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Drones: Sen. Risa Hontiveros, during a public hearing Wednesday, January 15, 2025, on the discovery of a submersible drone off the coast of Brgy. Inarawan, San Pascual, Masbate, asks Philippine National Police (PNP) Maritime Group Director Brigadier General Jonathan Cabal if a similar discovery had occurred in the past and if the drone in question is commercially available. Cabal told Hontiveros that a buoy, with markings of an American company, was retrieved off the coast of Catanduanes last year. He said the buoy was used for scientific sea exploration and was returned to the US Navy. Cabal said that based on their initial research, physical indication showed that the Masbate drone came from China. Department of National Defense (DND) Undersecretary Ignacio Madriaga said that initial statement from Philippine Navy spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad mentioned recoveries of drones in the Kalayaan Island Group and down south. However, he said they could not make a definite conclusion as to the origin or ownership of the drones because, like the current drone, no country has claimed them. “But as far as the National Defense is concerned, we will always consider them as a threat, as an intrusion of our sovereignty regardless whether it is commercial or military specifications,” he told Hontiveros. (Senate Public Relations and Information Bureau) |
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