On the treason of Duterte with regard to the onerous loans from China
Duterte and his cronies are so greedy and eager to collect privately hundreds of millions of dollars as finder’s fees for brokering the billions of dollars of loans from China for overpriced infrastructure projects.
NDFP
Duterte would be the first President to really go after the Maoist insurgency
PRESIDENT Duterte last week ordered the National Security Council to set up a National Task Force to deal with the country’s nearly half a century old communist-led armed insurgency.
The Manila Times
Rebel leader hits guv’s ‘stinking drama’
Negros Occidental Gov. Alfredo Marañon Jr. is the alleged kingpin of the big despotic landlords in Negros, National Democratic Front Chief Frank Fernandez said. In a statement sent to media outfits on Nov 1, Fernandez said that, “His (Marañon) move to convene what he calls Task Force Hustisya stinks of deceit and ill motives.”
The Daily Guardian
Army to Karapatan: ‘Shut up and stop your lies’
“Shut up and stop your lies!” This was the message of the newly installed 303rd Brigade commander, Col. Benedict Arevalo to Karapatan after the militant group blamed the Revolutionary Proletarian Army (RPA) and the Special Civilian Active Auxiliary (SCAA) for the death of nine sugar workers in Sagay City.
The Daily Guardian
SECURITY THREAT: Reds could disrupt mega dam project
The security of people working on the P11.2-billion Jalaur River Multipurpose Project (JRMP) Stage II in the hinterlands of Calinog town is a concern, according to Mayor Alex Centena. He received information on the presence of New People’s Army (NPAs) rebels in the project area.
Panay News
Red October/ White Christmas/ Koda Supermarket/ Oplan Bungkalan
Peace Talks
Incidents/ Operations
Skeletal remains of ‘datu,’ wife discovered in Agusan del Norte
Slain in the 1990s by suspected New People’s Army (NPA) rebels, the skeletal remains of an alleged “datu,” or a ruler of indigenous people (IP), and his wife have been discovered by government forces and given decent burial, the Philippine National Police (PNP) shared on Sunday.
Manila Bulletin
Army troops recover firearms, war matériel in Davao City
Army troops from the 16th Infantry Battalion recovered an arms cache and assorted war matériel in Sitio Kialaw, Barangay Malabog, Paquibato District, this city. Civil Military Operations Officer, 1Lt.Edelyn Glarian, on Sunday said the arms cache and war matériel were tipped off by three members of the New People’s Army’s (NPA) Pulang Bagani Command (PBC) 1 who surrendered to the government due to economic hardship.
Philippine News Agency
Wounded cops in Bukidnon blast now safe
THE three members of the 1003rd Mobile Company who were wounded in a grenade explosion in San Fernando, Bukidnon, last week, have been discharged from the hospital, a Northern Mindanao police official said over the weekend.
Sunstar Cagayan de Oro
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MARAWI
‘Security is indivisible…’
As long as there is anyone in the world who suffers injustice and insecurity, none of us has security and justice…” Thus concluded Martina Weitsch, in a brief but insightful article, “Mobilizing public opinion for peace: the next challenge for peacebuilding communities” (Berghof Dialogue Series 2009).
Philippine Daily Inquirer
Gifts of knowledge and wellness from the SM Store to Marawi families
ONE year after the liberation of Marawi, The SM Store continues to assist families affected by the siege through its Donate-A- Book, Give the Gift of Wellness, and Share Your Extras campaigns.
Sunstar Cagayan de Oro
SOUTHEAST ASIA AND THE WORLD
Terrorism in Egypt reaching its last stop
At a time when Egypt seeks to regain and expand its regional and international role and to move towards more power; and in conjunction with the launch of its second edition of the World Youth Forum (WYF) in the city of Sharm el-Sheikh bringing together thousands of local and foreign youth, terrorists spoil the scene by attacking a bus carrying worshipers returning from a remote Coptic Christian monastery in upper Egypt on Friday, killing at least seven and wounding another 19 including children.
Egypt Today
Iran's high legislative body rejects bill on joining UN Combating Financing of Terrorism convention
Iran's high legislative body on Sunday rejected the bill on joining the UN Combating the Financing of Terrorism (CFT) convention, official IRNA news agency reported.
Xinhua
State vs extremism
Religion has been a controversial and sensitive topic for long. Ever since the creation of Pakistan, religious sentiment has played a significant role in shaping the country’s future. Pakistan, itself, was founded based upon religious sentiment.
Pakistan Today
Exploring British Muslims through the Lens of Youth, Creativity and Activism
Whether it is extremism, immigration, integration or crime, Muslims are usually at the centre of discussion in Europe. Post 7/7 Britain is no exception with Islam and Muslims appearing in headlines almost daily and the focus on particularly young Muslims for mostly negative reasons continues unabated.
The Platform
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BANGSAMORO ORGANIC LAW
Duterte to talk peace with Nur after BOL plebiscite
President Duterte is planning to resume peace talks with Moro National Liberation Front (MILF) founding chairman, Nur Misuari, once the proposed Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) is ratified in a plebiscite early next year. In his recent visit to Cagayan de Oro, the President said he hopes the “yes votes” would win in the upcoming Bangsamoro plebiscite so he could deal again with Misuari.
Manila Bulletin, Luwaran
MAGUINDANAO AND COTABATO CITY
LANAO PROVINCES
BASILAN
SULU
Freed Sayyaf captive says ransom paid
A recently-freed Abu Sayyaf captive said presidential peace adviser Jesus Dureza had helped facilitate his release and that his family paid an “undetermined” amount of ransom for his freedom. Jose Duterte, 66, a farmer, said he was freed by his captors on Nov. 1 around 1:30 p.m. at Barangay Kandayok, Panamao town, in Sulu after Dureza negotiated for his release.
Philippine Daily Inquirer
TAWI-TAWI
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DRUGS
NGO: Drug war worsens ‘palit-puri’
“Kama o kulong” (bed or prison) was the question oftentimes posed by errant policemen to women who either were caught violating the law or had relatives facing charges. And out of fear and desperation, they would agree to unwanted sexual intercourse that perpetrators “enjoyed with impunity,” Jean Enriquez, executive director of Coalition Against Trafficking in Women-Asia Pacific (CATW-AP) told the Inquirer.
Philippine Daily Inquirer
Demand and supply
If one wants to stabilize prices of a commodity, like rice, one can address both supply and demand. Increasing supply will drive prices down while lowering demand, shifting from rice to corn grits, could also lower prices. In the case of illegal drugs, one can eliminate the problem by both decreasing supply and demand. This is what the Duterte anti-illegal drugs campaign should have done.
Manila Bulletin
Random drug tests for drivers continue
The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency-Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (PDEA-ARMM) is continuing its random drug testing of public transportation drivers in this city after it was launched during Undas 2018.
The Manila Times
Operations/ Incidents
5 nabbed in Davao City drug buy-bust ops
Some five suspected drug pushers were arrested, and a loose firearm was confiscated in four buy-bust operations in Davao City on Saturday, police said. In the buy-bust operation conducted at around 2:30 p.m. in Purok 10, Tibungco, this city, operatives of the Sasa Police Station arrested James Castro, 29, and Mar Aries Darwin, 28, who are both jeepney barkers and residents of Tibungco.
Philippine News Agency
Ex-cop, nephew nabbed for selling ‘shabu’ in Pateros
An anonymous text led to the arrest of a dismissed police officer and his nephew after they allegedly sold “shabu” (crystal meth) to undercover policemen at Barangay Tabacalera in Pateros on Saturday.
Philippine Daily Inquirer
Drug suspect wounded in scuffle with cop
A drug suspect was wounded when he allegedly tried to grab a policeman’s gun in Quezon City on Saturday. Reggie Punzalan, a construction worker, was taken to Novaliches District Hospital after he was hit by a bullet in his left ankle, according to the Quezon City Police District.
Philippine Daily Inquirer
Recovery and Rehabilitation
ILLICIT FIREARMS, EXPLOSIVES AND AMMUNITION
Army destroys illegal guns
The military on Thursday destroyed hundreds of unlicensed guns surrendered to authorities by their owners. The guns were from owners in the provinces of Maguindanao, Sultan Kudarat and North Cotabato.
Philippine Daily Inquirer
CROSS-BORDER TRADING/ SMUGGLING
HUMAN TRAFFICKING
SCAM
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2 former gov't employees convicted of graft for land scam
The Sandiganbayan 4th Division found two former government employees guilty of graft for a land scam, with a jail sentence of 6 to 10 years. Saidona Abas, from the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) in Soccsksargen, and Benigno Daga, geodetic engineer of the then-Bureau of Lands (now Land Management Bureau) in Cotabato City, were convicted for allowing the transfer of a 19.69-hectare farm in Upi, Maguindanao, to bogus tenants.
Rappler
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[OPINION] The Lumad are not the villains
Murderers and their accomplices stole the spotlight. Mocha Uson, along with representatives from Magahat-Bagani, conducted a program in front of Quezon Hall at UP Diliman to show the "real" story behind the Lumad.
Rappler
‘Lumad’ teacher’s mom abducted
The mother of a volunteer teacher at a “lumad” (indigenous peoples) school in Compostela Valley province has been abducted, allegedly by the military, to pressure the teacher to turn herself over to authorities as a rebel supporter.
Philippine Daily Inquirer
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Aussie nun slams ‘reign of tyranny’ in Philippines
An elderly Australian nun who lost a long legal battle with Manila to stop her deportation attacked President Rodrigo Duterte’s “reign of tyranny” as she returned home Sunday. Sister Patricia Fox, who spent almost three decades working with Philippine laborers, farmers and urban poor, was accused of illegally engaging in political activism as Duterte’s administration cracked down on foreign critics on its soil.
Manila Standard
Child Rights Network urges gov’t to curb child abuse by police
Child rights advocates are calling on the government to ensure that children’s rights and welfare are heavily safeguarded and not be turned into mere collateral damage in connection to its anti-illegal drugs campaign.
Manila Bulletin
Fox leaving PH just ‘temporary’ — Robredo
Australian missionary Sister Patricia Fox leaving the Philippines is just “temporary” and she will be back someday to continue her mission of helping more Filipinos.
Manila Bulletin
Solving a problem like Patricia
PATRICIA Anne Fox is a frail-looking woman. She’s not an ordinary woman; she’s a nun. She’s not an ordinary nun; she’s 71 years old and a lawyer.
The Manila Times
Killings
Martial Law
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Lost in translation?
n the first weeks of Rodrigo Duterte’s presidency, our Davao-based reporter, who has covered him since his days as mayor, advised our news desk not to take everything he said seriously. And since those first weeks of the Duterte presidency, our problem in the news desk – like much of the rest of the country, I guess – has been when to tell if he’s joking or not, and whether certain topics are no joking matter, especially for the leader of the republic.
Philippine Star
BIR chief reshuffles RDOs anew
Commissioner Caesar R. Dulay of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) has conducted another revamp of revenue district officers (RDO) based in Metro Manila and elsewhere to further enhance tax collection efforts.
Manila Bulletin
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Robredo hits militarization in government
Vice President and opposition leader Leni Robredo on Sunday raised her objections to the supposed militarization of government under the Duterte administration.
Manila Bulletin
DISASTER
MINDANAO
ELECTION RELATED
De Lima confident 8 senatorial bets of Oposisyon Koalisyon are ‘hope of PH’
Opposition Senator Leila de Lima on Sunday expressed confidence that the eight-man senatorial slate of the Oposisyon Koalisyon (OK) for the 2019 midterm elections is the “hope of the Philippines.”
Manila Bulletin
Election-related Violence
CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS
JUDICIARY
LEGISLATIVE
LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNITS (LGUs)
DEFENSE AND SECURITY
Military pension fund up for Duterte nod
President Duterte is studying the proposed new pension system for uniformed personnel submitted for his consideration by the economic team last month, which will collect contributions from active personnel.
Philippine Daily Inquirer
ECONOMY AND INVESTMENTS
World Bank defends methodology in doing business survey
THE World Bank has defended its methodology, amid complaints filed by the Philippine government that the country’s Ease of Doing Business ranking did not reflect the true state of the business environment in the country.
Business Mirror
PHL hopeful of keeping trade privileges with EU
THE Philippines will most likely retain its trade privilege with the European Union, as the economic bloc reportedly found improvements in the country’s human-rights situation. Trade Undersecretary Ceferino S. Rodolfo Jr. said the EU mission tasked to deliberate on the country’s General System of Preferences Plus (GSP+) took note of strides made by the Philippines in terms of adhering to human-rights standards.
Business Mirror, Business World Online
October inflation seen easing to 6.5% on stable food prices
The October inflation rate likely contracted to 6.5 percent, from the 6.7 percent recorded in September, as food prices have started to stabilize, according to the Department of Finance (DOF).
Business Mirror, Philippine Star
Economists see faster growth in Q3
The economy likely grew at a faster pace in the third quarter as robust government expenditures on public goods and services, especially infrastructure, offset the impact of higher prices on consumer spending.
Philippine Daily Inquirer, The Manila Times
Peso likely to rise ahead of data
THE PESO could maintain its strength this week ahead of positive inflation and economic growth data expected onshore, which could offset the possible appreciation of the dollar. The local unit ended the shortened trading week at P53.535 versus the greenback on Oct. 31, stronger than its P53.59-per-dollar finish the previous day. This was the peso’s best showing in nearly two months since it ended at P53.46 on Sept. 3.
Business World Online
BUILD, BUILD, BUILD
De Lima seeks probe into 2 Build, Build, Build projects displacing thousands
Detained Senator Leila De Lima has filed a resolution seeking an investigation into two multi-billion projects under the government's "Build, Build, Build" program which would displace almost 200,000 families in Metro Manila.
GMA News
OFFICIAL DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE
GRAFT AND CORRUPTION
The economic costs of corruption in PH
The recent $200 million Customs debacle may be just a tip of the iceberg. Due to illicit financial flows, the Philippines has lost almost $10 billion annually. Tax evasion may be just as costly. In this status quo, only a fully independent anti-graft campaign can succeed.
The Manila Times
FOREIGN RELATIONS
West Philippine Sea
OPINION: China announces operation of weather station in Spratlys prior to Xi’s Manila visit
As Manila prepares for the visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping two weeks from now, Beijing steps up its control of the Spratly islands in the South China Sea, the latest of which is the announcement that they have started the operation of a marine observation center in the artificial islands that they have built in areas that the Philippines and four other countries claim.
ABS-CBN News
LABOR
Senate panel wants to grant gov’t workers new night differential pay, hazard pay
The Senate is now tackling two measures that aim to give hardworking government employees toiling in the wee hours or in hazardous areas a new night-shift differential pay and hazard pay.
Manila Bulletin
TRANSPORTATION
20 PH airports can now handle evening flights
Almost half or 20 of the existing 42 airports nationwide are now capable of handling evening flights, according to the Department of Transportation (DOTr). Equipping airports with night-rated capabilities will enable these facilities to serve more passengers, Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade has noted.
Philippine News Agency
HEALTH
DOJ set to release Dengvaxia probe results
Families of schoolchildren who died allegedly due to the controversial Dengvaxia vaccine may soon find an answer to their cry for justice. The Department of Justice (DOJ) officially concluded its preliminary investigation of the first batch of Dengvaxia cases in a final hearing last Tuesday.
Philippine Star
FOOD AND AGRICULTURE
EDUCATION
ENERGY
Palace amenable to penalty provision vs failing electric coops
President Rodrigo Duterte has reportedly agreed in principle on the institutionalization of a “penalty provision” against electric cooperatives (ECs) that have been failing on their electrification mandate.
Manila Bulletin
LGUs urged: consider micro-grids
THE Philippines has great potential for micro-grid developments, as it strengthens its electrification program. Roger Chua of Lives (Lux Illumina Verde Energy Solutions) said they are encouraging local government units (LGUs) to consider the viability of micro-grid systems to accelerate electrification, especially in off-grid islands.
Sunstar Cebu
POVERTY
HOUSING
TOURISM
Zarate unimpressed with Boracay reopening, cites persisting woes
Who was impressed with the much-anticipated reopening of the Philippines’ premiere tourist spot, Boracay? Certainly not Bayan Muna Party-list Rep. Carlos Zarate.
Manila Bulletin
Boracay rehab to continue — DENR
Rehabilitation of the world-famous Boracay Island will continue even after it was reopened to tourists on Oct. 26, Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu said yesterday. Cimatu said the agency would continue to monitor the quality of water in the resort island to ensure safety of tourists and residents.
Philippine Star
ENVIRONMENT AND NATURAL RESOURCES
COMMUNICATION AND TECHNOLOGY
Your best defense against midterm misinformation: Stay off social media
Ask an expert about escaping fake news in your social feed and you'll get a bleak response: You can't. "My No. 1 answer if you want to avoid misinformation on social media is, Don't use social media. Because it's just chock full of it," said Cameron Hickey, a technology manager at the Information Disorder Lab at Harvard's Shorenstein Center. "It's a real point to make; it's not just a joke."
CNET
DEVELOPMENT SECTOR
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