Duterte: Communist insurgency in the Philippines ‘a failed dream’
The 50-year insurgency of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) is a “failed dream,” President Rodrigo Duterte said Tuesday, as he again criticized the rebels and branded them as “extortionists.” Duterte also dismissed the alleged goal of communist rebels to take over government as “stupid thinking.”
Philippine Daily Inquirer

Lorenzana admits gov’t cannot end communist insurgency this year
Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana Tuesday admitted that government cannot end communist insurgency this year. In a press briefing following the joint Department of National Defense-Armed Forces of the Philippines (DND-AFP) New Year’s call at Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City, Lorenzana said although it is their goal to end insurgency in 2019, he thinks that is not feasible to attain this year because of the complexity of the problem.
Manila Bulletin, Philippine News Agency, Business World Online, GMA News, Philippine Daily Inquirer

RESET OF DEADLINE FOR SCHEME TO DESTROY THE NPA WILL SURELY FAIL AS PEOPLE’S WAR WILL INTENSIFY
The Duterte regime has reset by three years the deadline for its scheme to destroy the New People’s Army. The scheme will surely fail from day to day, week to week, month to month and from year to year as the NPA will intensify tactical offensives and mass work. The same military and police of the same exploiting classes cannot accomplish in 3 years what they failed to accomplish in 50 years.
Joma Sison FB Post

On Duterte’s new 3-year deadline to end the NPA
As the CPP predicted in a previous statement, the Duterte regime and its armed forces once again moved its impossible deadline of ending the armed struggle being waged by the New People’s Army. In October 2017, it declared it will end the NPA before the end of 2018. On September last year, the deadline was moved to the end of the second quarter this year.
PRWC

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Red secretaries used posts to further communist cause
THE communist cadres he appointed early in his administration to head crucial departments merely used their posts to further their insurgency, President Duterte said in a speech last week. That was the reason he decided to fire them, and one of the factors that convinced him that peace talks with the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) were futile.
The Manila Times

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Satur Ocampo seeks dismissal of kidnapping raps
Former Bayan Muna Representative Satur Ocampo has asked a prosecutor's office to dismiss the kidnapping charges against him over the transportation of minors from a lumad school in Davao del Norte last November. In a counter-affidavit filed Tuesday, Ocampo denied "malicious" and "preposterous" police accusations of violation of the anti-trafficking law in relation to the anti-child abuse law, kidnapping, and failing to return a minor.
GMA News, Philippine News Agency, Manila Bulletin, Manila Standard, Philippine Daily Inquirer

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PNP running after members supporting NPA, not ACT as an organization
A top police official said on Tuesday they are only running after the members of a teachers’ group who are supportive of the communist rebels, in an attempt to explain why intelligence agents took interest in profiling teachers in both private and public schools.
Manila Bulletin

‘Intel-gathering meant to protect govt’
GATHERING intelligence from members of the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) is one way for the Philippine National Police’s (PNP) to determine if members of the group are supporting armed rebellion, according to Director General Oscar Albayalde.
The Manila Times

ACT Teachers eyes charges vs PNP, DILG for profiling teachers
The Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT Teachers) party is considering the filing of charges against the Philippine National Police (PNP) and even the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) for profiling its members.
Rappler

Group's Red link tag on NUJP not 'orchestrated'
A group of former communist group members on Tuesday denied that their "revelations" against the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) being linked with the Left is part of an orchestrated operation to intimidate the latter into silence. 
Philippine News Agency

NUJP decries 'red-tagging' by 3 local tabloids
The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) denounced reports published by three local tabloids, linking them to the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), the New People’s Army (NPA), and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP). Local tabloids Police Files Tonite, Bagong Bomba and Saksi Mata ng Katotohanan all published the same banner stories on January 7, using the headline “NUJP Pinamumunuan ng CPP-NPA-NDF” (NUJP headed by CPP-NPA-NDF ).
ABS-CBN News, Philippine Daily Inquirer

PNP should profile expelled cops and soldiers, not teachers – Lacson
Instead of teachers, expelled police and soldiers who have become guns for hire should be the focus of the Philippine National Police’s profiling and surveillance efforts. Senator Panfilo Lacson, a former PNP chief, said this on Tuesday, January 8, following the agency’s "profiling" of members of the left-leaning group Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT).
Rappler

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Peace Talks

Defense chief supports localized peace talks
Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said Tuesday he is supportive of peace talks so long as they are held in the Philippines. "First, hindi naman natin sinasara yung peace process. (We are not totally shutting down the peace process). The door is always open there. However small, sabi ni Presidente (according to the President), we have to have a window or a door open for peace talks, kasi ang sabi niya kagabi sa (what he said Monday night in the) Cabinet meeting, ‘I don't want to be accused na (of) turning my back against peace,’" 
Philippine News Agency

Incidents/ Operations   

Suspected NPA rebels torch heavy equipment in Sultan Kudarat
Suspected communist rebels torched heavy equipment being used for road construction in the upland village of Hinalaan in Kalamansig, Sultan Kudarat, a belated police report said. Chief Supt. Eliseo Tam Rasco, police regional director for the Soccsksargen region, told the INQUIRER that about 20 gunmen in fatigue uniforms, believed to be New Peoples’ Army rebels, arrived at the construction site of Janmerc Construction Co. at 4:50 a.m. Monday and set ablaze several construction equipment.
Philippine Daily Inquirer

Communist member nabbed in Sarangani
Joint police operatives have arrested a member of the New People's Army (NPA) in a manhunt operation in an outskirt village in Maitum town, Sarangani Province on Monday afternoon. Chief Supt. Eliseo Rasco, regional director of the Police Regional Office-12, in a report on Tuesday, said Jun-jun Makilbing, 25, was nabbed around 2:30 p.m. in a house in Sitio Angko, Barangay Batian.
Philippine News Agency, NDBC News 

Suspect in Cotabato mall bombing surrenders to police
One of the suspects in the New Year's Eve bombing of South Seas Mall in Cotabato City has surrendered to cops, Philippine National Police (PNP) Soccsksargen regional director Chief Superintendent Eliseo Rasco announced on Tuesday, January 8. The suspect, identified as a certain Salipudin Pasandalan, surrendered to police after he saw his image in television news reports with cops tagging him as a suspect in the bombing.
Rappler, Manila Bulletin, GMA News, NDBC News

NorMin cops dismiss terror text scare
The Police Regional Office in Region 10 (PRO-10) has downplayed the proliferation of text and online messages about the supposed plan of a terror group to sow chaos in this city and in Kidapawan City, in North Cotabato. The original message is said to have originated from a certain "Marlon Sabio," and "PNP Davao" that also included the phone number that any receiver can contact "for reference."
Philippine News Agency

Britain advises citizens in PH to avoid Black Nazarene procession in Manila ‘for safety purposes’
The British government on Tuesday advised its citizens in the Philippines to avoid the annual procession of the Black Nazarene or “Traslación” to be held in Manila on Wednesday “for safety purposes.” This advisory came despite earlier assurances made by the Philippine National Police (PNP) that no terror threat has been monitored in time for the yearly feast, an event where millions of Black Nazarene devotees are expected to attend.
Manila Bulletin

MARAWI

SOUTHEAST ASIA AND THE WORLD      

International Terrorism Prosecutions: 2018 Wrap-Up
In the past few months, prosecutors have tried, juries have convicted, and judges have sentenced  defendants from the height of the Islamic State’s power in 2014–15. Meanwhile, American law enforcement continues to prosecute individuals involved in terrorist-related crimes in the United States, even as new challenges—like prosecuting foreign Islamic State fighters—arise.
Lawfare Blog

Kurdish forces in Iraq still torture children, rights group claims
Kurdish security forces in Iraq continue to use torture on teenage boys accused of ISIS affiliation, a rights watchdog organisation has said, two years after it first levelled the accusations. In a report published on Tuesday, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said boys suspected of links to ISIS held in Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) facilities in northern Iraq had been beaten, electrocuted, and held in stress positions in order to extract confessions.
The National UAE

Trump administration officials admit mistakes while trying to tie terrorism to southern border
In the days leading up to President Donald Trump's televised address to the nation on Tuesday night to promote his southern border wall, administration officials have justified the proposal by claiming that thousands of terrorists are pouring across that border. But data and analysis from his own administration have drastically undercut that message, calling into question whether the situation along the U.S.-Mexico border is truly a "national emergency" as Trump has increasingly claimed.
USA Today

In shift, EU sanctions Iran over planned Europe attacks
The European Union on Tuesday froze the assets of an Iranian intelligence unit and two of its staff, as the Netherlands accused Iran of two killings on its soil and joined France and Denmark in alleging Tehran plotted other attacks in Europe.
Reuters

Apologists for Extremism in the West
As someone who grew up in fundamentalist Muslim countries, the continuing spread in the West of apologists for sharia law is, to say the least, intriguing. It is, of course, good-hearted to wish people from other cultures to feel welcome. Many of these apologists, however, have no first-hand experience of how it feels actually to live in that part of the world or to be a victim of day-by-day radical Islam.
Gatestone Institute

6 Central Asians on Trial in Sweden for Terrorism Financing
On January 7, the trial of six Uzbek and Kyrgyz nationals began in Stockholm, Sweden. The six men, between the ages of 24 and 46, stand accused of transferring funds to the Islamic State. Uzbek nationals Akromion Ergashev, Bakhtior Umarov, Gulom Tadjiyev, Shoahmad Mahmudov, and David Idrisson, and Kyrgyz national Atabek Abdullayev, were reportedly all living legally in Sweden.
The Diplomat

Defining extremism: What does 2019 hold for British Muslims?
Where to start or finish a year’s overview of Islamophobia in the UK? We can focus on the comments of various public figures, not least former foreign secretary Boris Johnson, who was exonerated of any wrongdoing for his Islamophobic comments about women wearing the niqab by a Tory party inquiry.  Then there was the farce around Oftsed chief inspector Amanda Spielman’s attacks on Muslim girls of a certain age wearing the hijab - not to mention the endless attacks on Muslim organisations by the neocon media pressing for their criminalisation, not just demonisation, as extremists.  
Middle East Eye

Diplomatic envoys from 12 countries visit Xinjiang
Diplomatic envoys from 12 countries witnessed the social and economic progress in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region on a tour from Dec. 28 to 30 in 2018. The regional government invited diplomatic envoys as well as representatives of diplomatic envoys from Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, India, Pakistan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Afghanistan, Thailand, and Kuwait.
Xinhua

'Our national security is non-negotiable': Turkey
Turkey's national security is not an issue up for discussion, said the head of Turkey’s presidential communications on Tuesday. “Turkey's national security is non-negotiable. Our fight against terrorism isn't a question of ‘if’ but ‘when’," presidential communications director Fahrettin Altun wrote on Twitter after a meeting of Turkish and U.S. security officials in the capital Ankara.
Anadolu News Agency 

Morocco’s BCIJ Dismantles New ISIS Terror Cell in Eastern Morocco
Morocco’s Central Bureau of Judicial Investigation (BCIJ) dismantled a three-member ISIS cell on Tuesday in Nador and Driouch, two cities in eastern Morocco. The suspects, between the ages of 18 to 31,  were active in eastern Morocco’s Rif region, according to a statement from the Ministry of the Interior.
Morocco World News

BANGSAMORO ORGANIC LAW

6 scenarios for the Bangsamoro vote
On January 21 and February 6, various areas in Mindanao will vote to approve or reject Republic Act 11054 or the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) that will create a new Muslim region to replace the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). At stake is peace in the conflict-torn region of southern Philippines. It’s a fulfillment of a political settlement with dominant Muslim rebel group Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) that aims to end a separatist rebellion that has claimed over 100,000 lives in Mindanao.
Rappler

No legal impediment to hold BOL plebiscite on January 21
There is no legal impediment in the holding of the plebiscite on January 21 to ratify the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) that expands the present Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) through Republic Act No. 11054. The Supreme Court (SC) did not issue a temporary restraining order (TRO) that would stop the implementation of the BOL or the plebiscite as pleaded in the second petition filed by the Philippine Constitution Association (Philconsa), SC Court Administrator and Spokesman Jose Midas P. Marquez said yesterday (January 8).
Manila Bulletin

No TRO from SC vs. BOL plebiscite
The scheduled plebiscite for the ratification of Republic Act No. 11054 or the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) will likely push through as the Supreme Court (SC) has not issued a restraining order against it. "The plebiscite will proceed. As of now no TRO (temporary restraining order) has been issued so far (by the SC on the case)," SC spokesperson Jose Midas Marquez told reporters in a press briefing Tuesday after the court's en banc deliberation.
Philippine News Agency, The Manila Times

Second intervention in support of BOL filed with SC
Two Muslim lawyers and a Moro civilian leader have asked the Supreme Court to dismiss the petition filed by the Province of Sulu questioning the constitutionality of Republic Act No. 11054 or the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL). Claiming a right to intervene in the petition as registered voters and concerned citizens, lawyers Algamar Latiph and Musa Malayang, and civilian Moro leader Pendatun Disimban, recently filed their comment-in-intervention before the high court to show their support for the BOL.
ABS-CBN News

Lidasan: Who is the Bangsamoro voter?
LOOKING at the different posts on Facebook about the opinions and stand of people regarding the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL), it somehow illustrates the different types of electorates we will be having in the upcoming plebiscite. The Moro Islamic Liberation Front with their United Bangsamoro Justice Party that will come together as one strong political block to deliver the needed vote to ratify Republic Act 11054. 
Sunstar Davao

Palace: BOL plebiscite to push through despite reenacted budget
Malacañang is confident that the plebiscite on the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) would push through as scheduled despite the reenacted budget for the first quarter of the year. Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo assured the public that the 2018 national budget has included an allocation for the plebiscite for the inclusion in the Bangsamoro region.
Manila Bulletin

AFP chief Madrigal vows safe BOL plebiscite
Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief Lieutenant General Benjamin Madrigal Jr. on Tuesday vowed that the upcoming plebiscite on the ratification of the Bangsamoro Organic Law will be conducted peacefully.
GMA News, Philippine News Agency

PEACETALK: I choose peace.
For those of us who have seen the many faces of war and its effects on the lives of the people, we now find ourselves in the crossroads of choices. A vote between yes and no that is perhaps founded in many ways by apprehensions or the supposed promise of peace in Mindanao.
Mindanews

Thousands attend Isabela City BOL Campaign Rally
Thousands of people gathered to join and support the campaign on Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) today, January 7.  It was led by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front Chairman Al Haj Murad Ebrahim. Al Haj Murad in his message said, "Nandito ako hindi para mangampanya kundi para umapela na bigyan natin ng chance ang mga taong nagsakripisyo, na lahat tayo ay madama ang bunga ng ating struggle". 
Luwaran

PEACETALK: I know the Bangsamoro will be a reality
I am not a Moro but I am a Bangsamoro. I grew up from childhood and lived in the Moro homeland of Mindanao. I know the BOL (Bangsamoro Organic Law) will be a reality. No doubt about it. The fruit of the Moro struggle now about 50 long years – nurtured by loss of precious lives, human sufferings and agony – is now ripe for everyone to harvest.
Mindanews

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Cordillera confident of getting autonomy as BOL moves
Proponents of the Cordillera autonomy continue to have high hopes that decades of clamor for self-determination would end during President Rodrigo Duterte’s administration, especially with the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) now moving. “There is a need to refile the bills pending in Congress, considering that the 17th Congress is ending soon,” Baguio mayor and Regional Development Council (RDC) chairman Mauricio Domogan said on Tuesday.
Philippine News Agency

MAGUINDANAO AND COTABATO CITY

LANAO PROVINCES

BASILAN

SULU 

Declare ‘revolutionary govt,’ Duterte urged
An influential Muslim politician has urged President Rodrigo Duterte to make good on his threat to establish a “revolutionary government,” so he could quickly reconfigure the country’s regions and shift to a federal form of government.
The Manila Times

TAWI-TAWI 

DRUGS

Palace rejects psychologists’ call for ‘scientific, humane approach’ vs drugs
Malacañang on Tuesday rejected the call of a group of psychologists for a “scientific and humane approach” in addressing drug addiction in the country. In a statement on Monday, the Psychological Association of the Philippines (PAP) expressed opposition to the government’s style in battling drug addiction, noting that simply criminalizing drug use and drug users has been proven ineffective in other countries.
Philippine Daily Inquirer

Palace insists on criminalizing drug addiction
Malacañang does not intend to change the government’s approach to drug addiction even as a group of psychologists objected to its criminalization. Presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo maintained that the government’s policy on drug addiction has been effective, contrary to the claim of the Pyschological Association of the Philippines (PAP).
Philippine Daily Inquirer

Virac shabu lab case to proceed to trial —court
A Makati court has ordered that the criminal cases involving the "mega shabu laboratory" discovered in Virac, Catanduanes, in 2016 proceed to trial. This, after Judge Selma Palacio Alaras of the Makati Regional Trial Court Branch 63 rejected the motion of one of the accused to dismiss the charges and recall the warrant of arrest against him.
GMA News

Gov condemns attempt vs. Mayor Cuan
North Cotabato Gov. Emmylou Talino-Mendoza and the provincial government today condemned the assassination attempt Monday against Libungan town Mayor Christopher Cuan inside the town hall premises. In a statement, Mendoza said “the Provincial Government of North Cotabato expresses deep concern and condemns this act of violence in the strongest possible terms.”   
NDBC News, The Manila Times

Operations/ Incidents

Caraga cops discover large marijuana plantation in Caraga region
Combined police force of Northeastern Mindanao Police Regional Office 13 (PRO 13) swooped down on a reported marijuana plantation and uprooted more than 1,000 marijuana plants in a far-flung and mountainous area of La Paz town, in Agusan del Sur province on Monday.
Manila Bulletin

Bulacan drug busts: 5 dead
Five drug suspects were killed in separate clashes with policemen during anti-drug operations in the last three days. Rommel Ferrer and an alleged accomplice identified only as “Boboy” were shot dead following a 5:30 p.m. police sting operation on Monday (Jan. 7) in the City of San Jose del Monte.
Philippine Daily Inquirer

Recovery and Rehabilitation  

Drug war not limited to arrests but also rehab: Palace
The government's campaign against illegal drugs is not limited to arresting personalities involved in using and selling illegal drugs but include rehabilitation centers for them, Malacañang said Tuesday. "We are not limiting our solution to the arrest of those involved in drug industry, we're also having rehabilitation centers established all-over. So two-pronged (approach) eh, aarestuhin mo (you will arrest persons involved), and then may rehabilitation at the same time," Presidential Spokesperson Salvado Panelo said in a press briefing.
Philippine News Agency

ILLICIT FIREARMS, EXPLOSIVES AND AMMUNITION

CROSS-BORDER TRADING/ SMUGGLING  

KIDNAPPING

ILLICIT FINANCIAL TRANSACTIONS 

Duterte: Let’s just kidnap and torture COA execs
A fuming President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday said “let’s just kidnap… and torture officials” of the Commission on Audit (COA) as he slammed the agency’s accountability measures that hampered government work.
Philippine Daily Inquirer, Manila Bulletin

Palace thanks Quiapo church rector for praying for PRRD
Malacañang on Tuesday thanked Quiapo Church rector Monsignor Hernando Coronel for urging devotees of the Black Nazarene to pray for the country's leaders, including President Rodrigo R. Duterte. “Salamat naman. Dapat naman talaga ipagdasal. Kahit ako pinagdarasal ko sila. (Thank you. They should really pray for the President. Even I pray for them),” Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said in a Palace briefing.
Philippine News Agency

Duterte agrees to certify bill on higher cigarette, alcohol tax as urgent
President Rodrigo Duterte agreed to certify as urgent the bill of Senator Manny Pacquiao increasing tobacco tax to P60 per pack, from the current P30. Duterte approved the recommendation of the Department of Health (DOH) and the Department of Finance (DOF) to back Pacquiao's bill, which he filed in October 2017.
Rappler, Manila Bulletin

What to expect as gov't operates on a reenacted budget
The Philippine government is now operating on a reenacted budget, after lawmakers failed to pass the 2019 national budget on time. Pending the enactment of the 2019 P3.757-trillion national budget, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) issued guidelines on how the government will operate in the coming months.
Rappler

Drilon calls on DBM not to hostage salary hike of state workers
Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon called on the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) not to hold “hostage” the salary increase for government employees due to the non-passage of the 2019 budget. Drilon said the budget agency can implement the fourth tranche of salary adjustment immediately because the fund and authorization are available.
GMA News

De Lima: Be not afraid to speak against Duterte
People should not be afraid to oppose President Rodrigo Duterte’s views, particularly his most recent tirades against the Church and his admission that he molested his family’s maid as a teenager.
Philippine Daily Inquirer

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Robredo welcomes good news country’s inflation rate showed signs of easing
Vice President Leni Robredo welcomed the good news the country’s inflation rate showed signs of easing, but she said poor Filipinos still suffer from high prices of goods. “Ito, bumagal pero hindi pa rin naibaba sa dating estimate. Kasi kung naalala natin, iyong estimate dati 2 to 4 percent (It slowed down but it was no different to earlier estimates. If we recall, the estimate before was from 2 to 4 percent),” Robredo said in her weekly radio show, “BISErbisyong Leni.”
Manila Bulletin

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Law catching up on Trillanes – Palace
The law is now catching up on Senator Antonio Trillanes IV after a Makati court upheld its decision to issue an arrest warrant against him for a rebellion case, Malacañang said Tuesday.
Manila Bulletin

Trillanes’ camp looking into seeking higher courts for his rebellion case
The camp of Senator Antonio Trillanes IV is looking into seeking higher courts regarding his rebellion case which the Makati Regional Trial Court Branch 150 revived. Atty. Reynaldo Robles, Trillanes’ legal counsel, said they will appeal the Branch 150’s latest decision denying their motion for reconsideration on its September 25, 2018 arrest order for his rebellion case in connection to Manila Peninsula Siege in 2007.
Manila Bulletin

DISASTER

A tale of two storms and two presidents
WHEN Yolanda wiped off most of Tacloban and ravaged other parts of Eastern Visayas in 2013, it also drowned the presidential hopes of Mar Roxas, who was then the interior secretary tasked with the government response to Yolanda. It also further exposed President Noynoy Aquino’s lack of empathy made famous with his remark to a businessman who requested public safety, by saying, “buhay ka pa naman, di ba?” 
Sunstar Davao

Taiwan to give P10.5 M to aid PH government, Filipinos recover from ‘Usman’ devastation
Taiwan is donating US$200,000 (approximately P10.5 million) to the Philippines to help the government and the Filipino people recover from the devastation caused by Tropical Depression ‘Usman’ that struck the country last month.
Manila Bulletin

DSWD to provide emergency shelter assistance to ‘Usman’ victims
The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) will be providing emergency shelter assistance to families whose houses were partially or totally damaged during the onslaught of tropical depression “Usman.” Based on the latest report of the DSWD’s Disaster Response Management Bureau, there are 11,312 damaged houses in Southern Luzon, Bicol, and Eastern Visayas that will be assessed by DSWD in coordination with their respective local government units (LGUs).
Manila Bulletin

QC adopts Davao’s emergency response practices
To improve the responsiveness to emergencies and accidents of barangays and the city disaster management council, Quezon City Vice Mayor Joy Belmonte is planning to adopt the disaster risk reduction scheme of its sister city, Davao.
Philippine News Agency

MINDANAO

ELECTION RELATED

Comelec exemption needed to carry guns during ban period: PNP
Even legitimate holders of firearms with permits-to-carry (PTCs) still need to seek gun ban exemption from the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to take their weapons outside their homes. Senior Supt. Raul Tacaca, provincial police director, made the clarification Tuesday as the Negros Oriental Provincial Police Office (NORPPO) gears up for the start of the election period and the Comelec gun ban on January 13.
Philippine News Agency

Election-related Violence

CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS

JUDICIARY

LEGISLATIVE

Sotto sees passage of new budget before end-January
Senate President Vicente Sotto III on Tuesday assured that the Senate is "doing its best" to pass the proposed 2019 national budget as soon as possible. He said legislators would hopefully bar any last-minute glitches in the deliberations or in the bicameral conference committee meeting and have it ready for signing by President Rodrigo Duterte before the end of the month.
Philippine News Agency

LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNITS (LGUs)

IRA of LGUs hiked to P575.5 billion this year
The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) has adjusted the internal revenue allotment (IRA) of local government units (LGUs) with the creation of 15 new barangays. For this year, the total IRA of LGUs is P575.52 billion, an increase of 10 percent compared to last year’s figure. The IRA is automatically appropriated among provinces, cities and municipalities in accordance with the allocation formula prescribed under Section 285 of Republic Act 7160 or the Local Government Code.
Philippine Star

Duterte urges over 4,000 brgy, local officials to ward off all forms of lawlessness
President Duterte on Tuesday held a dialogue with more than 4,000 barangay and local government officials of Metro Manila reiterating his call for them to perform to the fullest their sworn duties in warding off all forms of lawlessness in their respective jurisdictions during Tuesday’s “Barangay Summit on Peace and Order’’ in Pasay City.
Manila Bulletin

DEFENSE AND SECURITY

BOL plebiscite, midterm polls, WPS, among challenges for 2019 — Lorenzana
Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana Tuesday said that the incoming Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) plebiscite, the mid-term elections in May, and the row in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) or South China Sea, are among the challenges they are facing in 2019.
Manila Bulletin

Zubiri bats for revival of Self-Reliant Defense Posture for PH
Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri wants to revive the government’s Self-Reliant Defense Posture (SRDP) program to develop the national defense industry and reduce dependence on foreign nations for the country’s military needs.
Manila Bulletin

Duterte orders cops, soldiers to refrain from drinking in public places
President Duterte has ordered policemen and soldiers to refrain from drinking in public places to avoid getting into trouble. The President said he was expanding the coverage of the public drinking ban imposed on the uniformed personnel in Davao City as he expressed concern that cops and soldiers tend to get drunk and disorderly.
Manila Bulletin

ECONOMY AND INVESTMENTS

BUILD, BUILD, BUILD

OFFICIAL DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE

GRAFT AND CORRUPTION

Panelo on PACC accusation vs Bello: It shouldn’t have been released right away
The extortion accusations by the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission against Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III should not have been made public right away, according to presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo. Panelo told Malacañang reporters in a press conference on Tuesday that a letter should have been addressed to Bello privately.
Philippine Star

Palace to PACC: Give due process to public officials under investigation for irregularities
Malacañang has reminded the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC) to give due process to public officials under investigation for alleged irregularities. Presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo said the concerned government officials should be notified about any corruption complaint before releasing their names in public.
Manila Bulletin

Elenita Binay elevates graft, malversation concerns to SC
Former Makati Mayor Elenita Binay has elevated her concerns in her graft and malversation case before the Sandiganbayan Third Division to the Supreme Court as she filed a petition for certiorari. A petition for certiorari gives a higher court the jurisdiction to review a decision of a lower court. 
Manila Bulletin

Bello to seek dismissal of PACC Commissioner Luna
Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said he will be seeking the dismissal of Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission Commissioner Manuelito Luna for alleged grave abuse of authority. “I’m going to ask the President (Duterte) to dismiss him from office for grave abuse of authority,” he told DZMM in an interview Tuesday.
Manila Bulletin

FOREIGN RELATIONS  

West Philippine Sea

WPS issue still a challenge: DND chief
The territorial dispute in the South China Sea (SCS) or West Philippine Sea (WPS) remains a challenge, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said Tuesday. He made this statement during the press briefing, shortly after the New Year's Call held at the AFP Commissioned Officers' Club in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City.
Philippine News Agency

LABOR

TRANSPORTATION

LTFRB panel denies Go-Jek entry into Philippine market
The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) has denied the application of Indonesian ride-hailing firm Go-Jek that would have allowed it to enter the Philippine market, sources confirmed. The LTFRB issued Resolution No. 096 dated December 20, 2018 denying Go-Jek's application, through its local subsidiary Velox Technology Philippines, as a transport network company (TNC) over foreign ownership issues.
Rappler

LTO admits glitches in licensing process
The Land Transportation Office- National Capital Region (LTO-NCR) yesterday apologized to the public for glitches in its system that resulted in delays in its licensing services. In a public advisory posted on Facebook, the LTO-NCR said it has encountered problems in the online submission of medical certificates by accredited doctors and clinics.
Philippine Star

Philippines lags behind SE Asia neighbors in auto sales, production
OF the eight members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) that submit data to the region’s vehicle industry group, three have recorded less deliveries in the first nine months of 2018 when compared to the same period of the previous year.
Business World Online

HEALTH 

FOOD AND AGRICULTURE

Gov’t agencies intensify airport security over contaminated pork meats, products
The Bureau of Customs and Bureau of Animal Industry had intensified the country’s border security against possible entry of contaminated pork meats and meat products from African Swine Fever high-risk countries.
Manila Bulletin

2019 National Palm Oil Congress set in Butuan City
The 2019 National Palm Oil Congress is all set in Butuan City. Experts on palm oil industry from the different parts of the world are set to converge in this city for the 11th National Palm Oil Congress (11th NPOC) to tackle pressing issues faced by the industry and collectively work towards its development.
Manila Bulletin

EDUCATION

DepEd seeks to revamp basic education for climate change awareness
Education Secretary Leonor Briones underscored the need to “rework” and review the curriculum for basic education in an effort to increase the awareness of both learners and teachers on the effects and “emerging challenges” brought about by climate change.
Manila Bulletin

ENERGY

POVERTY

HOUSING

TOURISM

ENVIRONMENT AND NATURAL RESOURCES 

Reexport of South Korean garbage rescheduled on Sunday
The 51 containers of South Korean garbage will remain for another four days at the Mindanao International Container Terminal (MICT) in Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental as its reexport was re-scheduled on Sunday from the previously announced date of January 9.
Manila Bulletin

Gov’t crack down on Manila Bay polluters part of planned rehab effort — Palace
The government could close down establishments polluting Manila Bay as part of its planned rehabilitation effort, Malacañang said Tuesday. Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo said President Duterte is prepared to show “political will” to enforce the cleanup of Manila Bay that includes a crackdown on polluters.
Manila Bulletin

Gov’t mulling over use of special road funds to bankroll cleanup, rehab of Manila Bay
The government is mulling over the use of the special road funds to bankroll the cleanup and rehabilitation of Manila Bay. The utilization of the road users’ tax for government projects was discussed during the Cabinet meeting convened by President Duterte in Malacañang last Monday.
Manila Bulletin

Put up water treatment facilities: PRRD tells Manila Bay hotels
President Rodrigo R. Duterte on Tuesday asked hotels operating near Manila Bay to ensure that there are enough water treatment facilities established in the area or else risk getting a closure. Duterte made this statement during the Barangay Summit on Peace and Order at the Cuneta Astrodome in Pasay City.
Philippine News Agency, Manila Bulletin

DENR scours Mactan waters for waste from Cebu hospital
A team from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) in Central Visayas has been scouring the seas around Mactan Island for medical waste from a private hospital in Cebu City. William Cuñado, director of the DENR’s Environmental Management Bureau in Central Visayas, said the team had zeroed in on the waters around Barangay Ibo in Lapu-Lapu City.
Philippine Daily Inquirer

COMMUNICATION AND TECHNOLOGY

DEVELOPMENT SECTOR