Russian envoy: Putin accepts Duterte’s invitation to visit PH
Russian President Vladimir Putin may visit the Philippines for the first time soon, Russian Ambassador to the Philippines Igor Khovaev said Saturday. During the “In Focus” forum in Quezon City, Khovaev revealed that President Rodrigo Duterte had invited Putin to visit the country.
Philippine Daily Inquirer, GMA News

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Go confirms Duterte went on 10-minute motorbike ride to slay fear of previous fall
Despite the reported muscle spasms caused by a motorcycle accident before leaving for Japan to attend a Japanese Royal Family occasion earlier this week, President Duterte was still able to ride a motorbike for more than 10 minutes at the Malacanang grounds before leaving for Davao for a much needed rest Friday night.
Manila Bulletin

Duterte motorcycle photo ‘edited for security reasons’ –Bong Go
Senator Bong Go told GMA News that his photo of President Rodrigo Duterte on a motorcycle was edited "for security reasons."
GMA News

OFFICE OF THE VICE PRESIDENT

Robredo camp admonishes Comelec against issuing statement about holding special elections
The camp of Vice President Leni Robredo warned the Commission on Elections (Comelec) against issuing public statements on holding special elections in the three Mindanao provinces, which are part of the election protest she is facing.
Manila Bulletin

ELECTION RELATED

DISASTER

MINDANAO

CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS

Alvarez to convene meeting on ‘People’s Initiative for Federal Constitution’
After several failed attempts in Congress, proponents of the shift to a federal system of government, are now pushing for people’s initiative as the mode to effect that change.
Mindanews

JUDICIARY

JBC opens applications for SC seat vacated by Peralta
The Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) has begun accepting applications for the Supreme Court (SC) post vacated by newly appointed Chief Justice Diosdado Peralta.
Manila Bulletin

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De Lima describes Carpio as ‘best Chief Justice we never had’
Detained opposition Senator Leila de Lima yesterday sent her congratulations and birthday message to Senior Associate Justice Antonio T. Carpio who, as he turned 70 Saturday, retired from the Supreme Court after 18 years of exemplary service to the nation.
Manila Bulletin

LEGISLATIVE

Senate of the Philippines

Angara calls on gov’t agencies to fully utilize budgets for 2019
Senator Juan Edgardo ‘’Sonny’’ M. Angara , chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, on Saturday urged all agencies to disburse and utilize their budgets for 2019 to achieve “our growth target this year to make up for the delays in the implementation and completion of key infrastructure and social projects this fiscal year,”
Manila Bulletin

Senate bill pushes for creation of food banks, soup kitchens to address hunger, malnutrition
Senator Joel Villanueva is pushing for the establishment of food banks and soup kitchens nationwide to combat hunger and malnutrition in the country.
Manila Bulletin

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Former Senate President Nene Pimentel laid to rest
Former Senate President Aquilino “Nene” Pimentel was laid to rest on Saturday at the Heritage Memorial Park in Taguig City.
Cebu Daily News

Catholic leader hopes for more ‘Nenes’ among country’s political leaders
As the late Senate President Aquilino “Nene” Pimentel Jr. is laid to rest Saturday, a Roman Catholic leader here has expressed hope emerging politicians would follow the path that he tread in the past, especially on standing up against repression.
Philippine Daily Inquirer

House of Representatives

Stiff penalties sought for inmates found guilty of possessing prohibited items in prison
Stiff penalties that include a 40-year prison term have been proposed for persons and inmates found guilty of providing or possessing contraband inside any prison facility run by the Department of Justice.
Manila Bulletin

Sibling solons seek increase in combat pay for soldiers, policemen
Sibling lawmakers are proposing to increase the monthly combat duty pay of soldiers and policemen to P6,000, citing the growing terror threats in the country, particularly in Mindanao.
Manila Bulletin

House panel vows to look into dwindling copra prices in the country
The House Committee on Agriculture and Food vowed yesterday to look into the “alarming” fall in the prices of copra (dried coconut meat) in the country.
Manila Bulletin

BUDGET, FINANCE, and TAXATION

BSP: Oil price volatility, swine fever woes may push up inflation in 2020
Prices of basic goods and services may start trekking higher again next year—although most likely at a less aggressive pace than the 2018 spike—due to a confluence of international and domestic challenges, the central bank said on Friday.
Philippine Daily Inquirer

Customs reiterates need to secure permits for importing regulated goods
Amid the importation ban of pork meat products from various countries due to African swine fever contamination, the Bureau of Customs reiterated the necessary procedures in processing shipments of regulated products.
Manila Bulletin

BOC Subic exceeds 2019 collection target
The Bureau of Customs-Port of Subic has exceeded its 2019 collection target of P24.7 billion, with an actual revenue collection of P26.9 billion or a surplus of P2.2 billion two months before the year-end.
Manila Bulletin

LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNITS (LGUs)

DEFENSE AND SECURITY

Central Visayas cops deployed vs rogue lawmen in Metro Manila
The National Capital Regional Police Office (NCRPO) has formed a group of policemen, dubbed the Red Team, to run after scalawag policemen in Metro Manila.
Manila Bulletin

Sinas vows supplies, manpower support for quad-intel force office at NBP
The new leadership of the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) vowed to continue providing manpower and other forms of assistance to the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) in its attempt to deny convicted drug lords and other criminal gang members the opportunity to operate their syndicates while detained at the New Bilibid Prisons (NBP).
Manila Bulletin

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Westmincom to tap fishing firms in guarding maritime domain
The Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom) is eyeing to tap all the local fishing firms to help secure the vast maritime domain here in Mindanao against intrusions by terrorists and pirates.
Philippine News Agency

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Charges vs former PMA commanders a matter of ‘soldiery’ – AFP
The Armed Forces of the Philippines on Saturday explained that it was proper for resigned Philippine Military Academy Superintendent Lieutenant General Ronnie Evangelista and Commandant of Cadets Brigadier General Bartolome Bacarro to face charges and undergo due process over a cadet's hazing death as this was a matter of "soldiery."
GMA News

ECONOMY AND INVESTMENTS

BUILD, BUILD, BUILD and PUBLIC WORKS

Pernia: ‘Pure’ PPPs must be welcomed, not shunned, in new ‘Build, Build, Build’ list
The country’s chief economist on Friday said that as the Duterte administration widens its ambitious infrastructure pipeline to cover up to 100 projects, the government must be more welcoming toward private sector-led projects.
Philippine Daily Inquirer

OFFICIAL DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE

AUDIT, GRAFT, AND CORRUPTION

Sandiganbayan orders preventive suspension of Bohol governor
he Sandiganbayan Third Division has ordered the 90-day preventive suspension of Bohol Governor Arthur Yap due to his pending criminal charges in relation to the misuse of the P65-million priority development assistance fund (PDAF) of former first district Representative Marina Clarete of Misamis Occidental.
Manila Bulletin

Subpoenas issued against two customs ports to secure documents for ongoing corruption probe
Subpoenas were served Friday to two major ports in the Bureau of Customs (BOC) by the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC) to secure documents related to smuggling and unauthorized release of shipments amid the ongoing probe on the corruption activities in the bureau.
Manila Bulletin

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EDITORIAL - On a roll
Are government lawyers so incompetent, or is justice being undermined by mind-boggling wealth? Just within this year, the Marcoses have won three major cases, setting back efforts to recover billions of dollars in assets amassed during the 20-year regime of dictator Ferdinand Marcos.
Philippine Star

FOREIGN RELATIONS  

West Philippine Sea

LABOR

Forced OFW SSS contribution remains a hot topic of the industry
A group of recruitment agency owners is clarifying the plan to force OFWs to pay their SSS contributions even before they are deployed.  The group says that this proposed regulation is a form of “exploitation.”
Manila Bulletin

DOLE expands internship coverage
The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) on Saturday announced the expansion of the coverage of the Government Internship Program (GIP) to encourage qualified individuals to pursue a career in government service.
Philippine News Agency

TRANSPORTATION

Submit traffic plans before Halloween, Christmas rush
A chairman of a committee at the House of Representatives has sent a notice to government agencies involved in traffic management to commit to the implementation of their transportation plans to address the expected influx of people during the Halloween and Christmas breaks.
The Manila Times

HEALTH

After ‘heated’ meeting, PhilHealth, PHAPI agree to work together —Bong Go
Senator Christopher "Bong" Go on Saturday said that the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) and the Private Hospitals Association of the Philippines Inc. (PHAPI) have agreed — during a private meeting on Thursday — to work together to settle the issue on billions of pesos in supposedly unpaid claims.
GMA News

PHAPi appeals PhilHealth: Avoid revoking hospitals' accreditation
The Private Hospital Association of the Philippine Inc. on Saturday appealed to state-run health insurer Philippine Health Insurance Corporation not to strip member-private hospitals of their accreditation.
GMA News

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DOH-Calabarzon underscores importance of nutrition for school children, parents
The Department of Health (DOH)-Calabarzon underscored the importance of providing good nutrition to school children for the enhancement of their growth and development.
Manila Bulletin

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De Lima laments increasing number of unhealthy Filipino children
Opposition Senator Leila M. de Lima has expressed concern over the increasing number of unhealthy children in the country.
Manila Bulletin

FOOD AND AGRICULTURE

Dar asks pig raisers, traders to help stop ASF spread
Agriculture Secretary William Dar has asked hog raisers and traders to help in the government’s campaign to prevent the spread of African swine fever (ASF).
Philippine Daily Inquirer

Dino wants Duterte support for total ban on pork from Luzon in Visayas
Secretary Michael Lloyd Dino, Presidential Assistant in the Visayas, has recommended to President Duterte to support the total ban on the entry of pork and pork-derived products from Luzon imposed by the governors in the Visayas to prevent the spread of the African Swine Fever (ASF) virus.
Philippine Daily Inquirer

EDUCATION

Help find ways to curb mental health problems among learners – Briones
Education Secretary Leonor Briones enjoined schools, teachers, students and other stakeholders alike to help find ways to address mental health problems among the youth.
Manila Bulletin

EHEF 2019 opens doors to Filipino students
More than 30 universities and higher education institutions (HEIs) in European Union (EU) countries opened their doors to Filipino students on Saturday for 2019 European Higher Education Fair (EHEF).
Manila Bulletin

ENERGY

POVERTY

SOCIAL WELFARE AND DEVELOPMENT

HOUSING

TOURISM

DOT celebrates PH 8th travel destination ranking
The Department of Tourism is celebrating the designation of the Philippines as the 8th favorite country of the readers of Conde Nast Traveler (CNT), a New York-based luxury and travel magazine.
Philippine Daily Inquirer

Albay couple turns unproductive riceland into bustling agritourism farm
After going down the winding roads of the remote village of Macabugos in Libon, Albay, one would finally reach the source of pride of local couple Maximo and Rosemari "Rose" Sasutona and perhaps even the village itself: a bustling agritourism farm where their unproductive riceland used to be.
Rappler

De Venecia wants Manaoag town to be declared tourist destination
Deputy Majority Leader and Pangasinan Rep. Christopher De Venecia wants to declare the municipality of Manaoag in Pangasinan as a tourist destination.
Manila Bulletin

ENVIRONMENT AND NATURAL RESOURCES

Nations pledge $9.8B to global climate fund to help the poor
Rich countries have pledged $9.8 billion to help poor nations tackle climate change, the Green Climate Fund said Friday, as environmental activists slammed the United States for refusing to contribute and other nations for giving too little.
Philippine Daily Inquirer

DENR maps out plans for protected areas
Around a hundred marine protected area managers, ecosystem management specialists, and development management officers of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) in four regions converged recently in a bid to strengthen the protection of marine protected areas (MPA) in the country.
Sunstar Pampanga

Water crisis

Angat Dam's water level continues to go down —PAGASA
The level of water at the Angat Dam has continued to decline, with only 29 millimeters of rain flowing into the reservoir in October. The PAGASA Hydro-Meteorological Division recorded Angat Dam's water level to be at 185.41 meters as of 6 a.m. on Saturday, from 186.65 meters on Friday.
GMA News

INFORMATION, COMMUNICATION AND TECHNOLOGY

Google digs into deeper meanings of searches
Google is paying more attention to the small words in your searches. Want to figure out how to park on a hill with no curb? Google now takes that “no” into account, and shows top results that include parking instructions without curbs.
Philippine Daily Inquirer

DEVELOPMENT SECTOR