MANILA, Philippines -- For more than a month now, we've heard the rhetoric, seesawing from fire and brimstone to measured diplomatese, of Philippine and Chinese government officials as the standoff at Scarborough (Panatag) Shoal continues with no clear end in sight.
We have seen how the tension and their respective governments' posturing have inflamed emotions in both countries, with Chinese media showing pictures of Philippine flags being burned and our own global call to action against their "bullying."
But are we really getting the real picture on the ground, where ordinary mortals toil to get from day to day?
InterAksyon's Bernard Testa went to Binondo to find out.
