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Communist Rebellion

600 ‘terrorists’ stricken off revised DOJ petition vs Reds
The Department of Justice (DOJ) has removed about 600 individuals and groups from a list of “terrorists” in a petition it filed last year to declare the Communist Party of the Philippines and its armed wing, the New People’s Army (NPA), as “terrorist and outlawed organizations.”
Philippine Daily Inquirer

Repackaged ‘terror list’ remains baseless, says rights lawyer
The amended petition filed by the Department of Justice on the infamous proscription case against revolutionary groups is a proof that the original plea was not only “sloppy” but was only “designed to harass and threaten” the more than 600 individuals listed, a human rights lawyer said. Edre Olalia, president of the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL), said in a statement that the “present petition remains to be without legal and factual basis and repackaged the old one in order to railroad the legal process.”
Bulatlat

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Lorenzana says they’ll make sure CPP-NPA-NDF will be reduced to mere police problem
Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana Friday said that government may not be able to finish off the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army-New People’s Army-National Democratic Front (CPP-NPA-NDF) within the term of the Duterte administration but they will make sure that they will be reduced to a police problem.
Manila BulletinPhilippine News Agency

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Benefits have been convincing rebels to give up arms, return to society – Año
Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Eduardo M. Año said the passionate side of the Duterte regime shone the brightest as benefits were provided to Communist rebels who have returned to the government’s fold.
Manila Bulletin, Philippine Daily Inquirer, Business World Online, Philippine News Agency

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PCOO exec asks NUJP to condemn CPP-NPA atrocities
Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Undersecretary Lorraine Marie Badoy on Friday challenged the head of the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) to condemn the atrocities of the Communist Party of the Philippines - New People's Army (CPP-NPA) as she denied the media organization's accusation of PCOO "red-tagging" NUJP members.
Philippine News Agency

Need to rethink EO 70, ‘National Peace Framework’
The bungled witch hunt by intelligence units of the Philippine National Police (PNP) against the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) only reflects – in their implementation – the brutish style with which the government’s counterinsurgency policies and directives are issued by the highest level of command. ACT is the sole accredited teachers’ union in the country.
Philippine Star

Red-tagging, surveillance of gov’t critics ‘prelude to worse rights violations’ – Karapatan
Karapatan secretary-general Cristina Palabay said “instead of acting on the legitimate demands of teachers for salary increase, the Duterte regime subjects those who assert such to surveillance and harassment’’.
Manila Bulletin

CHR urges DepEd to speak in defense of teachers’ group
The Department of Education should explicitly speak up to defend members of the Alliance of Concerned Teachers amid police attempts to “inventory” them, the Commission on Human Rights said Friday.  Jacqueline De Guia, spokesperson of the CHR, said the “inventory” of members of ACT—a legal organization for teaching and non-teaching personnel—calls for condemnation from DepEd to reassure and show support to the educators.
Philippine Star

Leader of teachers’ alliance gets death threat
A leader of the Alliance of Concerned Teachers – Philippines (ACT) was threatened to be killed by an unknown caller on Jan. 11, Friday. Raymond Basilio, ACT secretary general, said he received a call from an unregistered number while they were holding their press conference in Baguio City. The caller introduced himself as “Gary” with number 0957-2275384. The caller offered help so that the plan to assassinate him will not push through. But if he ill not cooperate, the caller warned he would push through with the order (to assassinate him.) “He said four men were ordered to kill me,” Basilio told Bulatlat through a private message.
Bulatlat

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Mayor seeks mountain villagers’ support vs. NPAs
A town mayor in Sultan Kudarat province asked his constituents in the mountain villages on Friday to alert police authorities about the presence of “new faces” in their communities. “This is to avoid a repeat of the January 7 burning of construction equipment in Barangay Hinalaan by communist rebels,” Mayor Ronan Garcia of Kalamansig, a coastal town of Sultan Kudarat province, said over a local radio station.
Philippine News Agency

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Mining company debunks NPA claim of burning equipment
The Pilipinas Eco-Friendly Mining Corporation (PEFMC) has refused to believe the New People’s Army (NPA) was responsible for the recent destruction of their PHP120-million worth of heavy equipment. Joel Obar, the legal counsel of PEFMC, said Thursday the way it was carried out was unusual because his client Mark Yu, who owns the company, did not receive any letter from the communist group warning him of any incident.
Philippine News Agency

Peace Talks

NDFP waiting for GRP offer to reopen talks, Joma says
The National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) would be willing to explore whatever offer the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) would be making to reopen the stalled peace talks, Jose Maria Sison said. In a statement, Sison said he sees a silver lining in GRP President Rodrigo Duterte’s recent statement that he would be willing to go back to peace negotiations on the premise that the revolutionary movement could tone down its offensives against the military and police.
Bulatlat, Kodao

Army condemns rebels’ landmine use in Bukidnon clash
THE military condemned the New People’s Army (NPA) for using landmines during a renewed clash in Miaray, Iba, Cabanglasan, Bukidnon on Thursday, January 10. Troops under the 8th Infantry Battalion (8IB) engaged the communist rebels in a five-minute encounter while conducting security operation in the area. 
Sunstar Cagayan de Oro

Incidents/ Operations   

Soldier hurt in clash with rebels in southern Negros
A Philippine Army trooper was slightly wounded in a clash with New People’s Army (NPA) rebels, who attacked a patrol base of the 62nd Infantry Battalion, in Barangay Hilamonan, Kabankalan City on Thursday night. Corporal Andin Jamison sustained minor injury on his right thigh.
Philippine News Agency, Manila Standard, Manila Bulletin 

Suspected NPA rebels torch bus in Zamboanga del Norte
A passenger bus was burned down by suspected members of the New People’s Army (NPA) in Barangay Pucay in this town Tuesday night. According to reports from the Police Regional Office, the driver, Deonilo Bucan, and three others were on their way to Salug to deliver provisions when they were flagged down by 5 armed men who introduced themselves as NPA members operating in the area.
ABS-CBN News, Philippine News Agency

Extremism

2 alleged terrorists arrested in Manila
Two men accused of being members of a Mindanao-based terror group were arrested in separate operations in Manila over the holidays, officials said yesterday. Sudais Asmad and Jeran Aba were reported to be on a mission to disrupt the holiday season and the Black Nazarene procession, according to a high-ranking Manila Police District (MPD) official. According to a National Capital Region Police Office report obtained by The STAR, Asmad was arrested in Binondo on Dec. 20, 2018 and is allegedly a member of the Abu Sayyaf under the umbrella of the Dawlah Islamiyah.
Philippine Star, Philippine Daily Inquirer, Sunstar Manila, Tempo, GMA News

41 drug peddlers yield to Army in Maguindanao
The Army here announced today that 41 members of the illegal drug syndicate indirectly supporting ISIS-linked Moro rebels have voluntarily surrendered to government authorities. The surrender transpired at the village public school Friday morning. The surrenderors were led by known drug ring leaders Spearheaded by known drug ring leaders Teddy Biang, 55, and Anwaruddin Biang, 46, who were sourcing their stuff from the outlawed Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) stationed in the vast Maguindanao marshland.   
NDBC News

Westmincom chief tells commanders: Stay dedicated amid challenges
The head of the military's Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom) has urged his ground commanders to stay dedicated in the face of "challenges" that may arise this year. “We will prioritize the attainment of the breaking point of the communist terrorist groups and their consequent collapse and the decisive defeat of the terrorist groups -- the Abu Sayyaf, Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, and other foreign and local terrorists,” Westmincom commander Lieutenant General Arnel dela Vega said on Friday.
GMA News

MARAWI

SOUTHEAST ASIA AND THE WORLD      

'If you enter a camp, you never come out': inside China's war on Islam
The Luopu County No 1 Vocational Skills Training Centre is hard to miss. It emerges suddenly, a huge campus towering over hectares of farmland. Outside the compound, surrounded by tall white concrete walls lined with barbed wire and surveillance cameras, a police car patrols while several guards carrying long batons stand watch. The centre, which straddles a highway, is bigger than most of the surrounding villages – about 170,000sq metres. A banner on one building says: “Safeguard ethnic unity.”
The Guardian


China Intensifies Lobbying to Thwart Criticism of Muslim Detentions
China has escalated efforts to repel foreign criticism of its policing, mass detentions and forced-assimilation measures targeting Muslims in the restive Xinjiang region, stepping up diplomacy and public-relations efforts. Chinese diplomats have petitioned several governments in their capitals against attacking Beijing’s Xinjiang policies at the United Nations, according to diplomats briefed on the matter.
The Wall Street Journal


Why Is China Vulnerable to Terrorism in Pakistan?
China has invested more than $62 billion in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), developing a network of roads, pipelines, and railways to connect Balochistan province in Pakistan with Xinjiang in China. Currently, there are more than 20,000 Chinese nationals working across Pakistan, with more than 70,000 short-term visit visas being issued each year.
The Diplomat


Russia and the Taliban: Talking With Terrorists
On December 20, Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that the Taliban’s interests should be taken into account in the Afghanistan peace negotiations, as the organization administers a large amount of Afghan territory. When probed further on this issue at his annual year-end press conference, Putin claimed that public negotiations between the United States and the Taliban were “probably inevitable,” and that Russia would support a peaceful resolution to the conflict that engages all major political forces in Afghanistan.  
The Diplomat

Why Teaching English to Terrorists Is Not an Act of War
American allies in Syria have reportedly captured a U.S. citizen who sent his resume to Islamic State and then went to work for them — as an English teacher. The problem of what to do with an American member of the militant group has arisen before. Now, there’s a twist: A civilian who genuinely volunteered to go to Islamic State’s caliphate and who genuinely worked there only as a civilian probably can’t be treated as a prisoner of war.
Bloomberg

President Trump’s Counter-Terrorism Strategy
“We remain a nation at war.” President Trump’s new National Strategy for Counterterrorism, released in early October, begins with that simple statement of fact. Despite the West’s victories in the several major wars of the 20th century, the 21st century is not an age of peace. It is yet another age of conflict.
Jewish Policy Center

Has EU woken up to its security threats?
The European Union sent a message to Iran by imposing the first sanctions since the flawed nuclear deal was signed in 2015. The green continent decided on Tuesday to blacklist and freeze the assets of an Iranian intelligence (MOIS) unit and two of its staff for planning two political assassinations in Netherlands and for plotting attacks in Denmark and France.
Al Arabiya

MI5 to face inquest questions over London Bridge terrorist attack
Families who lost loved ones in the London Bridge attacks will demand answers from MI5 as to how the terrorist ringleader Khuram Butt directed the atrocity despite being under investigation by the security services. A pre-inquest hearing decided on Friday that the security services should face questions and that family lawyers should be given documents from MI5 about their decision making in the run-up to the June 2017 attacks.
The Guardian

US, UN Strongly Condemn Terrorist Houthi Attack on Lahj
The United States strongly condemned on Friday the Iran-backed Houthi militias’ terrorist attack on Thursday against a military parade in the southern Yemeni province of Lahj. "This attack contravenes the spirit of the Hodeida ceasefire and the progress made last month at the UN-led talks in Sweden," State Department spokesman Robert Palladino said in a statement.
Asharq Al-Awsat

Sheffield men jailed for funding Jihadists in Syria
Abdurahman Kaabar and Badroddin Kazkaz sent money to Kaabar's brother after he left the UK to "engage in violent Jihadi activity". Sheffield Crown Court previously heard Kaabar, a former dental student, also gathered and shared a "breathtaking" amount of terrorist-related material.
BBC News

Bangsamoro

Muslims in Cebu to help secure Sinulog festivities
The Muslim community in Cebu has committed to secure the activities of the Sinulog Festival 2019. “We can assure you, Cebuanos, can enjoy and can sleep without worrying about this Sinulog,” said Imam Najeeb M. Razul, chairman of the council of elders in the Visayas.
Philippine Daily Inquirer

BANGSAMORO ORGANIC LAW

Comelec allows 8 more villages to cast vote in Bangsamoro plebiscite
Eight more North Cotabato villages were allowed to choose whether to join an expanded Bangsamoro autonomous region, the Philippine poll commission said Friday, provided that a new law creating it is approved in a plebiscite later this month. The Commission on Elections (Comelec) granted the petition filed by these additional areas, bringing to 28 the total number of additional communities (barangay) that will participate in the Feb. 6 plebiscite.
ABS-CBN News, Sunstar Manila, Business Mirror, Philippine News Agency, Philippine Star

50% turnout ideal for BOL poll
Proponents of the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) were brimming with confidence that the measure would be approved in a plebiscite but an election official said turnout should be high to make the results more convincing. The plebiscite is barely two weeks away and an election official of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) called on proponents and officials to exert extra effort and step up the campaign to attain at least 50-percent voter turnout.
Philippine Daily Inquirer

Duterte orders PNP, AFP to ensure peaceful BOL plebiscite, midterm polls
President Duterte has ordered the military and police to ensure free, peaceful and credible January 21 plebiscite on the Bangsamoro Organic Law as well as May 13 midterm elections. The President issued two memorandum orders concurring with the Commission on Elections (Comelec) on the deputation of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), the Philippine National Police (PNP) and other law enforcement agencies in connection with the two upcoming democratic exercises.
Manila Bulletin, The Manila Times

Grand rally on BOL set in Buluan
The movers behind the Bangsamoro Organic Law’s (BOL) approval have shifted the venue of their long-planned grand rally to this provincial capital town after the Cotabato City officialdom reportedly refused to grant them a permit. Maguindanao Gov. Esmael Mangudadatu and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) Chairman Hadji Murad Ebrahim came up with a joint video message Thursday night to invite the public to the pro-BOL miting de avance in this town on January 15 or six days before the conduct of a plebiscite on the new law.
Manila Bulletin

Arroyo calls for swift approval of BOL
House Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on Friday reiterated her support for the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) ahead of the plebiscite for the measure’s ratification on January 21 and February 6. “I hope it passes. I was saying earlier, the Bangsamoro congressmen are now eager to go to the next step — try to get investments,” Arroyo told reporters in Pampanga.
The Manila Times

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Japan affirms support to PH peace process this year
The Japanese government on Thursday affirmed its support for the Philippines’ peace process. Paying a courtesy call to new Presidential Peace Adviser Carlito Galvez Jr., Japanese Ambassador to the Philippines Koji Haneda committed his country’s continued support for various peace process mechanisms and programs, projects and activities (PPAs) that are being implemented by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in Mindanao.
Manila Bulletin

MAGUINDANAO AND COTABATO CITY

LANAO PROVINCES

BASILAN

SULU 

TAWI-TAWI 

Shadow Economies

DRUGS

PDEA conducts 6,438 anti-drugs operations, with P5.39 billion drugs seized
The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) has revealed a banner year for the country’s lead anti-illegal drugs arm with its achievement of reducing the drug supply and demand in 2018. As the lead agency against illegal drugs, PDEA, in coordination with law enforcement agencies, conducted a total of 6,438 anti-drug operations, 386 of which were high-impact operations (HIOs) aimed at disrupting the source of dangerous drugs last year.
Manila Bulletin

PDEA to launch ‘Sagip Batang Solvent’ project
The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) said it is set to soon launch a project that is geared towards saving street children hooked on sniffing solvents. PDEA Director General Aaron N. Aquino explained that “Sagip Batang Solvent” will rescue solvent-sniffing street children, and provide them relief from their addiction so that they could become productive citizens in the future.
Manila Bulletin, Philippine News Agency

Ex-Negros Oriental village chief linked to drugs, loose firearms surrenders
A former barangay chairman from Guihulngan City, Negros Oriental, wanted for his alleged involvement in criminal activities is now under police custody following his surrender on Wednesday. Hilarion Macalua III, ex-head of Bgy. Hilaitan, turned himself in bringing along an AK-47 rifle, a cal. 45 pistol and several ammunitions.
Manila Bulletin

Operations/ Incidents

Cops arrest British, partner in Subic buy-bust operation
The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) and Zambales police on Friday, January 11, arrested a British and his live-in partner in a buy-bust operation that led to the discovery of marijuana plants in their rented house in Subic town. Zambales provincial police chief Senior Superintendent Felix Verbo Jr identified the suspects as Simon Stuart Mclaren Watson, 42; and Rizza Fernandez, 28.
Rappler, Philippine News Agency

Recovery and Rehabilitation  

ILLICIT FIREARMS, EXPLOSIVES AND AMMUNITION

Guns, grenade seized from Maguindanao vice mayor’s house
No illegal drugs were found, but four rifles and a grenade were recovered when  police raided the house of Vice Mayor Otto Montawal of Montawal town in this province on Thursday, authorities said. The Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) police said Montawal would be charged with illegal possession of firearms and explosives. Two of Montawal’s bodyguards – Mentak and Belag, both surnamed Alon – were killed in an alleged shootout with members of the raiding team.
Philippine Star

Esperanza local gov’t in Sultan Kudarat hands over 32 loose firearms
A total of 32 loose firearms were handed over to the commander of the 2nd Mechanized Infantry Battalion in a turnover ceremony at Municipal Hall, Esperanza, Sultan Kudarat on Friday. The firearms were turned over to 2nd MIB chief Lt. Col. Alvin G. Iyog, at around 9 a.m., in a ceremony spearheaded by Esperanza Mayor Helen Latog.
Manila Bulletin, Kalinaw News

CROSS-BORDER TRADING/ SMUGGLING  

KIDNAPPING

ILLICIT FINANCIAL TRANSACTIONS 

Duterte to put an end to usurious lending practices, targets loan sharks, perpetrators of ‘5-6 scheme’
Notorious loan sharks are the latest addition in President Duterte’s apparent kill list. The President has threatened to eliminate those behind the 5-6 lending scheme, saying they should stop such practice that keeps Filipinos enslaved by debts.
Manila Bulletin

Land Issues
Indigenous Peoples
Human Rights
HIV, AIDS sufferers: Into the light
TWENTY years after the enactment of the original law governing the handling of HIV and AIDS in the country, Filipinos are seeing a new measure that policy-makers say will help them cope with the new, alarming realities. The enactment of the Philippine HIV and AIDS Policy Law also ensures that the proper and adequate care for people living with HIV and AIDS will be afforded while protecting their rights, including right to work, authors of the law said on Wednesday.
Business Mirror

Killings 

Mayor tagged brains of Batocabe killing still a candidate
Daraga Mayor Carlwyn Baldo, tagged as mastermind of the killing of Ako Bicol Rep. Rodel Batocabe, will not be disqualified from running for mayor until he was found guilty by a court. Juana Valeza, Comelec regional director, said on Thursday that only the court can rule if Baldo was disqualified to run for an elective post.
Philippine Daily Inquirer

Martial Law  

 
Governance

Duterte remains most trusted government official – Pulse Asia
President Rodrigo Duterte’s trust and approval ratings rose in December last year as he maintained his status as the government leader most trusted by Filipinos, according to the results of a December survey released on Friday, January 11.
Rappler, Manila Bulletin, Philippine News Agency

Palace: Tirades vs Duterte have no effect on his approval, trust ratings
The relentless tirades of critics to President Rodrigo Duterte have been ignored by the majority of Filipinos, as the firebrand leader retains his status as most approved and trusted official in government, Malacañang said Friday.
Philippine Daily Inquirer, ABS-CBN News

Rob, kill bishops? Some clergy living luxurious lives while masses endure poverty—Palace
The latest threat of President Rodrigo to rob and kill rich bishops was only meant to emphasize the failure of some Church leaders to empathize with the poor while they—the clergy—continue to live luxurious lives, Malacañang said Friday.
Philippine Daily Inquirer

‘Those who are disgusted with Church are trolls’ — Alejano
Magdalo party-list Rep. Gary Alejano took a swipe at President Rodrigo Duterte for his scathing remarks on the clergy. This while he defended the Catholic Church, saying people should not zero in on shortcomings of priests but focus their faith on God.
Philippine Daily Inquirer

For effective govt: Trump talks ‘wall’, Duterte talks ‘kill’
AT the turn of the 19th century, America and the Philippines (Filipinas) were fatefully joined together by their national obsessions: America by the obsession to fulfill their manifest destiny to become a global power; the Philippines by the Filipino obsession to stand as an independent republic in the world.
The Manila Times

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BoC orders strict implementation of TRAIN2, sin tax
The Bureau of Customs (BoC) has ordered the strict implementation of the second tranche of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Law and the sin tax as the bureau “tightens its grip on revenue collection” this year. Customs Commissioner Rey Leonardo Guerrero ordered the strict implementation of the updated excise tax rates for products under TRAIN2 and Sin Tax Law in the bureau’s E2M System effective January 4.
Manila Bulletin

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Reenacted budget woes: DPWH workers greet new year jobless
Official reports have yet to emerge regarding the total number of government workers affected by the delay in the passage of the 2019 national budget. But in Tacloban City alone, more than 3,700 workers under the public works department have become jobless as a result.
Philippine Daily Inquirer

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Robredo, Sotto enjoy majority approval, trust of Filipinos – survey
With the exception of Speaker Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, other top Philippine leaders continued to enjoy the approval and trust of a majority of Filipinos, based on the results of a Pulse Asia Research, Incorporated survey held in December but released on Friday, January 11.
Rappler

Results of latest Pulse Asia survey inspire Robredo camp to work harder for the poor
The camp of Vice President Leni Robredo on Friday welcomed the results of the latest Pulse Asia survey which showed that majority of the Filipinos recognize and remain “appreciative” of her service. Issuing a statement, Robredo’s Spokesperson Atty. Barry Gutierrez said that the continued trust from Filipinos serves as an inspiration for the Vice President to work harder for the poor. “Nagpapasalamat kami sa lahat ng ating mga kababayan para sa patuloy nilang pagtiwala at pagsuporta kay VP Leni,” he explained.
Manila Bulletin

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Next case for Trillanes: Charged with grave threat in Pasay
Opposition Senator Antonio Trillanes IV started the new year with a new case, as he was formally charged with grave threat before the Pasay Regional Trial Court (RTC). The case stemmed from the complaint of Labor Undersecretary Jacinto “Jing” Paras over a confrontation at the Senate last year.
Rappler, Philippine News Agency

DISASTER

MINDANAO

NAPC to roll out 5-yr program to lift Mindanao's poorest areas
The National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC) will roll out a five-year development program aimed at bringing down the poverty incidence rate in Mindanao from 40 percent to 21 percent by 2023. NAPC Secretary Noel Felongco said on Friday that the five-year program will be rolled out in 20 poorest areas in the provinces of Agusan del Sur, Bukidnon, Sarangani, Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao, Sultan Kudarat, Zamboanga del Sur and Sulu.
Philippine News Agency

ELECTION RELATED

Checkpoint rules for polls will not apply in Mindanao–Comelec
The Commission on Election (Comelec) said its checkpoint rules for the start of the election period on Sunday will not apply in Mindanao. Comelec spokesperson James B. Jimenez explained this was because there are already existing checkpoints in Mindanao since it is still under Martial Law. “The checkpoints that are already operating in Mindanao have there own set of guidelines. We will not superimpose [the rules] of the checkpoints there,” Jimenez said.
Business Mirror

Panties for your vote? Comelec says underwear OK as campaign material
Using panties as campaign material is essentially allowed as the Philippines’ election laws do not differentiate on articles of clothing that may be used as campaign material, an official from Commission on Elections said on Friday.
Philippine Daily Inquirer

Opposition senatorial bets eye Western Visayas vote
Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon said on Friday, January 11, that the opposition senatorial slate is eyeing 4 million votes from Western Visayas. Drilon said in a press conference here on Friday that the region is a known bailiwick of the opposition, particularly Capiz and Iloilo.
Rappler

Tañada asks Filipinos abroad to support opposition Senate bids
A Liberal Party senatorial candidate in the coming midterm elections in the Philippines admitted that lack of public awareness of their bid remains a big hurdle for the eight candidates running in opposition to the administration of incumbent President Rodrigo Duterte.
Philippine Daily Inquirer

Election-related Violence

CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS

JUDICIARY

LEGISLATIVE

Arroyo on Pulse Asia survey: ‘Those trust ratings are not new to me’
House Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has brushed off the recent survey tagging her as the least trusted among the four highest elected national officials in government. “Those trust ratings are not new to me. Remember I was pilloried very much when I am president?” Arroyo told reporters on the sidelines of her visit in the coastal barangay of Batang 1st in Sasmuan on Friday.
Philippine Daily Inquirer

House invites Diokno, relatives to flood control 'scam' probe
The House of Representatives is inviting Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno, his daughter, and his in-laws behind the allegedly anomalous Aremar Construction, to its probe into the so-called flood control scam happening on Tuesday, January 15.
Rappler

Arroyo maintains support for Andaya amid rumored ouster plot
House Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on Friday belittled the reported ouster plot brewing against her ally, Majority Leader Rolando Andaya Jr., saying she would continue to support the Camarines Sur representative. “I don’t know how many congressmen share that sentiment… From what I can see, the majority still support the incumbent,” Arroyo said in an interview during her visit to the coastal village of Batang 1st, here in Sasmuan.
Philippine Daily Inquirer

LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNITS (LGUs)

DEFENSE AND SECURITY

ECONOMY AND INVESTMENTS

Chinese eye largest Philippine shipyard after Hanjin default
Chinese companies have expressed interest in taking over the Philippines' largest shipyard after the local unit of South Korea's Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction filed for rehabilitation this week. At least two major Chinese shipbuilders have inquired about the operations of Hanjin Philippines, Trade Undersecretary Ceferino Rodolfo said on Friday. He declined to name the companies.
Nikkei Asian Review

BUILD, BUILD, BUILD

OFFICIAL DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE

GRAFT AND CORRUPTION

Duterte expands powers of Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission
President Rodrigo Duterte signed Executive Order No. 73 amending the mandate of the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC) on Friday evening, to allow it to investigate alleged government corruption. 
Philippine Star

FOREIGN RELATIONS  

West Philippine Sea

LABOR

Duterte ‘powerless to protect our OFWs’ — Hontiveros
President Rodrigo Duterte just admitted he is “powerless to protect our OFWs” when he said  that rape “comes with the territory,” Senator Risa Hontiveros said on Friday. “While rape and other forms of sexual abuse are gruesome realities faced by a lot of our overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), by saying that rape ‘comes with the territory’ and is ‘part of the culture’ of working abroad, President Rodrigo Duterte just admitted that he is powerless to protect our OFWs,” Hontiveros said in a statement.
Philippine Daily Inquirer

TUCP lauds signing of ‘work from home’ law
The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) lauded President Duterte’s signing into law of a measure allowing workers to work from home as an alternative work arrangement. In a statement, TUCP President Raymond Mendoza said the alternative work scheme will benefit both employers and their employees.
Manila Bulletin

TRANSPORTATION

HEALTH 

DOH: ‘Access for HIV treatments are available’
The Department of Health (DOH) has assured people afflicted with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) that government has enough supply of anti-retroviral drugs (ARV). It also said government has been providing free ARV to Filipinos with HIV through their HIV treatment hubs.
Philippine Daily Inquirer

FOOD AND AGRICULTURE

SoCot official alarmed over declining palay buying price
A member of the South Cotabato provincial board on Friday raised the alarm over the decreasing commercial buying price of palay (unhusked rice) in the area during the past weeks. Board member Romulo Solivio, chair of the board's committee on agriculture, said local farmers are currently reeling from the unstable palay buying price, which has gone down to PHP14 per kg.
Philippine News Agency

EDUCATION

Diokno: Last tranche of pay hike for teachers out this February
The fourth and last tranche of the salary increase for teachers would be released this February, the Department of Budget and Management said Friday. “[T]he DBM chief assured that the fourth tranche salary adjustment will be implemented by February and government employees will be entitled to their salary differential,” the DBM said in a statement.
Philippine Daily Inquirer

Teachers’ group willing to meet with Duterte to discuss pay hike
A group of teachers on Friday reiterated its willingness to “sit down” with President Rodrigo Duterte for a dialogue on their projected salary increase. The Teachers’ Dignity Coalition (TDC), in a statement, expressed willingness to sit down with the President to discuss wage increase for teachers.
Manila Bulletin

Free College Law not affected by re-enacted budget — Bam Aquino
The implementation of the Free College Law would not be hampered by the re-enacted budget, Senator Paolo Benigno Aquino IV said Friday. Aquino assured students and their parents that Congress had ensured the implementation of the Free College Law because this funding had been embedded in the 2018 national budget which is now being used by the national government despite the failure of the Senate and the House of Representatives to pass last December the proposed 2019 P3.757 trillion national budget.
Manila Bulletin

ENERGY

POVERTY

SWS: 11.6M Filipino families say they are poor
About 11.6 million Filipino families or 50 percent consider themselves poor, a recent survey result from Social Weather Stations (SWS) showed. In the December 2018 survey, SWS said this was two points below the September 2018’s 52 percent or 12.2 million families.
Philippine Daily Inquirer

DSWD assures beneficiaries increase in subsidies despite reenacted budget
Despite the Philippine government now operating on a reenacted budget, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) gave assurances that the increase in the benefits of the unconditional cash transfer (UCT) program will be implemented as scheduled this year.
Rappler

HOUSING

TOURISM

ENVIRONMENT AND NATURAL RESOURCES 

Establishments may face closure due to Manila Bay rehab
Several establishments around Manila Bay are at risk of being closed over insufficient infrastructure that ensure proper waste disposal, Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu warned on Friday, January 11. Cimatu, with officials from attached agencies, led the inspection of some 200 establishments and 38 hotels for possible violations.
Rappler

Manila Zoo a major bay polluter, says DENR chief
No animals were blamed in the making of this report. The government-run Manila Zoo was cited as one of the top sources of pollution in the river system that drains into Manila Bay, which the Duterte administration intends to clean up and rehabilitate starting this month at a cost of P47 billion.
Philippine Daily Inquirer

COMMUNICATION AND TECHNOLOGY

Facebook takes down over 200 pages controlled by PH company
Facebook has deleted over 200 pages controlled by a digital marketing company in the Philippines. In a statement on Friday, the social media giant said it has banned Twinmark Media Enterprises for repeatedly violating its misrepresentation and spam policies through "coordinated inauthentic behavior, the use of fake accounts, leading people to ad farms, and selling access to Facebook Pages to artificially increase distribution and generate profit."
CNN Philippines

DEVELOPMENT SECTOR 

International Alert Philippines is an independent peacebuilding organization that focuses on eradicating vertical and horizontal conflicts through research and analysis, advocacy, and capacity-building. We pool relevant news articles, blog posts, social media materials, and press releases through this daily digest to update ourselves and our partners on important events and ideas that may affect our programmes. Know more about us by following our social media accounts:

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