Ferdinand Marcos

GYEONGJU, South Korea, Oct. 31 (Yonhap) — President Lee Jae Myung and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. discussed ways to strengthen bilateral cooperation during summit talks Friday.

The two sides met on the margins of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, with Lee expressing hopes for a higher level of cooperative bilateral ties through Marcos’ visit to South Korea.

“For a long time, South Korea and the Philippines have supported and cooperated with one another as friendly nations,” Lee said, noting Manila’s deployment of troops in support of South Korea during the 1950-53 Korean War.

Marcos said the two countries have reached multiple milestones in ties, citing the signing of a bilateral free trade deal, and cooperation in the defense and security sectors.

Lee also thanked Marcos for the creation of a “Korean help desk” within the Philippine police to deal with cases involving South Korean nationals, according to presidential spokesperson Kim Nam-jun.

The two sides agreed to strengthen cooperation in areas such as defense, shipbuilding and infrastructure, as well as for regional coordination to stamp out transnational crime, including scam centers, he said.

Lee also said he would make efforts for “peaceful co-existence” on the Korean Peninsula, while Marcos pledged his country will cooperate in such efforts as the upcoming chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations next year, Kim added.

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Oct. 9 (UPI) — A strong 7.5-magnitude earthquake struck off the southeastern coast of the Philippines on Friday morning, according to seismologists. The extent of potential damage was not immediately clear.

The U.S. National Tsunami Warning Center said a tsunami is not expected for the western U.S. coast.

However, it warned of waves of up to nearly 10 feet for parts of the Philippines.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, known as Phivolcs, is warning of waves of more than a meter, or 3.2 feet, to affect enclosed bays and straits.

Residents along coastal areas in eight provinces are “STRONGLY ADVISED TO IMMEDIATELY EVACUATE to higher grounds or move farther inland,” it said.

The quake struck at 9:43 a.m. PHT Friday about 27 miles off the coast of Manay in the southeastern province of Davao Oriental, according to a statement from Phivolcs, which said damage was expected. It had initially rated it a magnitude-7.6 earthquake.

The agency said it struck at a depth of 12 miles.

The U.S. Geological Survey rated the quake at magnitude 7.4 and the depth 36 miles.

Aftershocks were expected, with 11 having struck within an hour of the original temblor, the strongest being a 5.2 magnitude temblor.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said in a statement that the situation on the ground is being assessed, and that federal agencies, including the military, have been deployed to conduct evacuations in coastal areas and activate emergency communication lines.

“Search, rescue and relief operations are already being prepared and will be deployed as soon as it is safe to do so,” he said in a statement.

“We are working round the clock to ensure that help reaches everyone who needs it.”

The provincial government of Davao Oriental has ordered the suspension of all public and private classes and work in public and private offices.

The city government of Davao similarly canceled all classes at both private and public schools and suspended all government work until further notice except for services in security, health, social services and disaster and emergency response due to the temblor. Private offices are encouraged to follow suit.

The earthquake struck two weeks after more than 70 people were killed in a 6.9-magnitude earthquake that hit Cebu Province late last month.

July 26 (UPI) — An impeachment proceeding against Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte can’t proceed due to a constitutional limit on the annual number of impeachments, the Philippine Supreme Court ruled.

The Philippine Constitution bans multiple impeachment proceedings in a given year, so Duterte could not be impeached until February, the nation’s Supreme Court announced on Friday, the BBC reported.

The ruling does not prevent Duterte’s impeachment, but it delays it until an impeachment proceeding would not violate the Philippine Constitution.

“It is not our duty to favor any political result,” the court said in its ruling. “Ours is to ensure that politics are framed within the rule of just law.”

The court said it is prepared to address the claims against Duterte “at the proper time and before the appropriate forum.”

Lawmakers in the Philippine Parliament’s lower house in February voted to impeach Duterte for allegedly misusing taxpayer dollars and threatening to kill President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

It was the fourth impeachment case received by the lower chamber from December to February, one of which was transferred to the Senate.

Duterte is the daughter of former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte and formerly was a close political ally of Marcos. She is considered to be a viable candidate for the nation’s presidency during the 2028 election cycle after she and Marcos had a political fallout.

Duterte and Marcos in 2022 formed what they called the “Uniteam,” which temporarily united two of the nation’s most powerful political families. After the pair secured wins in the May 2022 elections, the Uniteam began to fray.

Duterte’s father called Marcos a “drug addict,” and Duterte in November said she ensured the president would be killed if she were killed first.

The elder Duterte afterward was extradited to the Hague to be tried for alleged crimes against humanity due the deaths of thousands arising from his administration’s war on drugs.

Rodrigo Duterte was president for six years from June 2016 to June 2022.

Sara Duterte says the accusations against her are politically motivated, although many supporting her impeachment note that 12 of the nation’s 15 Supreme Court justices were appointed by her father.