The Foreign Affairs department expresses serious concern over the destruction of corals in Rozul Reef.
A lawmaker wants better accountability on the use of confidential funds.
And later, over 1,000 children allegedly abused by a cult in the mountains of Socorro in Surigao del Norte.
Ria Tanjuatco-Trillo speaks with Senator Risa Hontiveros.
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A lawmaker wants better accountability on the use of confidential funds.
And later, over 1,000 children allegedly abused by a cult in the mountains of Socorro in Surigao del Norte.
Ria Tanjuatco-Trillo speaks with Senator Risa Hontiveros.
Visit our website for more #NewsYouCanTrust: https://www.cnnphilippines.com/
Follow our social media pages:
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CNNPhilippines
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cnnphilippines/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/cnnphilippines
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NewsTranscript
00:00 Welcome to The Source, where we combine the headlines with in-depth conversations with
00:06 the newsmakers themselves.
00:08 Sitting in for Pinky Webb, I'm Ria Tanwar Cotrillo.
00:11 Today on the program, the Foreign Affairs Department expresses serious concern over
00:15 the destruction of corals in Rosul Reef.
00:18 A lawmaker wants better accountability on the use of confidential funds.
00:24 And later, over 1,000 children allegedly abused by a cult in the mountains of Socorro in Surigao
00:30 del Norte.
00:32 Senator Risa Ontiveros tells us more live in the program.
00:47 The Foreign Affairs Department expressed serious concern over the massive damage in the West
00:52 Philippine Sea.
00:53 The Coast Guard plans to further inspect the affected areas, this time with marine scientists.
00:59 Tristan Adalo has the details.
01:03 The Philippine Coast Guard shares its recent underwater survey footage showing extensive
01:07 damage in the West Philippine Sea.
01:10 These images of destruction were captured from August 9 to September 11 on the seabeds
01:15 of Rosul Reef and Escoda Shoal.
01:17 But the Coast Guard also observes something rather peculiar.
01:20 "There are some crushed corals that were dumped.
01:24 And seemingly, it was cleaned first before it was dumped."
01:28 Rosul or Iroquois Reef can be found south of Recto Bank, an area considered to be rich
01:33 in oil and gas resources, while Escoda or Sabina Shoal is the main take-off point for
01:38 Philippine vessels during Ayungin resupplying missions.
01:42 During the survey, close to 50 Chinese maritime militia ships have been spotted.
01:46 "During this period, from August 9 to September 11, we did not see any other fishing vessels
01:53 there but only Chinese maritime militia vessels."
01:57 But the Coast Guard says no direct link for now if these maritime militia vessels are
02:02 the culprit in the massive destruction of the reef and the shoal.
02:05 "If you're going to ask me if we have seen Chinese maritime militia vessels that kill
02:12 corals or whatever activities they do there, we don't have any.
02:17 But in terms of circumstances, that's the only thing we are sure for now."
02:25 Maritime law expert J. Batong-Bacal was not surprised over this discovery.
02:29 "Since we discovered it in 2013, it really accelerated as a prelude to their reclamation
02:36 activities on their artificial island."
02:39 He adds, apart from reclamation, the raw materials from the sea can be used in making jewelry.
02:44 But the worst part is its possible impact on livelihood.
02:47 "That area contributes up to 27 to 30 percent of our capture fishery.
02:53 So that's going to be a huge blow on our food security."
03:01 Fishermen in Zambales have witnessed a number of destructive sea activities committed by
03:05 foreigners in the West Philippine Sea.
03:07 "They destroyed corals there and they are taking giant clams.
03:12 And because of this, the fishery is destroyed.
03:16 Our fish are destroyed."
03:19 The PCG says as much as they want consistent patrols in the West Philippine Sea, they only
03:23 have limited resources.
03:25 It's also not easy to disperse the number of militia vessels.
03:28 "The only thing that we can do is to challenge their presence through radio, to document
03:35 their presence, to tell them through radio as well, informing them that they're supposed
03:41 to leave."
03:42 The PCG is setting up another patrol and underwater survey, but this time with marine biologists
03:47 and scientists.
03:48 Tristan Udalo, CNN Philippines.
03:52 Senators also weighing in and want China to be held accountable.
03:56 Amor Santos tells us more.
03:58 These are before and after photos of Escoda or Sabina Shoal in the West Philippine Sea.
04:05 Senator Francis Tolentino says the corals are now badly crushed and the seabed discolored,
04:11 resulting in a shoal far from what it used to be.
04:15 "This is how it looks.
04:17 Now, Escoda, because its bottom is different, it's like this.
04:22 It's different, right?
04:23 The discoloration is affecting the bottom, not because of the waves."
04:29 The armed forces also saw massive destruction at Rozul or Iroquois Reef and suspects it
04:35 was because of China's harvesting of corals.
04:38 Tolentino, vice chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, says China cannot deny
04:44 the presence of its militia vessels around Rozul and Escoda, which lie within the Philippines'
04:50 exclusive economic zone.
04:52 He says it could be a prelude to China's reclamation activities.
04:56 "This is not just an ordinary swarming.
05:00 There's something being done.
05:02 There's a direction."
05:06 Senate President Mig Zubiri expressed outrage, saying China sabotaged the Philippines' natural
05:13 resources, a move that could result in food security issues.
05:17 "If they destroy those coral reefs and want to harvest our marine resources, I think that's
05:24 foul, that is foul.
05:26 I hope they will respect it.
05:28 They don't respect our arbitral ruling.
05:33 At least they should respect our marine resources."
05:37 Zubiri appealed to the Chinese embassy to put a stop to the militia's destruction.
05:43 Senate Committee on National Defense Chairman Jinggoy Esrada leaves it up to the executive.
05:48 He says the Philippines could confront China, either President Marcos himself or through
05:53 the DFA.
05:54 But Senator Bato De La Rosa says even if China responds, we should take its explanation with
06:00 a grain of salt.
06:01 "It's sad.
06:02 It's not sad.
06:03 It's sad because it's not taking action.
06:04 It's just like when we file a diplomatic protest, almost every month, every three months, every
06:12 two months, it becomes a piece of paper.
06:15 You say we cannot fight China.
06:17 How can we?"
06:18 "That could be an option.
06:19 That's a good option.
06:20 But do you believe that if we all agree, we can fight it?
06:24 There's no other option."
06:26 Senators agree China should pay damages.
06:29 Tolentino says the Philippines can file a case before the Arbitral Tribunal, International
06:35 Court of Justice, or International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea.
06:39 Zubiri says the Senate will push for a P600 million fund for the construction of marine
06:45 ranger stations that will keep a close watch in the West Philippine Sea.
06:50 Amor Santos, CNN, Philippines.
06:53 Let's go straight to the source of the story.
06:57 We have Senate Deputy Minority Leader Risa Ontiveros.
07:00 Senator, good morning.
07:01 Thank you so much for being here.
07:03 Thank you for inviting me, Riya.
07:06 Good morning.
07:07 All right, Senator, let's get right to it.
07:08 The Foreign Affairs Department, they're expressing serious concern over reports of massive coral
07:13 destruction in Rosul Reef in the West Philippine Sea.
07:16 We'd just like to get your reaction upon the discovery of this destructive activity.
07:21 Well, again, I'd like to thank the Armed Forces of the Philippines for alerting all of us,
07:27 citizens and government, about this latest abuse by China of our West Philippine Sea
07:37 and our exclusive economic zone.
07:40 This is not the first time, Riya.
07:43 You will recall that there was a time that I actually made a call for China to pay us
07:49 a certain amount in damages because one of their vessels in the West Philippine Sea had
07:56 crashed into a reef ecosystem.
08:00 And there's really a way of computing the monetary value of such damaged or destroyed
08:06 ecosystems.
08:07 And it's shocking to see this video, courtesy of the Philippine Coast Guard, that the marine
08:18 life there is gone.
08:19 The reef system itself and apparently the other marine species that make their home
08:26 in our bay.
08:28 So place this on top of the recent incidents in the past several years of water canoning,
08:35 our Philippine Coast Guard, of unveiling a naval gun on one of their ships facing a
08:43 Philippine Coast Guard vessel on its way to Ayungin Shoal.
08:47 That was in 2022.
08:49 And then just this year, another incident of water canoning and training their military
08:56 grade laser against Philippine Coast Guard vessels, temporarily blinding our personnel.
09:04 And lastly, you yourself, media people, your colleagues in the media, witnessed with their
09:10 own eyes the obstruction of the Chinese maritime militia and their Coast Guard being watched
09:20 by the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy, the obstruction of the resupply mission of
09:26 our Philippine Navy and Coast Guard in the Philippine Marines stationed on BRP Sierra
09:34 Madre at Ayungin Shoal.
09:36 So, there are continuous abuses that China is doing in the Philippines.
09:42 And this environmental damage is just the latest.
09:47 Let's not forget, they have...
09:49 Senator, speaking of the environmental damage, you mentioned earlier that there's a way to
09:54 actually compute how much this damage has cost the Philippines.
09:58 How much has all these different incidents of damaging the natural resources in that
10:03 area cost the Philippines so far?
10:06 We'll have to sum that up, Rhea, but I'll return to my notes about how much yung pagsingil
10:14 natin sa China for one of their vessels crashing into reefs.
10:18 Similarly, in an earlier year, meron din tayong pagsingil sa United States dahil isa sa mga
10:25 vessels nya ay bumanga sa reefs, mismong sa Tubbataha Reef.
10:30 There's a pending bill now here at the Senate, the PENCAS bill, sponsored by Senator Loren,
10:36 that will put into law the equation that is used by marine scientific institutes around
10:44 the world, published in, I remember at least, one French marine scientific journal.
10:52 Meron talagang paraan na isuma yan.
10:55 So, on top of what China owes the BIR, for example, in taxes on the Pogos, and that's
11:02 just on land, dito naman sa karagatan, e medyo humahaba yung listahan ng utang ng China sa
11:09 atin in terms of damaging or destroying or illegally harvesting, for example, giant clams
11:17 in other parts of the West Pacific, ang pagkakautang ng China sa atin.
11:22 Now, Senator, the Philippine Coast Guard and the armed forces are not directly accusing
11:26 China of this massive coral harvesting, but they noted that this is the area where the
11:30 Chinese militia vessels were spotted.
11:33 You've said that the time may be ripe for an investigation.
11:36 What type of investigation would that be, and when might that take place?
11:42 Well, as soon as the committee to which a resolution might be referred will schedule
11:51 such a hearing.
11:52 Again, that will be just the latest of the investigations na tinailangan namin sa Senado
11:57 na gawin kaugnay ng mga aksyon ng China laban sa atin sa sarili nating, exclusive economic
12:03 zone, at yun na nga sa West Philippine Sea.
12:06 We will recall I recently delivered a privileged speech on that incident of the Chinese marine
12:16 vessels playing cat and mouse or playing chicken with our vessels in the West Philippine Sea
12:23 during recent resupply and even rotation missions at Ayungin Shoal for the BRP Sierra Madre.
12:33 Talagang nakatawag ito ng pansinria, hindi lang ng Senado, ng buong bansa.
12:39 It's a greatly unifying issue among all Filipinos.
12:45 At nagbunsod niya ng panawagan na i-reinforce na tin ang BRP Sierra Madre sa Ayungin Shoal
12:52 to make it a more humanely habitable structure for the Philippine Navy Marines personnel
12:58 there para maging masecure din siyang lugar para sa ating mga mga ngingisda who have also
13:05 borne the brunt of Chinese harassment over the past several years.
13:11 So, tayo mga Pilipino, Ria, in the face of these incidents of harassment and threats
13:19 and actual dangerous maneuvers at sea, hindi tayo umaatras.
13:27 Lalo tayo nagkakaisa.
13:28 And not only among ourselves, not only among us Filipinos, Ria, but a growing number of
13:35 neighbors within the ASEAN and even beyond among other naval powers, EU member countries
13:42 who would not make a joint exercise with us.
13:47 issue of food security because you had maritime expert Jay Batong-Bakal warning that if this
13:53 coral harvesting is in stop, you know, and if it's not prevented, it could lead to the
13:57 collapse of the country's fishing sector and threaten our food security.
14:02 I think he said it was 27 to 30 percent of our fish catch comes from this general area.
14:07 Your thoughts on that?
14:09 Professor Jay is exactly right.
14:13 As much as one third of our fish catch, napakahalagang source ng iodine sa ating bansa comes from
14:22 this very area.
14:23 And this very area is part of Sulu-Sulawesi Triangle, the center of the center of marine
14:31 biodiversity in the world.
14:33 Yung mga mangisda natin na inaagawan ng hanap buhay ng mga Chino, they are among the first
14:39 lagi na nagsusumbong sa ating Philippine Coast Guard, Philippine Navy, yung Bureau
14:45 of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources dahil nakikita nila kung paanong di makatarungang inaani
14:52 ng China ang mga likas na yaman nating mga Pilipino.
14:56 In addition to the food security, our energy security is also threatened by these aggressive
15:03 actions of China dahil kung saan sila nagsuswarm, kung saan nasaksihan ng Philippine Navy at
15:10 Philippine Coast Guard yung ganitong environmental destruction na probably ang China din ang gumawa
15:16 dahil dyan sila nagsuswarm, dyan din yung malalaking deposits riya ng oil atsaka natural gas na
15:25 dapat ang Pilipinas ang may eksklusibo o pangunahing karapatan na pakinabangan niyon.
15:33 So there's really a lot, a lot at stake in these sovereign markers as I like to call
15:41 the BRPC Aramadre and such parts of the West Philippine Sea.
15:47 Senator, what else can we do in the short term?
15:50 Not a matter of right, but survival.
15:52 What else can we do in the short term aside from the diplomatic protest and aside from
15:56 conducting a probe?
15:58 What can be done to stem these activities?
16:03 The diplomatic protests riya remain an important part of our diplomatic and political arsenal
16:10 to project and defend our national interests.
16:14 Yung aming mga investigasyon sa Senado at yung recent na unanimously adopted Senate
16:21 resolution expressing the sense of the Senate strongly condemning such actions of China
16:27 in our territory and calling on government to take on even more and varied diplomatic
16:34 and political actions at the UN General Assembly and in any and all other international fora.
16:41 Napakahalaga din noon.
16:44 In addition to that, I think joint naval exercises are already shaping up more and more between
16:51 the Philippines and bilaterally a growing longer list of countries na kumakampi sa atin
17:00 sa ating arbitral ruling, sa Hague, kumakampi sa atin para sa freedom of navigation at rule
17:08 law at sea, sangayon dun sa iniuutos ng unklo.
17:13 So, we are harvesting not just more of our marine and energy resources in this area,
17:20 but we are harvesting a wider and wider coalition.
17:27 And I always say a bigger coalition is a better coalition.
17:32 Hindi tayo natatrap sa pagpili sa isang bansa lang o sa kabilang bansa.
17:36 Hindi, we are at the center of a growing coalition of countries who want a rule-based solution
17:42 and a peaceful and diplomatic solution sa mga tension dito sa ating karagatan.
17:46 All right, ma'am.
17:47 With that, we will be taking a short break.
17:49 This is The Source on CNN Philippines.
17:51 Please stay tuned.
17:52 You're watching The Source on CNN Philippines.
18:01 I'm Ria Tanwak Cotrillo.
18:02 And our source today is Senate Deputy Minority Leader Risa Ontivero.
18:07 Senator, welcome back to the program.
18:09 We continue our conversation now.
18:11 I do want to talk about the vice president and confidential funds.
18:15 Following your colorful exchanges with Vice President Sara Duterte, do you still stand
18:22 firm that her office should explain the 125 million confidential funds that it spent in
18:28 December 2022?
18:30 Indeed, her office should explain because it's about her office.
18:35 It's about the accountability of her office, not just to Congress but most of all to the people.
18:41 It's not about her alone, the way she's behaving.
18:45 It should really be explained how 125 million was transferred from the office of the president
18:53 to the OVP and where it was spent.
18:57 Because even the 2015 Memorandum Circular that she herself cited in the Senate budget hearings,
19:06 even according to that, there's only a specific limited menu of items on which such confidential
19:13 funds could have been spent and could be spent moving forward because she's asking for more.
19:19 500 million for OVP and 125 million for the DepEd.
19:27 For me, Rhea, intelligence is such a specialized, even niche profession that we should leave
19:37 to the experts.
19:39 So moving forward in the budget debates, I will not let this go.
19:43 And I'm counting, of course, primarily on my Senate Minority Leader, Sen. Coco, but also,
19:49 I believe a slowly growing number of colleagues in the majority that gave way to what we will do,
19:57 the proposed amendments to move these confidential funds of civilian agencies that don't have
20:03 a real intelligence mandate or national security mandate to move some of these line item budgets
20:10 of their offices or departments and to move the major part of these confidential funds
20:16 to the real intelligence agencies, national security agencies, like the Coast Guard,
20:22 that, oh my gosh, their intelligence fund is still only 10 million pesos a year in spite of what we just discussed,
20:31 Rhea, the clear and present danger they are facing in the West Philippine Sea.
20:36 Moving the confidential funds of civilian agencies like OVP to the Department of National Defense,
20:45 can you believe the confidential funds that OVP is asking for are even bigger than the confidential funds of the DMD?
20:52 Moving those confidential funds to the intel funds of the NSC or NICA,
20:58 the real ones that have a primary job to generate intel for our entire government.
21:06 Now on the part of Marikina representative, Stella Quimbo, regarding that transfer from last year,
21:12 she's saying that the fund transfer was perfectly legal, saying that the transfer was consistent with the chapters
21:18 of the contingent fund and OVP budget under the National Expenditure Program.
21:24 What's your reaction to that, Senator?
21:28 Unfortunately, Rhea, that's where their explanations are very confusing.
21:33 First, they said that these are confidential funds that were transferred from OP to OVP.
21:42 So when we cry foul, because there was no declared savings for OP,
21:48 and there was no line item budget for OVP, they tried to say that the category of that line item budget is the line item budget.
22:01 But it's not so.
22:02 The category or the title of a section is different from the line item budget of that section.
22:08 And in the line item budget of the confidential funds of OVP for that year, 2022, the amount is zero.
22:16 In the budgeting process, you cannot increase a zero line item budget.
22:21 So, their tone is different.
22:23 It came from the contingent funds of the Office of the President.
22:27 But even in the contingent funds, the eyes of the Congress will be on that,
22:32 and we will really be pushing for more stringent transparency and accountability mechanisms over the contingent fund.
22:41 Because you cannot play fast and free with the budgeting rules or budgeting laws.
22:49 Especially when that money is appropriated by the government,
22:53 and moreover, all that money comes from the budget that the people are paying.
23:00 So, what is it really, brother and sister?
23:03 Is it the confidential funds that were transferred from savings to increase?
23:10 Or is it the contingent funds that were released?
23:14 Even their technical terms have to be specific.
23:18 And that's why the technical terms they use for what happened are different.
23:22 If that is straightforward and if that happened above board, Ria,
23:28 the explanation should have been as straightforward, easy and simple.
23:34 Not like this, they are really struggling for a very complicated explanation.
23:40 All right, ma'am. With that, we need to take another short break.
23:43 Do stay with us. This is The Source on CNN Philippines. Stay tuned.
23:46 You're watching The Source on CNN Philippines. I'm Ria Tanwak Cotrillo.
23:56 Let's go back to our source today, Senate Deputy Minority Leader Risa Ontiveros.
24:00 Senator, we only have a few minutes left. I do want to ask you about the Socorro cult.
24:04 You filed a resolution to investigate the cult in Surigao del Norte.
24:08 What is the most urgent concern?
24:11 Because it seems like a movie is being shown by the community there.
24:16 Tell us also, how did this situation reach you?
24:22 Well, actually, simply, it reached out to my office.
24:26 The mayor of Socorro, Surigao del Norte, Mayor Risa Tigcang,
24:31 she had formed a task force together with her municipal DSWD
24:38 to do the most urgent thing, Ria, simply rescue these kids.
24:42 Eight of them were able to escape from their situation where they were being forced to marry.
24:49 These are minors, they were being forced to marry adults, being raped, being locked in their rooms.
24:56 Together with the adults in their community on Capihan Mountain,
25:01 they were being forced to render forced labor under pain of physical punishment.
25:06 These eight kids were rescued by the Habeas Corpus of Ria's parents,
25:14 who were still in possession of this cult.
25:17 And one of the kids has already been recovered.
25:20 So, the seven, and these are ongoing Habeas Corpus cases,
25:24 the seven, really, three of them gave their testimony on video,
25:31 I showed them in my privileged speech yesterday.
25:33 They're calling on their kababata, who are still with the cult, to also escape,
25:40 because they don't have a future, they can't study.
25:44 And they are really begging us, the public, to rescue them.
25:48 That's the only thing we can do, Ria, to save these kids.
25:53 Senator, how many kids are there that still need to be rescued?
25:57 There are more than a thousand children still in the hands of this Socorro Bayanihan Services Inc. cult
26:05 on Capihan Mountain in Socorro, Surigao del Norte.
26:08 Out of a community of more than 3,000 people, who were followed by J. Renz,
26:15 who styles himself as the reincarnation of the Messiah, Jesus, Santo Niño,
26:21 he calls himself Señor Aguila.
26:23 So, more than 3,000 people, of that number, more than a thousand children,
26:28 all of them are not allowed to study and are subjected to these abuses,
26:33 which are in violation of our expanded Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act,
26:39 in violation of our Anti-Child Marriage Law, in violation of our Raising the Age of Consent Law.
26:47 So, these are continuing crimes, and we need to save the kababata.
26:53 Because in this, it's dangerous.
26:58 As you said, Senator, extremely urgent, and we thank you for bringing this to light.
27:03 We hope and pray for the best for those children still there.
27:07 Ma'am, thank you so much for being on The Source.
27:09 That was Senator Risa Artibez.
27:11 And thank you for joining us here on The Source.
27:14 I'm Ria Tanwak, Cotrillo, you're watching CNN Philippines.
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