US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and his Philippine counterpart Gilberto Teodoro Jr. on March 28 hold a press conference at Camp Aguinaldo after the US official met with President Marcos. Hegseth began his Asian tour that Friday, stopping by US territories in the region and visiting the Philippines before his next stop, Japan. This is his first overseas trip as US defense chief. Hegseth accommodated a news conference in Manila despite a scandal in Washington over a security leak still hounding him on this part of the globe, as he sidestepped questions about that controversy and instead reaffirmed Washington’s “ironclad commitment” to Manila’s defense. China reacted sharply to this renewed vow of security ties, alongside maritime drills (3rd photo) that the Philippines conducted also on Friday together with the United States and Japan near the disputed Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal. Yet China deployed two H-6 bombers (2nd photo) near Panatag days ahead of Hegseth’s trip to the region, and also held “routine patrols” not far from the joint drills. —PHOTOS BY LYN RILLON, MAXAR TECHNOLOGIES/REUTERS
BIRTHDAY RALLIES FOR DU30
Rodrigo Duterte’s supporters (1st photo) in Barangay Palao, Iligan City, gather for a souvenir shot before a “prayer rally” for the detained former president on March 28, his 80th birthday, while at Liwasang Bonifacio in Manila, activist groups hold a rally expressing their wish for Duterte’s “long life” during his detention in The Hague, the Netherlands, by the International Criminal Court (ICC). As many as 60,000 people turned up in Duterte’s hometown of Davao City to clamor for his return. Protests were also held in other cities in the country and abroad, including The Hague, where his wife, Honeylet Avanceña, and daughter Veronica were allowed by the ICC to visit him on Friday afternoon. Duterte’s critics, too, saw fit to celebrate his birthday as they seek justice for the extrajudicial killings on his watch as president. —PHOTOS BY RICHEL V. UMEL AND NIÑO JESUS ORBETA
