From the Bicol Mail (Jan 10): Rights group on drone: Who are they fooling?
A rights group on Tuesday accused American Embassy officials of lying for saying that the US-made target drone found drifting in Masbate waters by fishermen on Sunday was not used for spying. Paul Vincent Casilihan, spokesperson of Karapatan-Bicol, said the diplomatic officials were defensive. “Who are they fooling? Drones are remotely controlled and have spying capabilities, and Philippine Navy officials are saying that the recovered drone is largely used in reconnaisance,” said Casilihan in a statement sent to Bicol Mail.
On Sunday morning, a 4-meter long, US-made unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) or drone was recovered by fishermen Jolly Llacer and Ricky Cantoria in the waters off San Jacinto town in Ticao Island in Masbate. The Philippine National Police (PNP) in the island-province identified it through the markings found on the UAV.
Casilihan said the US drone “slyly flying Philippine airspace” could have been been used in the counterinsurgency campaign of the government. He said its presence in Philippine territory violated the sovereignty of the country.
The drone was retrieved on Monday morning by the Philippine Navy in Southern Luzon, said Senior Supt. Heriberto Olitoquit, Masbate PNP chief. As of Tuesday afternoon, no government official could explain how the drone found its way to Masbate waters.
Tina Malone, spokesperson of the US Embassy in Manila, was quoted on Monday as saying that the drone found in Masbate “was the kind typically used in military training as an air defense target.”
She said the recovered drone was the unarmed type and not used for surveillance.
But Major Harold Cabunoc, spokesperson of the Philippine Army, in a text message, said Philippine and US troops did not have joint military exercise in Bicol. The last time there was a joint military training in the region, Cabunoc said, was in the second quarter of 2009. He also denied that drones were taking part in the fight against communist guerillas.
Olitoquit said they had no idea why the drone found its way to Masbate. A provincial official said even Masbate Gov. Rizalina Seachon-Lanete did not receive a report on the recovery of the supposed drone in the seas off the southernmost province of Bicol.
http://www.bicolmail.com/2012/?p=5994
Good little Bicol=based commies fall in line with the main propaganda theme articulated by the CPP leadership, even if it defies logic and the truth. This was no surveillance aircraft. It was a target drone. And there was no violation of Philippine sovereignty. The drone simply drifted into Philippine waters. Most thoughtful Filipinos know the truth and reject outright the lies and deception purveyed by these half-witted commie propagandists.
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