BEIJING -- Chinese vice foreign minister Fu Ying said Beijing was fully ready for an escalation of a drawn-out maritime standoff with the Philippines, as a tense row over a disputed shoal continues.

"The Chinese side has... made all preparations to respond to any escalation of the situation by the Philippine side," she told a Philippine diplomat in Beijing Monday, according to a statement posted on the foreign ministry website Tuesday.

The two countries have been locked in a territorial row over the disputed Scarborough Shoal -- or Huangyan island in Chinese -- in the South China Sea for one month, with both sides sending ships to the area in a tense standoff.

MANILA -- Journalist Ramon Tulfo has filed charges of grave coercion and physical injury against Raymart Santiago, wife Claudine Baretto and company, after getting involved in an altercation at the NAIA Terminal 3 yesterday.

Tulfo, who appeared before the Pasay City Prosecutor's office wearing sunglasses, said he initially didn't want to file a complaint against the Santiagos but changed his mind after alleged further verbal abuse from Claudine.

Tulfo's left and right temple as well as his right jaw are still swollen. He is also complaining of pain in his neck.

MANILA-–  Airline staff and security said they did not see columnist Ramon Tulfo kick or shove actress Claudine Barretto at the Cebu Pacific passenger assistance counter in Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) terminal 3.

In her sworn affidavit, airport security guard Eden Modejas said she saw Barretto berating Cebu Pacific ground staff Cid Charisse Bocboc and Kristine Anne Ilagan.

Modejas said Barretto was shouting at the 2 Cebu Pacific personnel, catching the attention of airport staff and other passengers.

MANILA -- Majority of Filipinos, or 63 percent, believe impeached Chief Justice Renato Corona has hidden wealth “based on the undeclared money and assets in his Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net worth (SALN),” a new survey by Social Weather Stations showed.

The SWS survey conducted March 10 to 13 also revealed almost half or 46 percent of Filipinos think people power should be used to force Corona to step down if the Senate, seating as impeachment court, does not convict him. Twenty-eight percent disagreed, while 25 percent were undecided as shown in the survey, whose results were published Monday by SWS’ media partner BusinessWorld.

Corona's defense panel is still presenting its evidence at this stage of the trial, which is scheduled to resume on May 7.

'Hidden wealth'