MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte is known for going off-script in his public speeches that would sometimes run for over an hour. Late Wednesday night, the Department of National Defense said a Chinese vessel had a “collision” with a Filipino fishing boat in Reed Bank in the West Philippine Sea on June 9. The "collision" sunk the Filipinos' boat and left the 22 fishermen to fend for themselves. It was later known that the fishermen were asleep in their anchored boat when the Chinese vessel hit them. On Thursday, Duterte gave a speech at the distribution of certificates of land ownership award to Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries in General Santos City.

Source: Philippine Star June 14, 2019 04:18 UTC