INQToday: Bamban Mayor Alice Guo admits she’s unaware of business partners’ criminal records

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

Axed Wescom chief: No secret deal in phone call with Chinese diplomat

Vice Admiral Alberto Carlos, former chief of the military’s Western Command (Wescom), vehemently denied forging a “secret deal” with China on the Ayungin Shoal dispute.

Facing the Senate committee on defense on Wednesday, Carlos admitted receiving a phone call from the Chinese military attaché, a certain “Senior Colonel Li,” early this year.

Ex-Wescom Chief: I didn’t give consent to Chinese embassy’s recording

Embattled Vice Admiral Alberto Carlos, the former chief of the military’s Western Command, said he did not consent to being recorded, an action that violates the country’s anti-wiretapping law.

“I have not given my consent to record to anybody, and I have not been asked for permission,” Carlos said during the hearing of the Senate Committee on National Defense and Security, Peace, Unification and Reconciliation.

PH-China relations ‘a bit choppy’ amid maritime dispute, says Manalo

In light of continued Chinese aggression in Philippine waters, Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo said the relationship between Manila and Beijing is “a bit choppy.”

“It’s a bit choppy. There are many issues which have come up recently. I will say [that] in the case of the Philippines, [there’s an] effort to assert our rights in our [Exclusive Economic Zone],” said Manalo in a press conference on Wednesday.

Manalo: China’s detention policy in SCS ‘unacceptable, has no legal basis’

Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo on Wednesday said China’s new policy to detain without trial foreigners “illegally crossing” its “borders” is unacceptable.

Speaking to reporters in a press conference, Manalo said China’s policy has “no legal basis.”

DOH on COVID-19 FLiRT: It may be here now but ‘the variant isn’t serious’

Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa on Wednesday said it is possible that the new COVID-19 variant is already in the Philippines.

Singapore is grappling with a COVID-19 surge due to new variant nicknamed “FLiRT.”

House approves divorce bill on final reading

The divorce billwas approved by the  House of Representatives on third and final reading on Wednesday.

During the plenary session on Wednesday — the last day for the 19th Congress’ second regular session — House Bill No. 9349 or. the Absolute Divorce Act was approved with 126 lawmakers voting in the affirmative, 109 in the negative, and 20 abstentions.

Mayor Guo admits she’s unaware of business partners’ criminal records

Bamban Mayor Alice Guo on Wednesday said she was unaware that her foreign business partners have criminal records.

During a Senate committee on women hearing, chair Senator Risa Hontiveros disclosed that Guo’s co-incorporators in the Baofu Land Development Inc. included Filipino national Rachel Joan Malonzo Carreon, Cypriot national Zhiyang Huang, Chinese national Zhang Ruijin, and Dominican national Baoying Lin.