sea: Duterte orders Philippines military to occupy islands

Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte said Thursday he has ordered military personnel to occupy all Philippines-claimed islands in the disputed South China Sea.
"We tried to be friends with everybody but we have to maintain our jurisdiction now, at least the areas under our control. And I have ordered the armed forces to occupy all these," he said during a visit to a military camp on the Philippines island of Palawan.

Duterte said he may raise the Philippines flag on Pagasa Island, also known as Thitu Island, on the country's independence day on June 12.
Thitu is in the Spratly island chain, parts of which are claimed by the Philippines, China, Taiwan, Malaysia, Brunei and Vietnam.

Building up 

The Philippines has traditionally been a forceful claimant in the territorial disputes in the South China Sea.
Under Duterte's predecessor, Benigno Aquino, Manila won a landmark case at an international tribunal in the Hague, which ruled China had no legal basis for the bulk of its claims in the waters.
Duterte's administration has been cozying up to Beijing since his election last year, and territorial disputes have been pushed to the background.
In a visit to the Chinese capital in October, Duterte said to Chinese President Xi Jinping that "America has lost now. I've realigned myself in your ideological flow."
Following his visit, Beijing agreed to allow Philippines fishing ships access to China-controlled territory.
"By cozying up to China and trash-talking America, Duterte has achieved something that Washington couldn't deliver: a peaceful resolution to the Scarborough Shoal standoff," Ashley Townsend, a regional expert at the University of Sydney, wrote for CNN Opinion at the time. 

Trump and China: What's at stake? 

Duterte's latest comments seem to mark a departure from his previous policy, and suggests a desire to pursue the type of militarization Beijing has been accused of bringing to the region.
"Even those, those vacant (islands) that are considered ours, let's live there," Duterte said.
"It's like we're all competing to take these islands. And what's ours now at least, let's take it and make a strong point there that this is ours."
He said the Philippines should "fortify" its territory: "(We) must build bunkers or houses there and make provisions for habitation."
Duterte has a history of making wild claims and pronouncements he does not necessarily follow up on. In December, he had to walk back a story he told about throwing someone out of a helicopter.   

High stakes 

While relations between Manila and Beijing may have improved, tensions in the South China Sea -- which is both resource rich and a crucial shipping route -- have remained high.
China has continued militarizing and building up the territories it controls, reclaiming land to turn sandbars into islands, and equipping them with airfields, ports and weapons systems.
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has taken a firm line on Beijing's expansionism, saying in his confirmation that the Trump administration would "send China a clear signal."
"Building islands and then putting military assets on those islands is akin to Russia's taking of Crimea. Its taking of territory that others lay claim to," Tillerson said.
During a visit to Beijing however, Tillerson's tone was considerably softer, and he echoed Chinese language on the need to "expand cooperative areas and achieve win-win results."
Trump meets with Xi Thursday at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, though it is unclear whether the South China Sea issue will come up.

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Aung San Suu Kyi pledges to quit if public judges her a failure

Myanmar leader admits democratic government has fallen short of first-year hopes

Aung San Suu Kyi admitted her administration had not made as much progress as hoped

The former pro-democracy campaigner admitted her administration had not made as much progress as hoped in grappling with the legacy of half a century of military rule. Her remarks in a televised speech echo wider fears that the Southeast Asian country is struggling to deal with a daunting range of social, economic and security problems. Her address also marks an inevitable comedown from the euphoria of a transition from junta rule that last year yielded the first civilian-dominated government since the 1960s. Ms Aung San Suu Kyi used the 25-minute speech on Thursday to defend her record as well as acknowledge people’s disappointment. The leader widely known as “the Lady” or “Mother Suu” said she and her government had done what they could, but that the year since they were sworn in was “not a long period”. “So, if you all think I am not good enough for our country and our people, if someone or some organisation can do better than us, we are ready to step down,” she added. Her offer to quit appears largely rhetorical, as she still has reserves of support from her long campaign — including 15 years of house arrest — against the repressive former junta. She has no challengers from within her National League for Democracy, while the main opposition party remains tainted by its links to the former dictatorship. Myanmar is among the poorest countries in Asia and the government has faced pressure as growth has slowed, the currency has slid and foreign direct investment has dipped. It is also confronted by a resurgence in decades-old internal conflicts involving ethnic regional militias, some near the border with China. A statement from Ms Aung San Suu Kyi’s office highlighted the conflict between the ambitions of a nationwide peace process she launched in August and its difficulties in bringing the country’s myriad armed groups to the table. The nation was “now seeing red rays of hope spraying forth with brilliant colours,” the announcement insisted, before warning: “At such a time of great importance, undesirable destructive elements and instigations intended to harm peace might emerge.” Ms Aung San Suu Kyi’s domestic critics have also raised concerns about her allegedly autocratic style and the continuation of some repressive military-era practices, including the arrests of people for defaming officials. She has been attacked overseas over her reluctance to take stronger action over reports of large-scale abuses of the Muslim Rohingya people by the military, which some state officials and media have dismissed as fabrications. The UN last week announced a probe into the claims of crimes including murder, rape and arson. The Myanmar leader’s allies at home and abroad have defended her approach and pointed out that the military still controls crucial security ministries and a quarter of seats in parliament, giving it a veto on constitutional change. Ms Aung San Suu Kyu is forced to rule as “state counsellor”, a bespoke title created for her a year ago to skirt a military-drafted constitutional rule that bars anyone whose children have foreign nationality from becoming president. The law — widely seen as aimed at Ms Aung San Suu Kyi — precludes her because her sons by her late British husband are UK citizens.

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