{"id":6417,"date":"2026-07-18T08:02:23","date_gmt":"2026-07-18T07:02:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/balitangklik.com\/?p=6417"},"modified":"2026-07-18T08:07:49","modified_gmt":"2026-07-18T07:07:49","slug":"tokhang-continues-sans-digong","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/balitangklik.com\/?p=6417","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Tokhang\u2019 continues sans Digong"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Diego Morra<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The murder of American marine biologist Dr. Kent Carpenter, 73, on July 12, 2026, the 10th anniversary of the decision of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in The Hague that junked China\u2019s historic claim on Panatag Shoal and other maritime features in the South China Sea (SCS) is a chilling reminder that \u201ctokhang\u201d culture continues even as Rodrigo \u201cDigong\u201d Duterte is tucked away at the Scheveningen Prison in The Hague.<\/p>\n

The killing of a 24-year-old anti-Sara Duterte vlogger in Caloocan City who had recently numerous death threats, \u201cconditional\u201d or what-not, days later proved that those who lose arguments do not only resort to slander, as Socrates said. Murder is their final option, like the Davao Death Squad. In the Carpenter case, police said robbery was the motive even as Carpenter\u2019s companion was also raped by the suspect who apparently previously worked for the American marine biologist. In another case, a single father who was working as a motorcycle taxi driver, was also robbed and stabbed dead by a Sara Duterte partisan.<\/p>\n

So there, in less than a week, an American scientist who testified about the environmental destruction wrought by Chinese fishermen in the SCS, particularly in Panatag Shoal, not only about the use of cyanide, the trawling of the seabed, the unmitigated destruction of corals, the ravenous harvesting of giant clams, the slaughter of schools of demersal and pelagic fish species, was shot dead in his own home. Carpenter also worked relentlessly to promote the Cape Verde Passage as the center of global marine biodiversity and his testimony before the PCA was deemed instrumental in winning the case for the Philippines.<\/p>\n

Then, a vlogger who earned the ire of Sara Duterte partisans was shot dead in her home, and the manner of killing showed the perpetrators were crazy enough to perhaps undertake a contract killing, or even unpaid murder, in support of a bloody cause, the result of shared psychosis. The merciless killing of the motorcycle taxi driver is but the latest in a series of bloody crimes that vivify the truth that words are loaded pistols, and the threats from the top are made real down below and the bloodbath goes on unabated.<\/p>\n

Filipino geologist JB Lim, a UP alumnus, was shattered to learn what had happened to Dr. Carpenter, and it came days before another noted UP geologist, Abet Morillo, who had worked for petroleum companies and contributed much to research and exploration, succumbed to a lingering illness at 70. \u201cDeeply saddened to hear of the passing of Dr. Kent Carpenter. An internationally renowned marine biologist and conservation scientist. Kent\u2019s pioneering contributions to Philippine coral reef ecology were truly groundbreaking\u2014ultimately helping establish the central Philippines as the global “Center of the Center” for marine shore fish diversity,\u201d JB Lim said.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur paths first crossed back in the 1970s, when he was a young Peace Corps volunteer assigned to the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) and I was working as a geologist with the Ministry of Natural Resources (NRMC). We teamed up for a joint fisheries, biology, and geology exploratory study, sailing aboard a BFAR vessel to Apo Reef in Mindoro,\u201d he added. \u201cThat adventure eventually led us to co-author a paper titled “Coral Reef Mapping Using Landsat Data – Follow-up Studies,” which we proudly presented at the International Symposium on Remote Sensing in Manila. Time flies, but these wonderful memories linger. Rest in peace, Kent. You left an incredible legacy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Human rights lawyer Chato Marinas also lamented the demise of Carpenter, who spent more than four decades in the Philippines and promoted marine conservation as a passionate campaign among the people of Negros Oriental and his students who shared firm belief in environmental defense. He shared JB Lim\u2019s grief in losing Dr. Carpenter. \u201cCondolence for the loss of a friend, JB. You yourself have done much to broaden our understanding of the ocean and marine life,\u201d he told him. Marinas once headed the National Resources Development Corp. (NRDC) attached with the DENR. Human rights groups, workers and farmers organizations in Negros Island also condemned the murder of Carpenter.<\/p>\n

The Center for Information Resilience and Integrity Studies (CIRIS) also mourned the heartbreaking loss of Dr. Kent Carpenter, a vital scientific expert who testified for the Philippines at The Hague. He was tragically killed by gunmen in Negros Oriental on the evening of July 12, 2026\u2014exactly on the 10th anniversary of the Arbitral Award. \u201cDr. Carpenter chose to serve a country that wasn’t his. While many view the 2016 ruling as just a matter for lawyers and diplomats, he made it real. By carefully looking at the data and telling the truth about the destruction of our coral reefs, he proved that the fight for the West Philippine Sea isn’t just about lines on a map, but about food on our tables, the health of our seas, and the survival of our coastal communities,\u201d CIRIS said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe put his expertise at the service of a country that wasn\u2019t his, doing what good scientists do: Looking at the data and telling the truth. Because of his courage and dedication, Filipinos have a final and binding ruling that recognizes our maritime rights and the harm done to the West Philippine Sea. His legacy will endure for generations. Rest in peace, Dr. Carpenter,\u201d CIRIS concluded.#<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Diego Morra   The murder of American marine biologist Dr. Kent Carpenter, 73, on July 12, 2026, the 10th anniversary of the decision of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in The Hague that junked China\u2019s historic claim on Panatag Shoal and other maritime features in the South China Sea (SCS) is a chilling […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":6418,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6417","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-editoryal"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t