INQToday: Quiboloy still in PH but it’s ‘getting smaller’ for him – Abalos

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

PH to ‘stand our ground’ in South China Sea dispute

As the country marked the eight anniversary of the 2016 Permanent Court of Arbitration ruling on the West Philippine Sea / South China Sea on Friday, advocates renewed the call to declare July 12 as the “West Philippine Sea Day.”

Atin Ito leaders made the suggestion as it joined initiatives and expressions of support to uphold Manila’s landmark legal victory against Beijing.

US airs deep concern over China aggression in West Philippine Sea

On the eighth anniversary of the Permanent Court of Arbitration’s  2016 ruling that the nation has exclusive sovereign rights over the West Philippine Sea, the United States (US) said it remains “deeply concerned” over China’s assertion of territorial sovereignty over areas within the maritime jurisdiction of the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Brunei.

“The US remains deeply concerned about [China’s] assertion of territorial sovereignty over vast areas that are clearly within the maritime jurisdiction of Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, and Brunei, and where high seas freedoms of navigation and overflight apply under international law,” US Secretary of  State Antony Blinken, in a statement on Friday.

Quiboloy still in PH but it’s ‘getting smaller’ for him – Abalos

Fugitive televangelist Apollo Quiboloy is still in the Philippines but the country is “getting smaller ” for him, Interior Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr. said Friday.

Abalos’ remark came amid reports that the founder of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ already fled to China.

Gatchalian bares alleged P300,000 fake birth certificate racket

It reportedly costs P300,000 for Chinese nationals to illegally obtain a valid Philippine birth certificate, passport, and driver’s license, said Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian on Friday, citing his sources within the Chinese community.

“Sinabi nila sa akin na ang running price pala para makakuha ng birth certificate — kasama na [ang] passport, kasama na ang driver’s license is P300,000,” Gatchalian told reporters.

Controlling inflation still the top concern for Filipinos – Pulse Asia

Controlling inflation remains the top concern for Filipinos, a polling firm Pulse Asia survey a month before President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s State of the Nation Address (Sona) showed.

A report from Pulse Asia released on Friday showed that 72 percent of Filipinos feel controlling inflation should be immediately addressed by the administration, which is followed by increasing the pay of workers (44 percent), reducing the poverty of Filipinos (32 percent), creating more jobs (30 percent), and fighting graft and corruption in the government (22 percent).