NKorea Nuclear Attack to USA - ‘No need to evacuate Pinoys in South Korea

MANILA, Philippines - There is still no need to evacuate more than 40,000 Filipinos in South Korea despite Pyongyang's latest threat to unleash nuclear weapons on US targets, Malacañang said yesterday.

In a press briefing, presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda downplayed the possibility of a nuclear strike but stressed the Philippines is ready for any eventuality.

"I saw in some newspapers that they are years away from developing a nuclear weapon. So I don't think that's an issue right now. That's not something on the table right now," Lacierda said, adding, however, that contingency plans were being drawn up.

Lacierda said contingency plans were being updated to ensure a smooth evacuation of Filipinos in case of armed hostilities in the Korean peninsula.

The Pentagon ordered the deployment of an advanced missile defense system to the western Pacific on Wednesday as Washington declared North Korea "a real and clear danger" to South Korea, Japan and to the US itself.

Lacierda said the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), through the Philippine embassy in South Korea, is closely coordinating with the Filipino community to make sure contingency plans are in place.

"We have identified areas of convergence in case the situation in South Korea takes a turn for the worse," Lacierda said. "So contingency plans are being made right now. They're being drafted to update the plan."

He also allayed fears over the Philippines' inviting an attack from North Korea because of the presence of US ships in the country.

"That was a question raised already: 'Will we be a magnet?' But we don't have bases anymore, so that should not be a concern," Lacierda said.

He said the US Navy ships in the Philippines are "here for provisioning, re-provisioning, and also for some rest and recreation."

He said the government would rather not comment directly on Pyongyang's threat.

"We will leave it with the international community. Our focus right now is the Filipino community in South Korea," he said.

At the DFA, spokesman Raul Hernandez said the Philippines is calling for "sobriety among all stakeholders and for the easing of tension in the region."

"The Philippine government continues to closely monitor the situation and advises Filipinos in South Korea to remain alert," he told a press briefing.

On standby

Three Philippine Navy (PN) and two coast guard vessels are on standby for possible evacuation of Filipinos from South Korea in the event of a full-blown war in the region.

"The PN leadership under Vice Admiral Jose Luis Alano alerted and placed on standby three ships in view of the escalating tensions between North Korea and South Korea," Navy spokesman Lt. Commander Gregory Gerald Fabic said.

Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) commandant Rear Admiral Rodolfo Isorena said two 56-meter vessels were ready for deployment to Korea for evacuation or humanitarian mission.

There are more than 40,000 Filipinos in South Korea and 25 in North Korea.

Fabic said the Philippine Navy had already made arrangements with the Philippine embassy in South Korea for the possible deployment. It will take the three vessels seven days to reach Korea, according to the Navy. Fabic said Commander Alexander Lopez is expected to lead the naval group.

"As planned, we will be depending all our actions (on) our embassy officials in South Korea. We will be taking instructions from them," Fabic said.

"So far there is no directive coming from the Department (of Transportation and Communications) to prepare for the North Korea and South Korea (deployment)… If we are so directed then we have vessels," Isorena said.

He said the two PCG vessels being readied for a possible evacuation mission were the BRP Pampanga and BRP Batangas.

"The Philippine Coast Guard's job is limited to the conduct of humanitarian activities so if we would be dispatched or deployed then definitely, I think it would be in the evacuation of the Filipinos in South Korea and North Korea," he added.

Earlier, the Philippine Air Force (PAF) said two of its three C-130 transport planes were ready for possible deployment to South Korea to evacuate Filipinos who might be caught in a potential shooting war in the region.

US excuse

In San Fernando, Pampanga, militant groups said the tensions in Korea might give the US another excuse to deploy more forces in the Philippines.

The groups, which included the Alyansang Magbubukid ng Gitnang Luson (AMGL), Anakpawis party-list, Central Luzon Ayta Association (CLAA), Timpuyog Katutubo ng Nueva Ecija (TKNE), Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya), and the Katribu-Central Luzon, aired their concerns as US forces begin today their Balikatan exercise with Filipino troops in Clark and Subic, which hosted two of the biggest US military facilities outside the mainland.

 – With Pia Lee-Brago, Ding Cervantes, Evelyn Macairan, Jaime Laude

philSTAR

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UP Prof & Team filed complain to United Nations for Malaysian Human Rights abuses to Filipinos

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navanethem Pillay and UN High Commissioner for Refugees, 

Malaysia to face UN over Sabah Filipino abuses claims

Outraged Philippine civil society groups have filed human rights violations complaints against Malaysia to the United Nations over serious allegations by returning Filipinos fleeing the month-long armed conflict raging in Sabah's restive east coast, the Manila Times reported.

The Philippine newspaper reported concerned groups and individuals had lodged reports yesterday with UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navanethem Pillay (picture), and UN High Commissioner for Refugees, António Guterres, who are both based in Geneva, Switzerland, after failing to move the Aquino administration to exert pressure on Putrajaya.

The activists were reported to have petitioned the two UN agencies to "urgently intervene so that Malaysia will respect the human rights of the Filipinos in Sabah, recognised under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights."

Among the signatories named by the daily were the Concerned Citizens Movement, CenterLaw, Bagong Alyansang Makabayan, and Anakbayan. Individuals who signed the letter included Philippine human rights lawyer Harry Roque, activist nun Sister Mary John Mananzan, whistleblower Rodolfo "Jun" Lozada, journalist Vergel Santos, and political strategist Pastor "Boy" Saycon, who serves as adviser to Jamalul Kiram III, one of the heirs of the Sultanate of Sulu.

The campaigners also asked the two UN bodies "to express grave concern on the massive and gross human rights violations by Malaysia against Filipinos in Sabah" and to remind Malaysia to "provide effective remedies and compensation to the Filipino victims of the massive and gross human rights violations committed against them by Malaysian state agents", according to the daily.

Citing the activists, the paper reported Malaysia's authorities had violated numerous provisions in the Universal Declaration on Human Rights on protection against discrimination, life, liberty, security, torture, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, arbitrary arrest, detention or exile, and right to a fair trial.

The activists were reported to have penned two 11-page letters citing media reports, particularly from the widely-read The Philippine Daily Inquirer, detailing the maltreatment of Filipinos in Sabah starting from February 14 when "suspected Filipino gunmen numbering between 80 and 100 were cornered in Sabah on Borneo Island, triggering the start of the Sabah standoff."

The Philippine media have been highlighting the growing restlessness among Filipinos at Malaysia's heavy-handed handling of the Sabah conflict, despite having previously assured it would practise "maximum tolerance" while Manila continues talks with the Kiram clan, a marginalised Muslim faction claiming to be heirs of the 17th-century Sulu sultanate who had been left out of peace negotiations brokered by Putrajaya last year.

Some 5,000 Filipinos have returned to their homeland with tales of human rights abuses that have enraged fellow Philippine citizens and lawmakers since the Sabah crisis began on February, triggered by Sulu rebel leader Agbimuddin Kiram's invasion of the north Borneo state which has been under Malaysian rule for the past 50 years since 1963.

Fierce gunfights have claimed the lives of 62 Sulu militants, eight Malaysian policemen and two soldiers.

Civilians of unknown nationalities have also been reported killed in clashes, caught between the Malaysian security forces hunting down the foreign intruders and spurred thousands of Filipinos to flee Sabah for their homeland out of fear of capture.

The Philippine Senate has demanded its government hold Malaysia accountable for the possible human rights violations on the 800,000-strong Filipino migrant community in Sabah at the hands of local authorities searching for a ragtag band of Sulu militants claiming ownership of the north Borneo state.

The volatile situation in Sabah appears to be election fodder with both the Philippines and Malaysia readying for national polls this year.

With Report From Philippine Daily Inquirer, Manila Times, Malaya and Malaysian Insider  

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