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Communist Rebellion

Peace talks

OPAPRU peace roadmap to guide next admin
OPAPRU Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. cited the significant milestone of President Rodrigo Duterte’s administration “to strengthen the foundations where a just and long-lasting peace can take root and flourish”.
PNA

Incidents/Operations

Army captures NPA squad leader in Davao Oriental
A SQUAD leader of the New People's Army (NPA) was captured and six firearms and war materiel were confiscated from his possession on May 5 in Davao Oriental, a ranking official said Saturday. Capt. Mark Anthony 
The Manila Times

Bangsamoro
BARMM 

Decommissioned MILF combatants get free training, financial stipend from MBHTE-TESD
After successfully completing skills training, a total of 219 decommissioned Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) combatants received support fund allowance from the Ministry of Basic, Higher and Technical Education-Technical Education and Skills Development (MBHTE-TESD) here at Simuay on Friday, May 13, 2022.
Bangsamoro Information Office

LANAO PROVINCES

Comelec eyes May 24 for special elections in Tubaran, Lanao del Sur
The Commission on Elections (Comelec) is planning to hold the special polls for Tubaran, Lanao del Sur on May 24 after failure of elections were declared in 12 barangays there, acting spokesperson Rex Laudiangco announced on Saturday.
CNN Philippines | Philstar

Special elections set for Tubaran, Lanao Sur
Acting Comelec spokesman John Rex Laudiangco said the projected date for the special elections is for planning purposes, because according to the Omnibus Election Code "the cause of the failure of elections should have ceased first" before a special election could be set.
The Manila Times

Explosion rocks compound of mayor-elect in Lanao del Sur
Suspected partisans on Friday blasted a fragmentation grenade at the residential compound of the newly-elected mayor in the politically-troubled Pualas town in Lanao del Sur.
NDBC News
Shadow economies

ILLICIT FIREARMS, EXPLOSIVES, AND AMMUNITION

35% of gun ban violators from NCR
At least 35 percent of people who were arrested for allegedly violating the nationwide election gun ban, which ends on June 8, are from the National Capital Region (NCR).
Philstar

Human Rights

Press Freedom/ Freedom of expression

Loren sees media thriving under Marcos administration
“We thrive in a democracy. I was in media for 20 years. I know that it can’t be perfect in every administration,” she stressed in an interview with CNN Philippines.
Philstar

Governance

COVID-19

IATF/NTF COVID-19 

P1 billion released for COVID-19 compensation for health workers - DBM
Up to P1.081 billion have been released by the Department of Budget and Management for the benefits of health workers who contracted COVID-19 while on duty this year, the agency said Sunday.
ABS-CBN News

Regions

Visayas

Land use plan crucial to Iloilo City’s goal as ‘most livable’
The Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) will contribute to the economic development and environmental protection of Iloilo City following the approval of its 2021-2029 Comprehensive Land Use Plan (CLUP). 
PNA

Prices of basic commodities in Western Visayas rise in April
According to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), inflation in rate in the region has accelerated to 4.9 percent in April 2022, posting an increase of 0.3 from the 4.6 percent inflation rate recorded in March this year.
Manila Bulletin

Mindanao

Three teens shot dead in South Cotabato
THE chief of police in Polomolok has ordered the investigation of the killing of three minors on Thursday near the boundary of Polonuling village in Tupi and Sumbakil village in Polomolok, both in South Cotabato.
The Manila Times

Manila-Davao passengers commend PAL crew for safe landing
“As we were just about a few meters past the edge of the runaway, the plane had to suddenly lift off again. Captain reported that due to a wind shear condition, we had to abort. And so we circled for a while before landing successfully after another try,” he said, adding they landed at around 11:50 p.m. 
Mindanews

Away pulitika nauwi sa pananaksak sa Davao City; 2 patay
Patay ang isang 71-anyos na lalaki at 30-anyos na anak nito matapos saksakin ng live-in partner ng anak at kapatid nito sa Brgy. Matina Apalaya, Davao City Biyernes ng gabi.
ABS-CBN News

World

Finnish president confirms country will apply to join NATO
Finland’s President Sauli Niinisto confirmed on Sunday, May 15, that his country would apply for membership of the NATO military alliance, in a historic policy shift prompted by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Rappler

Frontlines shift in Donbas as Ukraine mounts counteroffensive
The frontlines in the Ukraine war had shifted on Sunday, May 15, as Russia made some advances in the fiercely contested eastern Donbas region and the Ukrainian military waged a counteroffensive near the strategic Russian-held city of Izium.
Rappler | Inquirer

What we know (and don't know) about North Korea's Covid outbreak
North Korea's first-reported Covid-19 outbreak is the "greatest turmoil" to befall the country since its founding more than 70 years ago, according to its leader Kim Jong Un, as the isolated and impoverished nation scrambles to curb the spread of a highly transmissible virus that risks causing a major humanitarian crisis.
CNN Philippines

Shireen Abu Aqleh: ‘Cold-blooded’ killing and funeral chaos leave West Bank in turmoil
Nahed Araf Imran and her husband Jamal were exhausted but excited on Wednesday morning: Nahed was in labour with their third child at a local hospital in Nablus, in the north of the occupied West Bank.
The Guardian

Russia-Ukraine war: Finland will apply for Nato membership; missile strike destroys Lviv military facility 
Finland’s ministry for foreign affairs has tweeted regarding today’s announcement that the country intends to join Nato. Nato membership, it says “offers Finland the most security” in light of its own security environment having “changed fundamentally”.
The Guardian

Britain says Russia has lost a third of its forces in Ukraine
Russia has probably lost around a third of the ground forces it deployed to Ukraine and its offensive in the Donbas region "has lost momentum and fallen significantly behind schedule", British military intelligence said on Sunday (May 15).
The Straits Times

ASEAN-US Summit: PH calls for cooperation on climate crisis, maritime security
The Philippines has called for regional cooperation on various issues including climate crisis, maritime security, and post-pandemic recovery during its participation in the ASEAN-US Special Summit this week.
CNN Philippines

China slams planned US economic framework as Biden hosts SE Asian leaders
Beijing has slammed the U.S.-proposed Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF), calling it an attempt by Washington to lure Southeast Asian countries to “decouple from China.”
Benar News

Biden touts ‘free and open’ Indo-Pacific in summit with ASEAN leaders
U.S. President Joe Biden declared to Southeast Asian leaders on Friday that “our relationship with you is the future,” as he wound up a summit with the ASEAN bloc of nations aimed at shoring up trans-Pacific ties and countering China’s heavy influence in the region.
Benar News

Southeast Asian diaspora members rally in Washington against ASEAN autocrats
More than 100 protesters gathered at the Washington Monument in the U.S. capital on Thursday to call on the United States to encourage democracy and the rule of law in the largely authoritarian nations of Southeast Asia, as leaders from the region met with President Joe Biden on the first day of a high-level summit.
Benar News

Filmmaker: Officials Arrest Iran Movie Industry Workers
An award-wining Iranian filmmaker said authorities raided the offices and homes of several filmmakers and other industry professionals and arrested some of them.
Asharq Al-Awsat

Incidents and Violations 

Iran: One Killed in Unrest Over Food Price Hikes
An Iranian lawmaker said Saturday that one person was killed in the city of Dezful during recent unrest over price increases in the southwestern Khuzestan province, semi-official ILNA news agency reported Saturday.
Asharq Al-Awsat

Where Sri Lanka’s inflation-driven crisis could head next
Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has defied calls to resign, pledging instead to form a new government after violent clashes this week left eight people dead in an escalation of a months-long crisis over food and fuel shortages.
Business Mirror

Officials say a gunman's attack that killed 10 was a racially motivated hate crime
A gunman wearing military-style clothing and body armor opened fire with a rifle at a supermarket in Buffalo, N.Y., killing 10 people in a shooting officials are investigating as a racially motivated hate crime.
NPR

Quality appointments, clear policies vital for new admin: banker
The announcement regarding the composition of the incoming government’s Cabinet along with the details on what policies it intends to pursue will play a big role in how the public will perceive the Marcos Jr. presidency.
PNA

BUSINESS, ECONOMY AND INVESTMENT

Under new Philippine president, what is next for the economy?
The Philippines has been battered by the pandemic and a deep recession. Now, after more than two years of lockdowns, people are returning to their everyday lives and the economy is expected to outpace its neighbours.
 Al Jazeera

MBC ready to work with next administration
“The Filipino people have spoken and we, as well as other members of the business community, look forward to working with the incoming administration, Congress and local governments to build our economy and to create jobs and opportunity,” the group said.
Philstar

DEFENSE AND SECURITY

Philippine National Police 

PNP secures post-election assemblies, mass actions
Philippine National Police (PNP) officer-in-charge Lt. Gen. Vicente Danao Jr. has declared that all post-election public assemblies and other mass actions held in some places around the country have been secured to prevent any form of violence.
PNA

EDUCATION

‘Peace and discipline’ not enough to address PH’s learning crisis, group says
“What we need is a leadership that recognizes the learning crisis, the desperate quality of education, the chronically underpaid status of teachers, and the degeneration of the country’s sense of history and grasp of truth,” Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) Philippines Secretary General Raymond Basilio said.
Manila Bulletin

ELECTION RELATED

Comelec

Good to retire VCMs used in Halalan 2022, says Comelec commissioner
Citing the number of years that they have been used, the vote counting machines utilized during the May 9 polls may be up for retirement, Commission on Elections Commissioner George Garcia said Sunday.
ABS-CBN News

DepEd: Comelec is responsible for processing, releasing election-related honoraria
The Department of Education (DepEd) on Saturday, May 14, reiterated that the Commission on Elections (Comelec) is the agency responsible when it comes to processing and releasing honoraria and other allowances related to the election.
Manila Bulletin

Vote-buying fueling mobile phone sales? Comelec spox says not really
The sudden increase in mobile phone sales in at least three municipalities in Surigao del Sur cannot be directly attributed to incidents of vote-buying, an official of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) disclosed Sunday, May 15.
Manila Bulletin | Inquirer

Only 1 of 10 vote buying incidents reported to Comelec deemed ‘valid’
Based on data from its anti-vote buying taskforce, Comelec received over 1,000 vote buying reports from its Facebook page and email. Of these reports, 88 were deemed valid and have been officially recorded, while only 49 were submitted with supporting evidence. 
Business Mirror

No willing witness in many vote-buying complaints, says Comelec exec
In a media briefing on Saturday, Commissioner Aimee Ferolino reported that the anti-vote-buying Task Force ‘Kontra Bigay’ has so far received over 1,000 messages through Facebook and email, but that a lot of the allegations are not backed by evidence.
CNN Philippines | Philstar

For next polls, Comelec mulls renting VCMs instead of buying
The Commission on Elections said it is always considering to rent vote counting machines (VCMs) instead of buying them to lessen costs.
Philstar

Comelec to allocate P20 million for teachers’ additional honoraria –Garcia
Should it be approved by the Commission on Elections en banc, the  Comelec would allocate around P20 million for the additional honoraria that would be provided to the teachers who rendered overtime service during the May 9 elections, poll Commissioner George Garcia said on Sunday.
GMA News

National elections

'Hindi namin kayo bibiguin,' Marcos Jr. vows to Filipinos
Presidential frontrunner president Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. on Saturday vowed to Filipinos, especially the 31 million who voted for him on May 9, that he will not fail them under his incoming administration.
ABS-CBN News

Winning president, VP may be proclaimed by May 25
The proclamation of the winning president and vice presidential candidates can be done immediately or no later than May 25 as the Senate and the House of Representatives sitting jointly as the National Board of Canvassers see no major issues hampering the canvassing, Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri said yesterday.
Philstar

INFORMATION, COMMUNICATION AND TECHNOLOGY

Elon Musk says Twitter legal team told him he violated an NDA
Elon Musk on Saturday, May 14, tweeted that Twitter Inc’s TWTR.N legal team accused him of violating a nondisclosure agreement by revealing that the sample size for the social media platform’s checks on automated users was 100.
Rappler

DICT identifies IP addresses in website attacks
The Commission on Elections (Comelec) said yesterday the Department of Communications and Information Technology (DICT) has identified certain IP (internet protocol) addresses used in the failed attacks on the poll body’s website shortly before the May 9 elections.
Philstar
 

LABOR

Petitions for wage increase in other regions also being heard — DOLE
Following the approval of the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB) of a salary increase for laborers in Metro Manila and Western Visayas, the Labor department says the same could be in store for other regions in the country as well.
CNN Philippines | Inquirer

Employers’ group inalmahan ang wage hike sa Western Visayas
Ito ang reaksyon ng grupo ng mga negosyante sa Bacolod City sa inaprubahang wage increase sa Western Visayas ng Regional Tripartite Wage and Productivity Board.
ABS-CBN News

LEGISLATIVE

Senate of the Philippines

Comelec optimistic 12 winning senators proclaimed Tuesday
“We are on track with our timeline. That is our projection. We said early next week and Tuesday is still early next week,” he said in a press briefing Sunday, May 15.
Manila Bulletin

At least 3 vying for Senate president
At least three senators will be slugging it out for the post of Senate president, who should be elected before the 19th Congress opens its first regular session on July 25.
Philstar

Sotto warns vs poll result tampering
Sotto, who is running for vice president in the May 9 elections, said this information was reported by the Senate’s IT representative to the Joint Congressional Oversight Committee on the Automated Election System (JCOC-AES) who found out that Smartmatic is not only contracted to supply the vote counting machines (VCMs) but also handle the transmission of results.
Philstar

House of Representatives

After PDP-Laban and NP, Sotto’s NPC now also backing Romualdez as next House Speaker
The Nationalist Peoples’ Coalition (NPC) will throw its support to incumbent House Majority Leader Rep. Martin Romualdez as the next Speaker of the House of Representatives in the upcoming 19th Congress, Senate President Vicente Sotto III said on Sunday, May 15.
Manila Bulletin

LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNITS (LGUs)

Año welcomes planned appointment of Abalos as incoming DILG chief
Interior Secretary Eduardo Año on Saturday welcomed the planned appointment of his successor, former Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) chairman Benjamin "Benhur" Abalos Jr.
ABS-CBN News

FOREIGN RELATIONS 

Putin, more world leaders congratulate poll frontrunner Marcos Jr
Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated Philippine presidential frontrunner Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., the Russian foreign ministry said.
ABS-CBN News

FOOD AND AGRICULTURE

3 areas in Mindanao still positive for red tide 
Based on BFAR’s Shellfish Bulletin No. 9 dated May 13, the latest laboratory results show that the paralytic shellfish poison (PSP) detected in samples collected from Dumanquillas Bay in Zamboanga del Sur, Litalit Bay in San Benito in Surigao del Norte, and Lianga Bay in Surigao del Sur has remained beyond the regulatory limit.
Mindanews

Zambo City adds checkpoints to contain ASF spread
 Additional checkpoints have been established here to prohibit the entry of live hogs, pork products, and by-products, allowing only those with veterinary health certificates.
PNA

GENDER

Debate in Spain over 'menstrual leave' plan
Spain’s plan to become the first European nation to allow women to take “menstrual leave” from work has sparked a debate that has split the country’s leftist coalition government and unions.
Manila Bulletin

SOCIAL WELFARE AND DEVELOPMENT

DSWD links community associations with prospective markets to support anti-hunger efforts
The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has gathered its partner agencies for a four-day orientation that aims to strengthen the linkages of Community-Based Organizations (CBOs) under the Enhanced Partnership Against Hunger and Poverty (EPAHP) with prospective markets and government programs.
Manila Bulletin

TRANSPORTATION

Transport group appeals for Duterte to pass EO suspending fuel excise tax
The Pinagkaisang Samahan ng mga Tsuper at Operator Nationwide (PISTON) on Sunday called on President Rodrigo Duterte to pass an executive order to suspend the excise tax on fuel to help alleviate the plight of public utility vehicle (PUV) drivers after the successive major price hikes.
GMA News

WATER and ENERGY

DOE readies transition docs, hopes next admin will pursue nuclear power adoption
The Department of Energy (DOE) is preparing a set of documents containing the initiatives it hopes the next administration will continue, including the unrealized adoption of nuclear power in the country’s energy mix during the Duterte administration.
GMA News

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