INQToday: Duterte asserted West PH Sea ruling in 1st meeting with Xi, says Panelo

Here’s a quick roundup of today’s top stories:

Tensions in WPS to be tackled in PH, US, Japan trilateral meeting

Strengthening peace in the Indo-Pacific Region would be the leading agenda in the upcoming trilateral meeting between the Philippines, Japan, and the United States.

Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Acting Deputy Undersecretary Hans Mohaimin Siriban disclosed this Friday, further noting that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and US President Joe Biden will bolster the relationship between the three countries.

Duterte asserted West PH Sea ruling in 1st meeting with Xi, says Panelo

Then President Rodrigo Duterte used the arbitral tribunal ruling to assert the country’s sovereign rights in the West Philippine Sea in his first meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Duterte’s ex-spokesperson and chief legal counsel Salvador Panelo underscored this detail on Friday amid growing condemnation of the alleged deal that the former president made with China regarding the West Philippine Sea.

Better to defer Cha-cha until after 2025 elections – Pimentel

It would be better to defer Charter change (Cha-cha) talks until the 2025 election is finished with a “new set of legislators” having been elected, Senate Minority Leader Aquilino “Koko Pimentel III said in a press conference on Friday.

“Although I’m open to constitutional amendments, let’s not have it now with the same set of legislators,” Pimentel, speaking partly in Filipino, told reporters.

Day of Valor: LRTA offers free rides on April 9

The Light Rail Transit Line 2 (LRT 2) will offer free rides to the public at specific times on April 9 — the 82nd celebration of the Day of Valor, the train management said on Friday.

According to the Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA), veterans and the general public can redeem their free rides from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.