6ID chief cites role of civilians in thwarting terror plots
A ranking military official underscored on Monday the role of civilians in the government's fight against terror groups. Major Gen. Cirilito Sobejana, commander of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division (ID) based in Datu Odin Sinsuat town, cited the vital information provided by residents in the recent recovery of improvised bombs, neutralization of bombing suspects, and the prevention of bombings by terror groups.
Philippine News Agency

MARAWI

China backs Philippines’ revamp of battle-hit Marawi
Nearly a year after the Philippine military defeated Isis-affiliated militants who had occupied the southern city Marawi, the government is poised to launch a $1bn project to rebuild the ruined town.
Financial Times

Reviving livelihood resiliency of Marawi IDPs
Humanitarian aid has always been part of the solution in many crisis situations, as many government agencies and humanitarian organizations continue to pouring assistance to the conflict-affected Marawi City.
Philippine Information Agency

Iligan-based Marawi IDPs finds comfort on Kathanor process
Hundreds of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) from Marawi city gathered at Upper Hanplanon covered court here today to participate in "Kathanor," the final Marawi IDP profiling headed by the Task Force Bangon Marawi (TFBM).
Philippine Information Agency

SOUTHEAST ASIA AND THE WORLD      

With boundaries blurring between crime and terror, international cooperation’s vital, UN highlights
Terror groups are getting increasingly-involved in “lucrative” criminal activities such as trading in natural resources and human trafficking, Michèle Coninsx, the Executive Director of the UN Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED), told the Security Council briefing on the issue.
United Nations News

Terror in Central Asia: Is ISIS safe haven moving from Syria to Afghanistan?
There are nearly 3,000 Central Asian militants that have been trained to fight in Syria and Iraq, according to the International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research. These militants went fighting either as ISIS affiliated (mainly Tajik and Kazakh fighters) or of the Qaedist al-Nusra Front (mainly Uzbek and Kyrgyz fighters).
Al Arabiya 

Washington’s silent war against Hezbollah in Latin America
On July 11, 2018, the government of Argentina took its first action against Hezbollah by freezing the financial assets of 14 individuals belonging to the Barakat clan in South America. Last week, Brazilian Federal Police arrested the leader of this clan, Assad Ahmad Barakat, who was sanctioned by U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) in 2004 and is considered one of Hezbollah’s most important financiers. 
The Hill

Religious radicalism as a trend
IN RECENT YEARS, much has been said about radicalism and its varied offshoots. True, the number of terrorist acts climbs up, the popularity of extreme right political forces grows, and the wave of left radical and anti-globalist movements, migration crises and international tension is rising. This is how everyday realities look in many countries of the world.
Modern Diplomacy
 

EDITORIAL - ‘The war is over’
ast Saturday, some 6,000 members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front lined a five-kilometer stretch of road from Cotabato City to Sultan Kudarat in Maguindanao, to welcome a visiting group from the Armed Forces of the Philippines led by chief of staff Gen. Carlito Galvez Jr.
Philippine Star

Ambushed PDEA personnel get aid from ARMM gov't
The regional government of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao has provided assistance to families of the five Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) agents killed during the Oct. 5 ambush in Kapai, Lanao del Sur.
Philippine News Agency

Vendetta eyed in PDEA-ARMM agents’ killing
Vendetta might be the motive behind the ambush in Kapai, Lanao del Sur that killed five agents of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (PDEA-ARMM), Maranao leaders said on Monday.
The Manila Times, Manila Standard, UNTV, NDBC News

14 PRO-9 cops receive ‘Medalya ng Kagalingan’
The Police Regional Office-9 (PRO-9) on Monday awarded the “Medalya ng Kagalingan” to 14 policemen for their accomplishments in the campaign against the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) and other lawless elements in the region.
Philippine News Agency

BANGSAMORO ORGANIC LAW

The President’s health
A man should always hope that the other should live longer and well. In the case of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte’s, the more it is hoped for. Aside from being the first president to have hailed from Mindanao and with a Moro blood running in his veins, he is the father of the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL), a landmark piece of legislation that can spur the real start of healing process in Mindanao, especially in Moro-dominated areas.
Luwaran

Tumpukan Bangsa Sama conducts series of FGD - Consultations on BOL with Sama Elders in Tawi - Tawi
The Tumpukan Sama Organization that advocates for One Tawi - Tawi for Bangsamoro conducted series of consultations and Focus Group Discussions (FGD) on Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) in different Municipalities and Barangays of the Province.
Luwaran

MAGUINDANAO AND COTABATO CITY

BIFF guns seized in Maguindanao clash
Army troopers recovered four high-powered  firearms following a brief encounter with Islamic State-linked Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) in the Maguindanao town of Mamasapano on Sunday. 
Philippine News Agency, The Manila Times, NDBC News

Invitation to ‘White House’: Duterte need go to the US
If President Rodrigo Duterte won’t go to the White House, the White House will go to the Philippines, or Maguindanao to be specific. Officials of the province have invited Mr. Duterte to inaugurate the provincial capitol designed to look exactly like the White House, official residence of the US president.
Philippine Daily Inquirer

LANAO PROVINCES

BASILAN

SULU 

Mat Sabu: Trilateral maritime patrols have reduced crime in Sulu sea
The trilateral maritime patrols involving Malaysia, Philippines and Indonesia have reduced cross-border crime in the Sulu sea. Defence Minister Mohamad Sabu said cooperation under the Trilateral Cooperation Agreement had benefitted Sabah’s tourism sector and economy.
New Straits Times

TAWI-TAWI 

DRUGS

Albayalde assures no Mexico-like brazen attacks in PH
The Philippine National Police (PNP) does not see a scenario of drug dealers organizing themselves into groups and fight back at law enforcement agencies hunting them down.
Manila Bulletin

Guimaras remains illegal drugs transshipment point: W. Visayas police
The island province of Guimaras remains as transshipment point of illegal drugs, the Police Regional Office in Western Visayas (PRO-6) said Monday.
Philippine News Agency

Ozamiz judge killed in ambush
A judge was killed in an ambush in Ozamiz City on Monday afternoon, police said.  Investigators said Edmundo Pintac of Ozamiz City Regional Trial Court Branch 15 was on his way home in Barangay Banadero when he was shot dead by 4 men on motorcycles. 
ABS-CBN News, CNN Philippines

CHR condemns killing of Ozamiz RTC executive judge
The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) condemned the killing of Ozamiz City Reigional Trial Court Executive Judge Edmundo Pintac who was ambushed by still unidentified assailants on Monday afternoon.
Philippine Daily Inquirer

Operations/ Incidents

Drug suspect dead in Bukidnon buy-bust op
A drug suspect was shot and killed by police operatives after a buy-bust operation in the Bukidnon town of Lantapan over the weekend. Police claimed that the suspect, 19-year-old Aldrin Marcelino, opened fire first on the police that prompted the latter to fire back.
Philippine News Agency

Grenade-wielding drug suspect killed in police operation
Police shot dead a man wanted for violations of the anti-drug law after he attempted to pull off the safety pin of a hand grenade he was holding during a pre-dawn law enforcement operation Monday in the Sultan Kudarat town of Lambayong.  
Philippine News Agency

1 killed, 5 arrested in Davao City drug operations
The series of drug operations and implementation of search warrants in the Davao Region over the weekend led to the death of a suspected drug pusher and the arrest of five others.
Philippine News Agency

Drug suspect to arresting cops: "We will all die here"
Police killed a wanted man for violations of anti-drug law after he attempted to pull off the safety pin of a hand grenade he was holding during law enforcement operation Monday dawn in Purok Namnama, Barangay Poblacion, Lamabayong, Sultan Kudarat.   
NDBC News

‘Drug haven’ sa QC, sinalakay; 50 arestado
May 50 drug suspects ang naaresto ng mga tauhan ng Quezon City Police District (QCPD) at Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) sa isinagawang pagsalakay kamakalawa sa Sitio San Roque, sa Brgy. Bagong Pag-asa, Quezon City, na itinuturing na isang umano’y ‘drug haven.’
Pilipino Star Ngayon

Recovery and Rehabilitation  

ILLICIT FIREARMS, EXPLOSIVES AND AMMUNITION

CROSS-BORDER TRADING/ SMUGGLING  

HUMAN TRAFFICKING 

ILLEGAL GAMBLING

2,701 illegal gamblers nabbed, 787 cases filed in Bicol
The Philippine National Police (PNP) in Bicol arrested a total of 2,701 individuals in various anti-illegal gambling operations conducted from January to September this year, the Police Regional Office 5 (PRO5) said.
Philippine News Agency

Duterte back to work after family vacation in Hong Kong
President Duterte is back to work after feeling rejuvenated from his family vacation in Hong Kong. Presidential Communications Secretary Martin Andanar said the President, who returned home from his private trip abroad, was scheduled to convene a Cabinet meeting in Malacañang on Monday afternoon.
Manila Bulletin

Duterte went to HK with a ‘bundle of cash’? Not true, says Bong Go
President Rodrigo Duterte didn’t go to Hong Kong with “a bundle of cash” for a shopping-spree, Special Assistant to the President Christopher “Bong” Go said Monday.
Philippine Daily Inquirer, ABS-CBN News

Duterte tells Cabinet medical test results came back 'negative'
President Rodrigo Duterte told his Cabinet that his medical test results came back "negative," said two sources present at the Cabinet meeting held on Monday, October 8.
Rappler

Palace should inform public of President’s health status, says Hilbay
An expert on the Constitution on Monday said Malacañang should inform the public of the status of President Rodrigo Duterte’s health.
Manila Bulletin

Duterte not aware of Roque’s leave
President Duterte’s top aide said that the Chief Executive was not initially aware that Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque went on leave.
Manila Bulletin

Bolsonaro Ascendant: The Similarities to Rodrigo Duterte
On Sunday, far-right Brazilian presidential candidate Jair Bolsonaro outperformed polls and won roughly 46 percent of the vote in the first round of Brazil’s presidential elections, coming close to the 50 percent threshold that would have given him the victory outright.
Council for Foreign Relations

TURNING POINT: Healing the President, Healing the Nation
There is no quarrel that the President is sick. He himself admitted that he is long time ago. So, why should this issue on transparency persist?  He has given his word. More than that, isn’t it that action speaks louder than word?
Mindanews

Arroyo: Public should be alarmed only if Duterte admits serious illness
House Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo said the public should only be alarmed if President Rodrigo Duterte says his illness is serious and life-threatening.
Philippine Daily Inquirer

The day after Duterte
In his legendary “Prison Notebooks,” Italian thinker Antonio Gramsci said, “[a] common error in historico-political analysis consists in an inability to find the correct relation between what is organic and what is conjunctural.”
Philippine Daily Inquirer

A Duterte as ES
THERE are two circumstances that warrant a change in the cabinet. There are said to be six Cabinet members who are running in the midterm elections. This could be the most opportune time to affect a cabinet change. Get younger people, good implementors and strategic thinkers to be part of the second half of the term of PRRD. 
The Manila Times

-----------

Seares: ‘Ousting’ Leni Robredo before she gains the President’s seat
PRESIDENT Duterte said it at least twice that his vice president, Leni Robredo, does not have “the skills of running a country like the Philippines.”
Sunstar Cebu

DISASTER

MINDANAO

ELECTION RELATED

More than 2.5M register as new voters, exceeding Comelec target
More than 2.5 million Filipinos registered as new voters during the last registration period, exceeding the target of the Commission on Elections (Comelec), said the poll body’s spokesman James Jimenez.
Rappler

Leni to decide on opposition senatorial slate, says Kiko
Vice President Ma. Leonor “Leni” Robredo will have the final say in the opposition coalition’s senatorial slate for the 2019 midterm elections, Liberal Party (LP) President Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan said.
Manila Bulletin

Opposition coalition to announce Senate slate only after October 17
Senator Francis Pangilinan, president of the Liberal Party (LP), said the opposition coalition will announce its final senatorial slate only after October 17, the last day of filing of certificates of candidacy (COCs).
Rappler

Sotto confirms 9 NPC senatorial bets for 2019 polls
The Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC) has now drafted at least nine senatorial bets for 2019, Senate  President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III said on  Monday. “As of now, nine,” Sotto, senior council leader of the party, told reporters in an interview at the Senate.
Philippine Daily Inquirer

Mocha Uson to run for office in 2019
Former Presidential Communications Assistant Secretary Mocha Uson on Monday said she will seek an elective position in the upcoming May 2019 elections.
Manila Bulletin

Prelates discourage priests from running for office in 2019
Bishop Buenaventura Famadico, chairman of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines Episcopal Commission on Clergy, reminded priests who are planning to enter politics that this is not part of their task.
Manila Bulletin

Political Violence

PNP tags 7,915 villages as ‘election hotspots’
The Philippine National Police has drawn up an initial list of barangay “hotspots” or “areas of concern” that may be susceptible to violence in next year’s midterm elections.
Philippine Daily Inquirer

North Cotabato village chair slain in ambush
An incumbent village chair was killed in an ambush by still unidentified gunmen after he attended the village flag raising ceremonies Monday morning, police said.   
NDBC News, Philippine Daily Inquirer

Gunman, bodyguard killed in attack on Samar ex-mayor
 A former mayor of San Jose de Buan town in Samar was seriously wounded while his bodyguard was killed in a pre-dawn attack on Monday. Ananias Rebato, 57, is still recovering at the Eastern Visayas Regional Medical Center in this city after sustaining gunshot wounds when four armed men attacked him during a fiesta celebration in Babaclayon village, San Jose de Buan town past 1 a.m.
Philippine News Agency

CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS

OPINION: Gloria Arroyo is crudely and secretly ramming through a legal bid to stay in power forever
Can it get more thick-faced and ham-fisted than this? Thanks to the alertness of ABS-CBN reporter RG Cruz, we now know that House Speaker and former President Gloria Arroyo has authored a House Resolution to scrap the 1987 Constitution and replace it with her own version of a federal government.
ABS-CBN News

Robredo won’t succeed Duterte under House panel’s draft federal charter
A House committee draft federal charter authored by Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and other lawmakers skips over Vice President Leni Robredo as President Rodrigo Duterte's successor during the transition period to a federal form of government in the event he is unable to perform his duties.
GMA News

House initiates fresh moves to revise 1987 Constitution
The House of Representatives initiated on Monday fresh moves to revise the 1987 Constitution by adding a Bill of Duties and by deleting the three-year term limits for all elective officials, except the president and the vice president.
Manila Bulletin, Business World Online, Philippine Daily Inquirer

Where’s the ‘local’ in federal?
“All politics is local,” so the saying goes. This may give the impression that only the distribution of local goods and services matter to the regular voter. However, the person this is attributed to, the late American Speaker of the House Thomas Philip “Tip” O’Neill, was animated by a larger world view — appealing to local concerns in order to advance a national economic policy agenda.
Business World Online

De Lima underscores dangers of federalism
Detained Senator Leila de Lima rejected anew Duterte administration’s bid for a federal form of government, which she said will lead to further division and disintegration of the nation.
Manila Bulletin

JUDICIARY

Chief Justice De Castro leads last SC flag ceremony
Chief Justice Teresita J. Leonardo de Castro retires on Wednesday (October 10) when she reaches the mandatory retirement age of 70 for members of the judiciary. Today, she led Supreme Court (SC) justices and court officials and employees in her last flag-raising ceremony at the SC offices on Padre Faura St., Ermita, Manila.
Manila Bulletin

SC under De Castro: 32 reforms, projects implemented
The Supreme Court approved and implemented 32 reforms and projects under Chief Justice Teresita Leonardo-de Castro, who formally assumed office on Aug. 25, 2018.
Philippine Daily Inquirer, Manila Standard

JBC meets to deliberate SC shortlist
The Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) meets today to deliberate who to place in its shortlist of candidates for the Supreme Court (SC) seat vacated by Chief Justice Teresita Leonardo-De Castro.
Manila Bulletin

‘Donation an expression of social conscience’ – SC
The Supreme Court (SC) has underscored charitable work “as an important social fabric that eliminates inequality” as it stressed that “charitable giving must be encouraged through support from society and the courts.”
Manila Bulletin

LEGISLATIVE

Senate OKs bill prohibiting corporal punishment against children below 18
The Senate on Monday passed on third and final reading a bill seeking to prohibit corporal punishment against children below 18 years old.
Manila Bulletin

Senate OKs bill penalizing catcalling, other forms of street-based harassment
A bill that seeks to protect women from catcalling and other forms of street-based harassment was passed on third and final reading by the Senate Monday.
Manila Bulletin

LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNITS (LGUs)

263 LGUs pass 2018 Seal of Good Local Governance – DILG
Some 263 local government units (LGUs) passed the 2018 Seal of Good Local Governance (SGLG), the most stringent and challenging standard set by the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG).
Manila Bulletin

DEFENSE AND SECURITY

PH Navy to join China war games
The Philippine Navy (PN) is expected to join other Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-member countries and China in a joint military exercise set on October 22-29, 2018 in Zhanjiang, China.
Manila Bulletin, The Manila Times

Cop tagged in kidnap-slay case escapes after arrest
A police officer tagged as the mastermind in the abduction and killing of a businessman in Pasay City in 2017 was arrested in Cagayan recently but managed to slip past police escorts and made good his escape, the Philippine National Police (PNP) confirmed Monday.
Manila Bulletin

ECONOMY AND INVESTMENTS

Duterte to call for economic resilience in ASEAN
President Duterte is set to call the call for economic resilience in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) amid global challenges that affect the region’s economy. Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary Junever Mahilum-West made the statement days before Duterte flies to Bali, Indonesia for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Leaders’ Gathering on Thursday.
Manila Bulletin

Gov’t partially awards T-bills as rates rise
THE GOVERNMENT made a partial award of the Treasury bills (T-bill) on offer yesterday as investors priced in the slower-than-expected inflation print for last month. The Bureau of the Treasury borrowed just P13.548 billion from the T-bills it offered on Monday out of the P15 billion it intended to borrow.
Business World Online

PHL and the economic chaos
In 1968 pop art painter Andy Warhol said, “In the future everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes”. Warhol probably never said that, and people who claim to have introduced the phrase got their 15 minutes of fame, thereby proving the point.
Business Mirror

‘Softer-than-expected inflation’ buoys Philippine peso
The Philippine peso appreciated against the US dollar for the second consecutive trading day on Monday, fueled by what the market considered as slower-than-expected inflation figures. The local currency gained 4.5 centavos to close at P54.185:$1 on Monday, versus P54.23:$1 on Friday.
GMA News

BUILD, BUILD, BUILD

OFFICIAL DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE

Philippines, Japan sign loan deal for New Bohol Airport expansion
THE PHILIPPINE and Japanese governments signed on Monday the supplemental loan agreement for the ongoing New Bohol Airport expansion project on Panglao Island.
Business World Online

GRAFT AND CORRUPTION

FOREIGN RELATIONS  

Duterte may hold bilateral meetings with Indonesia, others at Bali talks
President Rodrigo Duterte may have time for bilateral meetings with fellow leaders of Association of Southeast Asian Nations countries when he goes to Bali Indonesia this week. Duterte is scheduled to leave for Bali on Wednesday to attend a gathering of ASEAN leaders on October 11.
Philippine Star, Manila Standard

West Philippine Sea

LABOR

TUCP urges Duterte to adjust wage rates
Alarmed by the rising inflation, the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) is urging President Duterte to adjust the wage rates. “If given a chance, we will urge President Duterte to act on the TUCP P320 wage increase across the board bill filed at the House of Representatives and order the regional wage board to adjust the minimum wage rates of minimum wage earners nationwide,” TUCP president Raymond Mendoza said in a statement.
Manila Bulletin

Minimum-wage earners likely to get pay hike by end of October
Minimum-wage earners in Metro Manila may finally get their much-awaited wage hike within the month. This after the Metro Manila regional wage board said it is targeting to complete its public consultations for its new wage order before the end of October.
Business Mirror

TRANSPORTATION

Gov’t not ready for jeepney modernization — Poe
Senators are inclined to believe that the administration is not yet ready to implement its planned modernization of public utility vehicles (PUVs), specifically jeepneys.
Manila Bulletin

Senate okays child restraint in motor vehicles bill
The Senate on Monday passed on third and final reading the bill seeking to provide protection to infants and young children from deaths and serious injuries arising from road crashes and other traffic-related incidents.
Manila Bulletin

LTFRB distributes over 49,000 fuel subsidy cards
More than 49,000 legitimate jeepney franchise holders have already received their fuel subsidy cards, three months after the government launched the Pantawid Pasada Program.
Manila Bulletin

HEALTH 

AGRICULTURE

JICA opens agri-business, tourism training in Okinawa for young Filipinos
The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) announced it is opening slots for young Filipinos to study agri-business and agri-tourism in Japan to help the Philippines develop its human resources and sustain its recent economic gains. 
Rappler

EDUCATION

Teachers should not trivialize issues in tests, says DepEd
The Department of Education (DepEd) neither tolerates nor supports statements that put the police in a bad light and urged teachers to ensure that their mission and vision – particularly the core values of the department – are instilled among learners.
Manila Bulletin

Senate passes bill on nat’l eye-screening of kindergartners
The Senate has approved on third and final reading a measure institutionalizing an early detection of visual problems among kindergarten pupils nationwide.
Manila Bulletin

Tell it to SunStar: Tribute to teachers
N TIME with the observance of World Teachers’ Day, we are one with our teachers who selflessly dedicate their lives in serving Filipino children. There is no word that can fully describe our gratitude to all the teachers who are striving to make schools and other learning spaces conducive and nurturing for learning.
Sunstar Cebu

ENERGY

POVERTY

About 2.4-M Filipinos may have plunged into poverty as inflation continue to rise
An estimated 2.4 million Filipinos may have plunged into poverty as inflation rate in the country continued to rise, recording 6.7 percent in September. Albay Rep. Joey Sarte-Salceda, who serves as the unofficial economic adviser of former president and now Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, said 30 percent of the country’s poor are the worst hit sector as a result of the continued rise in inflation rate.
Manila Bulletin

HOUSING

Senate approves bill creating housing department
The Senate on Monday approved on third and final reading the bill seeking to consolidate all housing agencies with the creation of the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development.
Manila Bulletin, Business World Online, Philippine News Agency

TOURISM

Task force adopts tourism guidelines to protect Boracay
To protect Boracay against unsustainable tourism practices, the Boracay Inter-Agency Task Force (BIATF) has adopted a set of guidelines to protect the world-famous resort island ahead of its scheduled reopening on October 26.
Business Mirror

ENVIRONMENT AND NATURAL RESOURCES 

COMMUNICATION AND TECHNOLOGY

DEVELOPMENT SECTOR