(UPDATE) THE Filipino soldier who lost a thumb during a confrontation with Chinese sailors in Ayungin Shoal in June is back on duty in the West Philippine Sea, with the digit restored, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief Gen. Romeo Brawner said Monday.
In an interview, Brawner said the thumb of Seaman First Class Underwater Operator Jeffrey Facundo was reattached sometime in September and is fully functional.
He said the procedure to reattach Facundo’s thumb was performed free of charge by doctors from the Makati Medical Center Foundation.
Seaman First Class Underwater Operator Jeffrey Facundo narrates the collision between a Chinese Coast Guard ship and a Filipino vessel performing rotation and resupply mission in Ayungin Shoal on June 17, 2024 during the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations’ hearing on June 25. PHOTO BY RENE H. DILAN
Meanwhile, China has yet to respond to the Philippines’ demand for payment for the equipment damage and losses incurred when the China Coast Guard (CCG) harassed Manila’s rotation and resupply mission to Ayungin Shoal in June.
“China has yet to respond. But we already gave a letter to the Department of Foreign Affairs, so that this will be made part of our demand,” Brawner said in a media briefing at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City Monday.
The AFP has demanded P60 million from Beijing after the CCG crew took at least seven rifles in cases, punctured two rigid-hulled inflatable boats, and damaged navigational and communications equipment during the June 17 harassment.
Eight Philippine Navy sailors were injured, including Facundo.
Ayungin Shoal is a submerged reef in the Spratly Islands located 105 nautical miles west of Palawan and is within the Philippines 200-mile exclusive economic zone.
Since 1999, the BRP Sierra Madre has been grounded in Ayungin Shoal to serve as an outpost for Filipino troops and a symbol of Philippine sovereignty. FRANCISCO TUYAY,
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