Duterte wants IP ‘hamlets’ to keep NPAs out
PRESIDENT Rodrigo R. Duterte said he will “hamlet” indigenous peoples (IP) beginning “this year” to protect them from being attacked or influenced by communist guerrillas. “There is a certain point, but it will be this year. Ako para unahan na nako sila para dili na sila mangimbento (I have to be the one to say this first so that they won’t make up false stories). I will hamlet them. Why? Because if they remain scattered, they are really in danger. I cannot get their loyalty if they are scattered because they are afraid to be far from each other,” Mr. Duterte said in his remarks Tuesday night, Dec. 18, during the Barangay Summit on Good Governance in Davao City.
Business World Online

Lumad close to the President reacts to the word ‘hamlet’
Even the lumad close to President Duterte reacted when he said on Tuesday that he would “hamlet” the indigenous people to protect them against the communist New People’s Army.
Philippine Daily Inquirer

Duterte warns NPA: Blood will flow
As communist rebels stepped up their attacks, President Duterte warned the insurgents that “blood will flow” as he vowed to end the rebellion during his term. “Lulutang tayo dito sa dugo (We will float in blood). I have no other choice. I do not want to do it but you force my hand into it,” the President said during the regional summit of barangay officials in Region 11 at the RMC-Petro Gazz Arena here on Tuesday night.
Philippine Star

No truce with Reds for first time in 30 years
For the first time in 30 years, the government will not suspend military operations over the holidays, despite a unilateral ceasefire declared by the communist rebels Friday, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said.
Manila Standard

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Military looks into possible lapses leading to Agusan del Sur NPA attack
The military is looking into a possible security breach leading to the attack of the New People’s Army (NPA) on a militia patrol base in Sibagat town, Agusan del Sur on Wednesday that resulted in the abduction of several soldiers and militiamen, a regional military spokesperson said.
Philippine Daily Inquirer

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Duterte rallies village chiefs vs. illegal drugs, communism
President Rodrigo Duterte rallied barangay officials in Davao Region to help him finish the scourge of illegal drugs and communism in their respective communities during his term. In his speech before the Barangay Summit on Good Governance of Region XI at the Rizal Memorial Colleges Tuesday night, Duterte said: “Pero yung — yung komunista gusto kong tapusin pati yang droga. I want it done during my term. Gusto ko kung hindi ko man maubos… you’ll be the ones to finish it. Inyo na ‘yan.”
Manila Bulletin, Philippine News Agency

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Duterte slams killing of militiaman’s wife in Davao del Norte
President Rodrigo Duterte condemned the New People’s (NPA) for killing the wife of a militiaman in Talaingod, Davao del Norte last Saturday. In his speech during the Barangay Summit on Good Governance in Region 11 on Tuesday, Duterte said the NPA’s killing of Gina, wife of Mario Mantayona who is a Civilian Active Auxiliary of 56 Infantry Battalion, is not anymore appropriate because the family of the enemies should not be included in the battle.
Manila Bulletin

200 alleged communist rebels surrender in Zamboanga Peninsula
More than 200 alleged communist rebels surrendered in the Zamboanga Peninsula this week, a military official said Wednesday. Capt. Clint Antipala, public affairs chief of the Army's 1st Infantry Division, said three of those who surrendered were New People's Army fighters and 38 were Militia ng Bayan. The bulk, 162, of those who surrendered were identified as "supporters."
Philippine Star, Philippine News Agency

After Bicol attacks, DILG says peace talks with Reds futile
With the recent violent attacks of suspected communists in the Bicol Region, it is already “futile” to hold peace talks with the rebels , the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) on Wednesday.
Philippine Daily Inquirer

Peace Talks

PRRD won't allow violation of peace talks: Palace
Malacañang said Wednesday President Rodrigo R. Duterte is open to end bloodshed but will "never allow" New People’s Army (NPA) rebels to violate the peace talks. Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo made this response when asked if the government is still open to peace talks despite Duterte’s remarks about showing no mercy to the NPA rebels.
Philippine News Agency

Palace: Duterte ‘always open’ to talks but Reds must show sincerity
President Rodrigo Duterte is “always open to end bloodshed in the country” but the communist rebels’ sincerity remains in question, Malacañang said Wednesday.
Philippine Daily Inquirer

Incidents/ Operations   

NPAs capture 2 soldiers, 12 militiamen in Agusan attack
Taking advantage of the bad weather, New People’s Army rebels sneaked into a military patrol base, taking captive 2 soldiers and 12 militiamen in barangay New Tubigon, Sibagat town, Agusan del Sur Wednesday. Sandara Amihan, spokesperson of the NPA Northeastern Mindanao region, said the NPA raid on the military detachment, located some 10 kilometers from Sibagat town, was carried out “without a single shot fired.”
Mindanews, South China Morning Post, ABC News, CNN Philippines

Rescue operations underway for 2 soldiers abducted by NPA
The military on Wednesday said it will carry out a shoot-to-kill order by President Rodrigo Duterte against communist New People's Army (NPA) rebels. Duterte gave the order following a series of attacks in the Bicol region. The Armed Forces of the Philippines has also mounted a rescue operation for two soldiers seized by the NPA during a rebel raid on a military outpost in Sibagat, Agusan del Sur.
ABS-CBN News

4 soldiers, two civilians wounded in NPA attack in Catarman
Suspected communist rebels ambushed a military vehicle of the 43rd Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army Tuesday, December 18, in Catarman, Northern Samar, wounding 4 soldiers and 2 civilians. Captain Francis Agno, spokesperson of the 8th Infantry Division Philippine Army to which the 43rd IB belongs, said Wednesday, December 19, the attack happened in Barangay McKinley. The soldiers of Charlie Company were on their way to deliver food to their comrades who were conducting Community Support Program in the area.
Rappler, Philippine Star

Police officer gunned down in Negros Oriental, NPA rebels tagged as suspects
A POLICE officer in Guihulngan City, Negros Oriental was gunned down by alleged members of New People’s Army (NPA) on Wednesday morning, according to a police report.
The Manila Times, Sunstar Cebu, Cebu Daily News

Rebels fire at 2 CAFGU sites in Capiz
Members of the New People’s Army (NPA) indiscriminately fired against two detachment sites of the Philippine Army’s Citizens Armed Forces Geographical Unit (CAFGU) Active Auxiliary early Tuesday morning. No one was hurt from the troops of the CAFGU, said Lt. Col. Sisenando Magbalot Jr., Commanding Officer of the 61st Infantry Battalion (61IB), said in an interview.
Philippine News Agency 

Armed men fire at delivery truck
NO ONE WAS hurt after armed men shot a delivery truck evening of Dec. 17, 2018 in Janiuay, Iloilo. The truck of MD ROS loaded with 2,200 heads of broiler chicken was passing by Barangay Caraudan, some 7 kilometers from Janiuay town, when the incident happened.
The Daily Guardian

MARAWI

SOUTHEAST ASIA AND THE WORLD      

Deciphering the extremism narrative
When on October 27, 2018, anti-Semite Robert Bowers opened fire on the Tree of Life synagogue in the US city of Pittsburgh, killing 11 people, CNN and BBC called it a "mass shooting", while the Huffington Post described it as "slaughter".
Aljazeera

Does terrorism work? We studied 90 groups to get the answer
The famous Christmas Market in Strasbourg, France, became the latest place to be struck by terrorists. On Dec. 12, 2018, a gunman on a terror watch list named Cherif Chekatt yelled “Allahu Akbar” and opened fire on shoppers, killing five people and wounding 11, according to media reports. The attack was labeled terrorism by a Paris prosecutor.
The Conversation 

Returning jihadists 'threaten new wave of terror in Europe'
Europe is facing a new wave of terrorism as radicalised individuals return and jihadists are released from jail, the general secretary of Interpol has warned. Jürgen Stock, Interpol’s chief, who is also a criminologist and law enforcement officer from Germany, said: “We could soon be facing a second wave of other Islamic State linked or radicalised individuals that you might call Isis 2.0.
The Guardian

Why Jihadist Attacks Have Declined in Europe
On Tuesday, December 11, just before 8 PM, a lone attacker, Cherif Chekatt, armed with a handgun and a knife, killed five people and injured a dozen others who were visiting the famous Christmas market in front of the Strasbourg Cathedral. Chekatt was wounded in an exchange of fire with counterterrorism forces but initially escaped. Two days later, a patrol spotted him on a street close to where he grew up, a few miles away from the Cathedral, and shot him dead. The Islamic State (ISIS) quickly issued a press release praising Chekatt as a “soldier,” but what role, if any, ISIS had in the attack is uncertain.
Foreign Affairs 

PVE Tools: 4 Ways to Help Your Neighbors
My own immigration experience gave me a front row seat as to how an integrated community can be part of a strong set of PVE tools. As a young child, traveling from Pakistan to Iran to Germany, before settling in the United States offered a rich set of experiences that in later years insulated me against identity conflicts that many of my peers suffered.
Clarion Project

Prosecuting Pakistan’s New Extremists
Last year, a new and relatively unknown religious movement led by a cleric named Khadim Hussain Rizvi staged a sit-in that brought the Pakistani cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi to a standstill. The action was meant to protest a change made to a religious oath uttered by new Pakistani parliamentarians.
Lawfare Blog

Turkey prevented 347 terror acts in 2018: Interior min.
Turkey prevented some 347 terror acts in 2018, the country's interior minister said on Wednesday. Speaking at a workshop on counter-terrorism in Ankara, Suleyman Soylu stressed on the decrease of terror acts in Turkey.
Anadolu News Agency

Jihad Is Alive and Well in the US: 3 New Stories
An Oklahoma resident who is a Saudi citizen pleaded guilty to visa fraud and  concealing the fact that he attended an Al Qaeda training camp in Afghanistan in late 2000. Naif Abdulaziz M. Alfallaj, 35, was arrested by the FBI after an investigation by the agency’s joint terrorism task force.
Clarion Project

BANGSAMORO ORGANIC LAW

BOL will correct ills, old system under ARMM – MILF chief
With the scheduled plebiscite for the ratification of the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) early next year, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) chairman Al-Haj Murad Ebrahim clarified on Wednesday that the new form of government will correct the ills of their old system–the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).
Manila Bulletin

Remaining rebel groups still welcome in Bangsamoro Autonomous Region if BOL ratified —MILF chair
Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) chair Murad Ebrahim said on Wednesday that they welcome other rebel groups to join the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region if the Bangamoro Organic Law (BOL) will be ratified. “If they feel that it is really beneficial to the Bangsamoro people, then they are welcome to join,” said Ebrahim in his interview on ANC.
GMA News

MILF bucks anti-BOL petitions
The extremists in Mindanao might capitalize on the failure of the Bangsamoro Organic Law to be ratified, Murad Ebrahim, the chairman of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, said Wednesday. He also said the Supreme Court would find the Bangsamoro Organic Law constitutional despite a petition challenging it.
Manila Standard

Hataman reiterate endorsement of BOL in last report to constituents
Local officials campaigning for the ratification of the Bangsamoro Organic Law attended the last “ulat sa bayan” of the governor of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao Wednesday. For the first time ever, leaders of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front graced the ulat sa bayan of ARMM Gov. Mujiv Hataman, possibly the last if the BOL gets ratified via a plebiscite on January 21, 2019.
NDBC News, Rappler

Pimentel defends law on Bangsamoro region
Even if it is not called Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) fits into what is provided for in the Constitution, according to Sen. Aquilino Pimentel III.
Philippine Daily Inquirer

MILF Conducts Orientation on BOL to its Community Members
The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) conducted an orientation on the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) to preachers, imams, and other community members on December 16, 2018 at Barangay Bugawas, Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao. 
Luwaran

MAGUINDANAO AND COTABATO CITY

NORTH COTABATO

Cops, Army hunt suspects in NoCot ambush
Police, backed by military personnel, have been hunting down two men believed to be behind the ambush of a mother and her son in a remote village here Tuesday afternoon. Supt. Joan Maganto, Midsayap town police chief, said the Army’s 34th Infantry Battalion, had been helping the police in looking for two men believed to be behind the attempt to kill a mother and her son in Barangay Tugal at past 2 p.m.   
NDBC News

‘Commander Lastikman’ shot dead in Caloocan
A man believed to be a bandit leader in Mindanao was killed by motorcycle-riding assailants in Caloocan City hours after he was freed from jail on Tuesday night. Datukan Samad, alias Commander Lastikman, of Pikit in North Cotabato, had just been released from the Bicutan jail at Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig City when he was shot dead while on a motorcycle driven by his cousin Ismail Ampatuan in Bagong Silang, North Caloocan at around 11 p.m.
Philippine Star

LANAO PROVINCES

BASILAN

SULU 

Another 7 Abu Sayyaf members in Sulu surrender
A DAY after a new infantry was activated in the island province of Sulu to combat the Abu Sayyaf, seven members of the kidnap-for-ransom and extremist group turned themselves in to authorities. In a statement late Tuesday, Dec. 18, the Western Mindanao Command (WesMinCom) said the seven men led by Darwin Ladja Basal surrendered that morning to Lt. Col. Jessie R. Montoya, commanding officer of the 2nd Special Forces Battalion. Brig. Gen. Rey Pabayo, Jr., commander of Joint Task Force Sulu, said the group of Basal “surrendered through the combined efforts of the different teams of the Community Support Program and the sustained conduct of intelligence operations of the ground troops in Sulu.” 
Business World Online

Marines, Navy men rescue Abu Sayyaf man’s wife, kids
A woman and her two children, who fled their home and hid in a mangrove forest to escape heavy fighting between Abu Sayyaf bandits and government troopers in Patikul, Sulu last week were rescued on Tuesday.  Rear Admiral Rene Medina, Naval Forces Western Mindanao commander, said Manah, 27, wife of Abu Sayyaf bandit Jackie Solaiman, and their daughters Raiza, 7, and Pirhana, 2, were trapped in the forest for three days.
Philippine Star, Philippine News Agency

TAWI-TAWI 

DRUGS

Panelo on drug war: ‘What you sow, you reap’
What you sow, you reap. This is how Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo predicts the outcome of the Duterte administration’s war-on-drugs campaign amid the latest government statistics showing some 5,050 people already killed in drug-related operations from July 1, 2016, to November 30, 2018.
Manila Bulletin

160,000 nabbed in drug war
Drug coddlers who continue to resist arrest have to face the consequences of their actions, Malacañang said Wednesday. Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo made the comment after government data from July 1, 2016 to Nov. 30 this year showed that 5,050 people had been killed in drug operations after allegedly resisting arrest.
Manila Standard

Cordillera leaders buck commercial farming of weed
Once the government softens its stance and allows the legal medical use of marijuana, the weed should be grown in state-sponsored instead of commercial farms, according to members of the Cordillera Regional Peace and Order Council (RPOC).
Philippine Daily Inquirer

Davao eyes drug-free workplaces by 2020
BY 2020, business establishments employing more than 10 would no longer be able to secure or renew business permits without conducting a random drug test and formulating anti-drug programs. Ronaldo Rivera, program director of Tabangan Atong Reformist Aron Naa’y Asenso (Tara Na!) of the Davao City Anti-Drug Abuse Council (Cadac), said during the AFP-PNP press corps on Wednesday, December 19, that they began to conduct an information dissemination campaign after Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio signed the executive order promulgating the implementing rules and regulations of a drug-free workplace program. 
Sunstar Davao

Domondon: PDEA does it right
NOTWITHSTANDING its busy and hectic anti-drug operations the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) capably went through with its promise to file drug smuggling charges against those perceived to be involved in the illegal shipment of around P11 billion worth of “shabu” using magnetic lifters.
Sunstar Baguio

Operations/ Incidents

Recovery and Rehabilitation  

ILLICIT FIREARMS, EXPLOSIVES AND AMMUNITION

Businessman nabbed for possession of loose firearms, grenade
A businessman was arrested on Wednesday in Pasay City for possession of loose firearms, several bullets, and a hand grenade. The arrest was made as police  intensify its drive against loose firearms as the forthcoming 2019 elections draw near.
Philippine Daily Inquirer

CROSS-BORDER TRADING/ SMUGGLING  

HUMAN TRAFFICKING

Criminal raps filed vs. illegal recruiters
Criminal complaints were filed Wednesday before the Department of Justice (DOJ) against three persons allegedly involved in illegal recruitment after the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) rescued 36 of their victims.
Manila Bulletin

ILLICIT FINANCIAL TRANSACTIONS 

Duterte, Go visit head of Iglesia Ni Cristo
President Rodrigo Duterte and former Assistant to the President Christopher “Bong” Go visited the bloc-voting religious group Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) last week. Photos released by Malacañang on Wednesday showed Duterte and Go posing with INC leader Eduardo Manalo at the INC Central Temple in Commonwealth, Quezon City on December 14.
Philippine Daily Inquirer, ABS-CBN News

Duterte to sign rice tariffication bill soon
PRESIDENT Rodrigo R. Duterte is expected to sign the Rice Tariffication bill “anytime soon,” Malacañang said on Wednesday. “I suppose it will be signed anytime…. He will decide on that soon enough,” Presidential Spokesperson Salvador S. Panelo said in a briefing on Wednesday.
Business World Online, Philippine Daily Inquirer, Philippine News Agency

Duterte remark on Roxas, Loot, said in a jest – Panelo
Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo on Wednesday said the statement earlier made by President Rodrigo Duterte implicating former Interior Secretary Mar Roxas to the ambush of retired police general and Daanbantayan Mayor Vicente Loot “appeared to be said in jest.”
Manila Bulletin, Philippine Star

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Reenacted budget ‘detrimental’ to growth, says Diokno
Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno on Wednesday warned that a reenacted budget will be detrimental to the economic growth and development objectives of the Duterte administration. Diokno explained that a reenacted budget for the 1stquarter of 2019 will reduce total disbursements by an estimated P44 billion – that is if the budget is delayed by only one quarter.
Manila Bulletin

Arroyo eyes Finance chief post, claims Diokno
BUDGET Secretary Benjamin Diokno on Wednesday floated “rumors” that Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was interested to serve as President Rodrigo Duterte’s next finance secretary. Diokno’s statement came as he dispelled more rumors that Arroyo wanted to replace him as Budget chief.
The Manila Times

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DISASTER

MINDANAO

ELECTION RELATED

Gloria Arroyo camp seeks dismissal of poll sabotage case
The camp of former president and House Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has asked a court in Pasay City to dismiss the case of electoral sabotage filed against her. Arroyo’s demurrer to evidence filed by her lawyers, including Ferdinand Topacio, is now being reviewed, Pasay City Regional Trial Court Branch 112 officer-in-charge Dana Lyne Areola told The STAR yesterday.
Philippine Star

Election-related Violence

CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS

House OK of Cha-cha resolution, a ‘gift’ of Arroyo, allies to Duterte?
The approval of the House resolution seeking to amend the 1987 Constitution and shift the country’s government to a federal system is the “latest gift” of House Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and her allies to President Rodrigo Duterte.
Philippine Daily Inquirer

JUDICIARY

SC’s 3 divisions reorganized
The Supreme Court (SC) has reorganized the membership in its three divisions with the compulsory retirement of Associate Justice Noel G. Tijam on January 5. The SC is on its Christmas break and will resume its divisions sessions on January 7 and its full court sessions on January 8.
Manila Bulletin

CJ Bersamin outlines four-point agenda for judiciary
Expediting resolution of court cases, purging of misfits and scalawags in the courts, upgrading the mechanics of bar examinations, and enhancing the participation of law students in legal aid programs for the poor are the four-point agenda of Chief Justice Lucas P. Bersamin in his 11-month tenure as head of the judiciary.
Manila Bulletin

LEGISLATIVE

Andaya reveals disparity in flood control budgets
Flood-prone and densely populated Tondo, Manila, will receive only P74 million while sparsely peopled and a safely tucked town in Bicol will get P325 million for their respective flood control projects. Majority Leader and Camarines Sur Rep. Rolando Andaya Jr. bared this Wednesday, citing it as an example of how disproportionate and unfair Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno distributed flood control funds this year.
Manila Bulletin

Poe backs Road Board abolition
Senator Grace Poe expressed support for Senate President Vicente Sotto III in pushing the abolition of the Road Board before the Palace. In a statement on Wednesday, Poe said she is backing the Sotto’s plan to transmit the copy of the bill abolishing the Road Board, despite the House of Representative’s apparent refusal to do so.
Manila Bulletin

House approves amended law on women and child protection from electronic abuse
The House of Representatives, with 207 “yes” votes and no abstentions, approved on third and final reading of House Bill 8655 which proposes amendments to Republic Act 9262 or the “Anti-Violence against Women and Their Children Act of 2004” by extending protection for women and their children from electronic violence.
Manila Bulletin

Sotto disputes Enrile: Senate legislative process not ‘coffee table’ style
Senate President Vicente Sotto III on Wednesday disputed his predecessor, former Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, who said that the current members of the Upper Chamber are passing pieces of legislation in a “coffee table” manner.
Manila Bulletin

LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNITS (LGUs)

DEFENSE AND SECURITY

Deal with Turkey to boost PH defense
The Department of National Defense (DND) of the Republic of the Philippines and the Presidency of Defense Industries (SSB) of the Republic of Turkey signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on defense industry cooperation at the Philippine Air Force headquarters, in Villamor Air Base in Pasay City.
Manila Bulletin

ECONOMY AND INVESTMENTS

Construction of first PH-made cargo ship kicks off
The country’s first hybrid trimaran, a passenger-cargo vessel powered by waves begins construction as it is envisioned to spark the transformation of the country’s maritime industry. “We are hopeful that the hybrid trimaran project will launch a new wave of innovations in the maritime industry,” said Engr. Raul Sabularse, deputy executive director of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) Philippine Council for Industry, Energy, and Emerging Technology Research and Development (DOST-PCIEERD).
Manila Bulletin

High prices still burden poor despite inflation slowdown    
On the release of the November 2018 inflation rate, research group IBON said that prices are still high and rising even with the reported slowdown. This remains a burden on poor families trying to live off low and precarious incomes. Substantial and longer-term solutions are still needed, said the group.
Kodao

P188b in fresh capital raised via stock exchange
Capital raised through the local stock exchange reached P188 billion in 2018, up 12.5 percent from P167 billion recorded in 2017, Philippine Stock Exchange president Ramon Monzon said Wednesday. Monzon said in an interview this year’s figure, while below the target of P200 billion, was still not bad considering the volatile trading conditions during the year.
Manila Standard

BUILD, BUILD, BUILD

DA pushes review of FMR project implementation
With the complicated procedures in constructing agriculture-specific infrastructure projects, the top official of the Department of Agriculture (DA) in Central Visayas has pushed for a review of the mechanics in implementing projects that are intended to benefit the farmers.
Philippine News Agency

OFFICIAL DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE

GRAFT AND CORRUPTION

FOREIGN RELATIONS  

EU-Philippines relations: Achieving milestones in a rapidly changing international context
During the past year many of the traditional beliefs about foreign relations across the world were challenged and questioned. Challenges can be constructive and productive; questions can lead to new and better answers. Challenges can also prove to be insurmountable and questions may not have good answers, leading to confusion and a lack of direction. It has been gratifying to see that the Philippines and the EU during the year managed successfully to solidify our relations.
Philippine Star

Philippines seeks more favorable trade terms with Indonesia
The Philippines is asking Indonesia to relax its protocol in a bid to correct the trade imbalance which is in favor of the ASEAN neighboring country. Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol said trade negotiators between the two countries are meeting in Jakarta for a two-day meeting with the aim of settling the restrictions and disparity in trade imbalance.
Philippine Star

West Philippine Sea

LABOR

More workers regularized despite endo – Bello
More and more workers are being regularized by their employers amid the government’s anti-endo (end of contract) campaign. Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III reported that as of December 3, the number of workers that have been regularized is at 411,449 which include some 11,660 workers of the SM chain.
Manila Bulletin, Business World Online

TRANSPORTATION

Lawmakers urge DOTr to suspend 15-year limit for public buses, trucks for hire
Lawmakers urged the Department of Transportation (DOTr) to suspend the implementation of its 15-year age limit policy for public utility buses (PUBs) and trucks for hire (TFH). Quezon City Rep. Winston Castelo, chairman of the House Committee on Metro Manila Development, said they agreed to write the DOTr to convey his panel’s recommendation to suspend the implementation of the policy on the mandatory age limit for trucks and buses.
Manila Bulletin

Angkas to its bikers: Be respectful if apprehended
Motorcycle ride-hailing app Angkas on Wednesday reminded its riders to be courteous and respectful if apprehended by authorities. In a statement Wednesday, George Reyoca, Angkas head of regulatory and public affairs said that they will comply with the restraining order issued by the Supreme Court.
Philippine Daily Inquirer

Divide EDSA between cars and buses
In mid-2016, shortly after the election of President Rodrigo Duterte, I wrote a column titled—to the best of my recollection—“The EDSA Problem Needs a Drastic Solution.” As its title suggested, I stated in that column that the usual patchwork-type measures would not bring about the solution of Metro Manila’s No. 1 problem and that only a drastic, out-of-the-ordinary solution would cause the 26-kilometer roadway to stop being the biggest parking lot in this country’s premier metropolis.
Manila Standard

HEALTH 

FOOD AND AGRICULTURE

No more cheap NFA rice in 2019 – Piñol
The government cannot afford subsidized rice anymore, according to Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol. Piñol said the National Food Authority (NFA) will halt the sale of subsidized rice once the agency's approved imports get depleted in 2019. The NFA currently sells rice at P27 and P32 per kilo.
Rappler

Palace assures safe, affordable rice
Malacanang on Wednesday assured that the government will continue to provide the public, particularly the less fortunate, with rice that is affordable and safe in the face of the passage of the rice tarrification and liberalization of the industry law.
Manila Bulletin

Senate minority asks DA to manage rice supply, prices if tariffication bill is approved
The Senate minority bloc warned on Wednesday that the rice tariffication bill, if enacted into law, should not be used as an excuse to alarm the consuming public about available and affordable rice.
Manila Bulletin

EDUCATION

House urged to declare schools as ‘zones of peace and academic freedom’
Kabataan partylist Rep. Sarah Elago is pushing for the adoption of a resolution urging the House of Representatives to declare schools as “zones of peace and academic freedom.”
Manila Bulletin

ENERGY

POVERTY

HOUSING

TOURISM

ENVIRONMENT AND NATURAL RESOURCES 

Reviving Manila Bay possible with Duterte’s political will – Gordon
The political will exercised by President Duterte in cleaning up world-famous Boracay resort island could be duplicated in bringing back the glory days of Manila and Manila Bay. Senator Richard J. Gordon, former Department of Tourism (DOT) secretary, stated this after conducting a public hearing on a bill seeking the creation of a modern Metro Baguio through the adoption of internationally accepted zoning procedures and plans.
Manila Bulletin

COMMUNICATION AND TECHNOLOGY

‘Thousands’ of EU diplomatic cables hacked: report
Hackers apparently connected to China accessed thousands of sensitive EU diplomatic cables, the New York Times reported Wednesday, in the latest embarrassing data breach to hit a major international organisation.
Philippine Daily Inquirer

DEVELOPMENT SECTOR