MARAWI

Marawi master plan out in ‘two weeks,’ says del Rosario
 The final blueprint for Marawi to rise from the ashes of war is “almost complete,” Secretary Eduardo del Rosario, chair of Task Force Bangon Marawi (TBFM), said.
Mindanews

Gov’t expropriating Marawi land for Army
The government has started expropriation proceedings for a piece of land that had been identified as site of a new military camp in Marawi City, after landowners jacked up their asking price to P10,000 per square meter.
Philippine Daily Inquirer, Mindanews

SOUTHEAST ASIA AND THE WORLD      

BANGSAMORO ORGANIC LAW

Information-Drive on BOL held in Tawi-Tawi Remote Areas
An Information Drive Campaign and Education on Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) or Republic Act (R.A) 11054 was held in a remote area of Barangay Kepeng, Tandubas, Tawi-Tawi. It was held at the Kepeng Elementary School on November 9.
Luwaran

Indonesia’s Ulama Groups meet with Bangsamoro Ulama in Camp Darapanan
Sheikh Abuhuraira Udasan, Grand Mufti of Bangsamoro in his welcome remarks during the visit of a delegation from Dayah Darul Ihsan and Nahdatul Ulama of Indonesia underscored the significance of conversation of Islamic Scholars with its neighbors. 
Luwaran

MAGUINDANAO AND COTABATO CITY

LANAO PROVINCES

Alleged ISIS member nabbed in Lanao del Sur
An alleged member of terror group Islamic State was arrested in Binidayan, Lanao del Sur, Friday, authorities said. A certain Suhaili Kadir was apprehended by police in Barangay Lumbac after he was allegedly involved in a shooting incident in the area earlier this week.
ABS-CBN News

BASILAN

SULU 

5 soldiers killed, 23 injured in Patikul ambush
Militants have killed five Filipino soldiers and wounded 23 others in a major ambush by members of a notorious Islamist kidnap-for-ransom group, the Philippine military said Saturday. The soldiers were searching for hostages taken by the Abu Sayyaf group when the gunmen attacked them in Barangay Liang, Pakitul, Sulu on Friday, regional military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Gerry Besana told reporters.
ABS-CBN News, Rappler

Sayyaf frees kidnap victim amid clashes
Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) bandits have freed the woman they kidnapped along with her husband in Zamboanga del Norte after her family repor­tedly paid an undetermined amount of ransom.
The Manila Times

P1 million paid for trader’s release
An Abu Sayyaf captive in the province of Sulu has been released after the payment of P1 million in ransom, according to police. Col. Gerry Besana, public affairs officer of the military’s Western Mindanao Command, confirmed the release of Helen Roda, who was kidnapped with her husband, Rufo, in August in the town of Sirawai, Zamboanga del Norte province.
Philippine Daily Inquirer

TAWI-TAWI 

DRUGS

Duterte slams drug war critics anew
President Duterte hit back at critics who demonize him for launching a brutal war on illegal drugs. Duterte, whose war on drugs has left more than 4,000 drug suspects dead, said he should not be bound by human rights if he were a monster.
Philippine Star

Rehab center employees slam delayed salary
Doctors at the Drug Abuse Treatment and Rehabilitation Center (DATRC) here said delayed salaries and lack of supplies have force some employees to resign, a move that might adversely affect the rehabilitation of 1,090 former drug dependents in the center.
The Manila Times

Operations/ Incidents

Recovery and Rehabilitation  

ILLICIT FIREARMS, EXPLOSIVES AND AMMUNITION

CROSS-BORDER TRADING/ SMUGGLING  

Coast Guard intercepts P50-M smuggled rice shipment
AN ESTIMATED P50 million worth of smuggled rice shipment was intercepted by the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) while on maritime patrol in the Sulu sea, an official said Saturday, November 17. Lieutenant Commander Noriel Ramos, Zamboanga Coast Guard Station commander, said the vessel, M/V Hulk loaded with some 50,000 bags of rice of 25 kilos each, was intercepted by the BRP-Cape San Agustin (MRRV-4408) around 8 a.m. Thursday, November 15, anchored south of Buland Island, Sulu.
Sunstar Zamboanga, Philippine News Agency

HUMAN TRAFFICKING 

SCAM 

Questions hound Duterte summit naps, early return
President Rodrigo Duterte’s decision to come home a day early from the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) Leaders’ Meeting in Papua New Guinea has raised fresh questions, after he skipped several meetings at the recent 33rd Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Summit in Singapore.
Philippine Daily Inquirer

Rody's ax falls on unnamed public official
President Rodrigo Duterte, attending the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit in Papua New Guinea, said another top—but unidentified—government official would be fired by him on his return to the Philippines, Malacañang said Saturday.
Manila Standard

Rappler Talk: Eduardo Año on bringing Duterte to the grassroots
After a year of being the officer-in-charge, Eduardo Año finally becomes secretary of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG). And as he already knows too well, every promotion means more work and responsibilities. As the DILG secretary, all eyes are on him, now more than ever, as he implements the landmark promises of President Rodrigo Duterte down to the local level.
Rappler

Christmas bells for Balangiga
It was at a closed-door meeting which I attended during the October 2017 ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Conference hosted by the Philippines in Clark, Pampanga that President Duterte took up the Balangiga Bells with US Defense Secretary James Mattis. 
Philippine Star

---------------------

Alejano to Duterte: You're selling PH to China, you don't know patriotism
After President Rodrigo Duterte likened the Magdalo group of soldiers to terror group ISIS, Gary Alejano clapped back and said the commander-in-chief doesn't know patriotism selling Philippine territory to China.
Rappler, Philippine Star, Philippine Daily Inquirer

I seek justice, not revenge — Paolo
Presidential son and former Davao City Vice Mayor Paolo Duterte on Saturday said he was not bound to exact revenge on outgoing Senator Antonio Trillanes IV. “I honestly do not seek revenge. What I seek is justice,” Paolo said in a statement posted on Facebook.
Manila Standard

DISASTER

MINDANAO

ELECTION RELATED

Lessons from the party-list fiasco
With the noble intention of giving “genuine power” to the powerless, the framers of the 1987 Constitution instituted the party-list, little knowing that the imported system would be abused and result in further marginalizing the already marginalized and further empowering the already powerful.
Philippine Daily Inquirer

Election-related Violence

CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS

JUDICIARY

LEGISLATIVE

LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNITS (LGUs)

DEFENSE AND SECURITY

ECONOMY AND INVESTMENTS

BUILD, BUILD, BUILD

OFFICIAL DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE

GRAFT AND CORRUPTION

FOREIGN RELATIONS  

Duterte is China’s voice in ASEAN?
President Duterte could have served national interest just by staying in bed – for “power naps” or whatever – and not saying a word about Chinese expansionism while he was in Singapore last week for the 33rd summit meetings of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
Philippine Star

Why does President Duterte have to choose between China and the US?
That would be going against his own declaration during his historic visit to Beijing – from hereon we will pursue an independent foreign policy that would be for the benefit of our country. PRRD can and should continue with this independent foreign policy. It was our unfortunate history to have been victimized by war that was conducted in our shores between Japan and the US.
Philippine Star

West Philippine Sea

Duterte's remarks a recognition of Chinese control over SCS —expert
President Rodrigo Duterte's comments that China “is already in possession” of the South China Sea imply that the Philippine government recognizes Beijing's control over the disputed waters, a maritime law expert said Saturday.
GMA News

LABOR

TRANSPORTATION

HEALTH 

FOOD AND AGRICULTURE

Return NIA to the Department of Agriculture
The last column was about the new draft rice industry road map being put together by the Department of Agriculture (DA). With the imminent lifting of the quantitative restrictions (QRs) on the imports of rice but with the imposition of tariffs, a surge in the imports of cheap rice from Thailand and Vietnam is expected.
Manila Bulletin

EDUCATION

Education chief eases teachers' woes over SSL
Public school teachers threatening a nationwide sit-down strike on Nov. 29 got the same raise as other government workers under the Salary Standardization Law, yet enjoyed comparatively more benefits than their peers in public service and would even get raises to their allowances soon, Education Secretary Leonor Briones told Manila Standard.
Manila Standard

ENERGY

POVERTY

HOUSING

TOURISM

Quiapo as a tourist spot? Full bookings surprise travel group
It’s that dark side of the city your parents have warned you about — where vendors hawking pirated DVDs mix freely with quick-footed snatchers, and where bombing incidents seem as routine as police raids on drug dens. With all that notoriety, how can Quiapo be considered a tourist spot?
Philippine Daily Inquirer

Taiwan promotes tourism to Filipinos
TAIWANESE amusement park and hot spring operators, as well as inbound travel agencies, held a business-to-business (B2B) meeting in Manila to meet their local counterparts for a tourism exchange opportunity to help increase the number of incoming Filipino travelers to Taiwan.
Business Mirror

ENVIRONMENT AND NATURAL RESOURCES 

COMMUNICATION AND TECHNOLOGY

Gov’t sets P24-b bond on Mislatel
A P24-billion performance bond is what Mislatel will give up in favor of the Philippine government if it fails to  make good on its commitments as the third telecommunications player in the country, according to Eliseo Rio, officer in charge of the Department of Information and Communications Technology.
Manila Standard

DEVELOPMENT SECTOR