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Communist Rebellion

Lorenzana asks Makabayan to denounce NPA after death of Cullamat’s daughter
National Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana called on the House of Representatives’ Makabayan bloc to denounce the atrocities of the New People’s Army (NPA) following the death of the daughter of Bayan Muna Rep. Eufemia Cullamat.
Philippine Daily Inquirer

UN rights chief hits use of landmines in PH as government blames NPA
United Nations human rights chief Michelle Bachelet expressed alarm over the use of landmines in several countries, including the Philippines, citing mounting casualties among ordinary citizens. 
Rappler 

AFP Human Rights Office reports CPP-NPA-NDF’s exploitation of minors to UN
The Armed Forces of the Philippines Human Rights Office (AFPHRO) submitted a report to the United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator presenting the list of child warriors employed by the Communist Party of the Philippines – New People’s Army – National Democratic Front (CPP-NPA-NDF).
PTV News 

Tiamzon couple still in PH: Año
Interior Secretary Eduardo Año on Sunday said Benito Tiamzon and his wife, Wilma are still in the country, urging them to surrender three days after a Quezon City court sentenced them to up to 40 years imprisonment for kidnapping and serious illegal detention.
Canadian Inquirer 

Peace talks

Incidents/Operations

CPP condemns ‘mafia-style execution’ of 2 NDFP consultants
Two National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) peace consultants were killed in a pre-dawn police raid last Wednesday, November 25, in Angono, Rizal.
Bulatlat Kodao Productions 

Bayan Muna representative, Eufemia Cullamat’s daughter dies in an encounter with the Army’s 3SFBn
Troops of the Philippine Army’s 3rd Special Forces Battalion (3SFBn) engaged in an encounter with 30 Communist NPA Terrorists, said to be members of the SYP Platoon, Guerilla Force 19 under the leadership of Ka-Coby, or Marion Himo Jr at Brgy. San Isidro, Marihatag, Surigao del Sur yesterday, November 28.
Kalinaw News

Locals report NPA extortions, series of encounter occurs in Bukidnon
Tired of giving revolutionary taxes, local populace reported New People’s Army (NPA) extortionist which resulted to a series of encounters at Barangay Manalog, Malaybalay City, Bukidnon.
Kalinaw News

 
Extremism

MARAWI 

Gov’t starts rebuilding mosques destroyed during Marawi siege
The government has started the reconstruction and repair of various mosques in Marawi City massively destroyed during a five-month-long siege in 2017, Task Force Bangon Marawi (TFBM) chairperson and housing czar Secretary Eduardo del Rosario said Saturday.
Canadian Inquirer | GMA News 

SOUTHEAST ASIA AND THE WORLD

Masterminds of terrorism against Iran
On Friday at 14:30, a sound of explosion rocked the small Absard city of Damavand County, about 40 kilometers northeast of the capital Tehran. A Nissan Junior pickup truck packed with highly explosive materials exploded as the convoy of Dr. Fakhrizadeh passed by. The assailants, who are estimated to be more than 10 people, immediately unleashed a barrage of gunshots, assassinating the scientist and severely injuring his bodyguards. Iranian security forces rushed to the crime scene moments after the attack. A helicopter immediately landed there to transfer the injured scientist to hospital. Doctors made efforts to keep Fakhrizadeh alive, but their efforts to resuscitate him ended in failure. And ultimately, the Iranian Defense Ministry announced his martyrdom on Friday evening.
Tehran Times

Islamist Terrorists Kill Four Salvation Army Members in C. Sulawesi, Manhunt Launched
The National Police and Indonesia Military has launched an operation to hunt down an Islamist terror group East Indonesia Mujahidin, or MIT, hiding in a forest in Sigi, Central Sulawesi, after the terrorist allegedly killed a Christian family in The Salvation Army church's outpost on Friday. 
Jakarta Globe 

Afghanistan: 34 people killed in two suicide bombings
At least 34 people have been killed in two separate suicide bombings that targeted a military base and a provincial chief.
Aljazeera 

Morocco most insulated country from terrorism in North Africa-Global terrorism Index
Morocco has leapt 10 places in the Global Terrorism Index ranking just behind Taiwan and ahead of Hungary maintaining its place as the most insulated country from terrorism in North Africa.
North Africa Post 

5 years after San Bernardino terrorist attack, unfinished business in courts and capitols
Five years after the Dec. 2, 2015, terrorist attack in San Bernardino, the survivors and the families of the 14 people killed are finally receiving some measure of justice as the court cases borne out of the investigation wind down.
San Bernardino The Sun

Ex-Penarth pupil and ISIS terrorist begs to return to UK
Aseel Muthana, a former St Cyres school pupil, left Butetown, where he lived with his brother and parents, to join IS in 2014 - and now he wants to return. Aseel, now 24, told the Sunday Mirror of crucifixions, beheadings, and bragged that he "missed" seeing homosexuals being thrown from rooftops.
Penarth Times

ISIS fundraising cell raising cash through Facebook to free Western jihadi brides from refugee camps
A twisted ISIS fundraising cell is raising money in the UK to free western jihadi brides from Syrian camps, it has been reported. Undercover reporters chatted with a "fixer" online and then dealt with a fanatical courier in London.
The Irish Sun 

One year after the Fishmongers’ Hall attack, a rethink is needed on terrorist prisoners
Usman Khan appeared to be a model prisoner. After being jailed for his part in an al-Qaeda-inspired bomb plot in 2012, he had ticked all the boxes required for terror offenders. He had been through a prison counter-extremism programme and separate scheme to reduce reoffending, and had actively asked for deradicalisation support.
Independent UK

IUMS Says Muslim Brotherhood Not A Terrorist Group  
Ahmad al-Raysuni said in a statement that the group has a history of serving Islam and accusing it of terrorism and crimes without any evidence is not acceptable, Anadolu Agency reported.
International Quran News Agency

Pakistan Scribe Calls Out Imran Khan Govt For 'lecturing' France, Staying Quiet On Uighurs
A Pakistan-based journalist has called out Prime Minister Imran Khan’s government over hypocrisy for staying “quiet on Uighurs” and lecturing the French government on religious freedoms. In an opinion piece published in The Spectator, Kunwar Khuldune Shahid also mentioned that Imran Khan’s government can not replicate the apparent religious tolerance as the number of places of worship for different faiths in Pakistan has drastically reduced especially in the recent years. 
Republic World 

[Opinion] Libya: lights and shadows of the peace process
The parties involved in the Tunis talks were willing to respect the truce but little inclined to make political concessions to their counterparts. Uncertainty hangs over the Libyan peace process in which the role of the national players is often influenced and manipulated by the various international sponsors
Israel Defence 
Bangsamoro
BARMM 

BARMM anti-measles-rubella drive extended
Health officials of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) will add one more working week to immunize the remaining unvaccinated children under five years old in the region against measles-rubella and extended the campaign until December 4.
Manila Times 

MAGUINDANAO AND COTABATO CITY 
 
LANAO PROVINCES

DAR provides farm implements to boost agri production of Lanao del Norte ARBs
The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) in Lanao del Norte has recently turned-over farm machinery and equipment (FMEs) worth P250,000 to 142 member–agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) of Lumbac ARB Consumer Cooperative in the municipality of Magsaysay on Tuesday, November 24, 2020 to boost their agricultural production and economic lives. 
Philippine Information Agency 

BASILAN

SULU 

AFP welcomes possible firing of cops involved in Jolo shooting
The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) on Sunday cheered the recommendation of the Philippine National Police (PNP) to have the police officers involved in the Jolo shooting incident separated from the service.
GMA News 

TAWI-TAWI 
 
Shadow economies
DRUGS

17 of San Juan’s 21 barangays are now ‘drug-free’- Zamora
Of the 21 barangays in San Juan City, 17 have been declared drug-free.
Mayor Francis Zamora said Barangay Pedro Cruz is the latest to be given the Certificate of Drug-free Barangay by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA).
Manila Bulletin

PDEA, DOH San Fernando LU-TRC partner to fight vs. illegal drugs
The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency-Regional Office 1 (PDEA-1) and the Department of Health San Fernando La Union - Treatment and Rehabilitation Center (DOH SFLU-TRC) partnered to fight against illegal drugs.
Big News Network 

Operations/ Incidents

Habal-habal driver yields ‘shabu’
Police and anti-narcotics agents arrested on Sunday, November 29, 2020, a habal-habal driver during a buy-bust operation in Palompon, Leyte.
Sunstar Tacloban 

P500,000 worth of drugs seized in Mabalacat City
More than half a million pesos worth of suspected illegal drugs were seized by the Pampanga Provincial Drug Enforcement Unit in an entrapment operation launched in Mabalacat City.
Sunstar Pampanga

Recovery and Rehabilitation

ILLICIT FIREARMS, EXPLOSIVES, AND AMMUNITION

3 gun-wielding men nabbed
Police apprehended three men for allegedly creating trouble while brandishing firearms in Caloocan City before dawn yesterday.
Philippine Star

Municipal administrator in Cagayan shot dead
The municipal administrator of Lasam town here was found dead along the national highway in Barangay Callao Norte, Lasam town, early Sunday morning
Manila Bulletin

CROSS-BORDER TRADING/ SMUGGLING/ COUNTERFEIT GOODS  

HUMAN TRAFFICKING

KIDNAPPING/ ABDUCTION

ILLEGAL GAMBLING

ILLICIT FINANCIAL TRANSACTIONS/ EXTORTION
 
Land issues
Indigenous People's

The Minoritization of the Indigenous Communities of Mindanaw and Sulu (3rd of 16 parts)
Chap 1 Part III. The Spanish Contribution
Colonization, also known as Christianization though not necessarily Hispanization, was the main contribution of Spain to the minoritization process. There is no need to go into the details here. Suffice it to say that the main victims of the colonial order were the barangay communities of the eight major language groups cited earlier, and at the end of the Spanish regime, they have all acquired a common identity out of their common colonial experience.  Not all inhabitants of the archipelago were subjugated.
Mindanews 
Human Rights

[Opinion] Activism as cure to information disorder
When the Dolomite beach scandal trended online, there was speculation that authorities deliberately planned it to distract public attention from the bigger PhilHealth corruption mess. It is plausible given our history of government manipulation of public opinion for insidious ends. But if this was the work of a fixer, he or she could have simply tweaked our broken political-media landscape to drown out the PhilHealth issue. Who needs to bribe the media gatekeepers if internet users themselves are already preoccupied with consuming and sharing tidbits and bytes of mundane data?
Bulatlat 

[Opinion] Filipinos are still killing Filipinos
TODAY is Bonifacio Day. We celebrate heroism and patriotism, but we should also ponder the fact that Filipinos’ killing fellow Filipinos is as old as our history. The recent 11th anniversary of the Maguindanao Massacre is yet another stark reminder of this sad reality.
Manila Times

Press Freedom/ Freedom of expression

[Editorial] Fighting impunity
The  pernicious effects of impunity reveal themselves in a common question raised whenever another journalist, lawyer, “lumad” leader or human rights advocate is killed: What was he or she involved in?
Sunstar Cebu 

Martial Law 
Governance

COVID-19

Cases

PH COVID-19 caseload nears 430,000 as 10,579 more patients recover
The Philippines’ total coronavirus infections reached 429,864 after the Department of Health (DOH) announced 2,076 additional cases nationwide on Sunday.
Philippine Daily Inquirer

DFA’s COVID-19 tally: 11 new cases, 9 deaths
The Philippine foreign service posts have received reports of nine new fatalities and 11 new confirmed cases due to COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) among Filipinos in the Americas and Asia and the Pacific, the Department of Foreign Affairs said on Sunday.  
Manila Bulletin

Department of Health

DOH: COVID-19 recovery rate is 92.7 percent
The Department of Health (DOH) announced that 92.7 percent of those who contracted the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in the country have already recovered. 
Manila Bulletin

IATF/NTF COVID-19

PH Red Cross lowers fees for COVID-19 tests
The Philippine Red Cross said it would lower the fees for COVID-19 tests so that more people could get tested for the virus.
PRC chairman Senator Richard Gordon said during a radio show on Sunday that they were able to make a deal with China to purchase the test kits for a lower price.
CNN Philippines

Año vows probe of quarantine protocol violations
Department of Interior and Local Government Secretary Eduardo Año vowed Sunday to conduct a fact-finding investigation after presidential spokesman Harry Roque and Sen. Manny Pacquiao attended recent events that drew huge crowds and broke quarantine protocols in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country.
Manila Bulletin

Gov’t hopeful COVID-19 downtrend will continue
The government is hopeful that the downtrend in the country’s cases of coronavirus will continue while waiting for the development of the vaccine.
Manila Bulletin

Regions

Luzon including NCR

Visayas

Mindanao

World 

Vaccine giant to apply for pandemic licence in ‘two weeks’
The world’s largest vaccine manufacturer by volume said Saturday it would apply for an emergency licence for a coronavirus vaccine within two weeks, and that confusion over the efficacy would not delay its distribution. 
Manila Bulletin

Diplomatic, Development and Private Sector 

MPBL awaits IATF OK
It’s been two weeks since the MPBL delivered an appeal to the IATF for approval to resume the suspended Lakan Cup which will only take from five to seven games to finish but there’s still no word if a go-signal is on the way.
Philippine Star

CDN Digital, partners extend help to seniors
In these trying times, most people can’t help but feel hopeless in the midst of the global health crisis. There are those who brought their woes online chronicling their struggles with just about everything like health care, unemployment, food crisis, etc.
Cebu Daily News

Incidents and Violations

Roque denies violating quarantine protocols in Bantayan, Cebu event
Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said he followed quarantine protocols when he graced the opening of the airport of Bantayan Island, Cebu Friday.
Manila Bulletin

Editorial, Analysis, Opinion and Features

Numbers don’t justify rush to get AstraZeneca supply deal, former solon says
For former Kabataan Party-List Rep. Terry Ridon, the Philippines’ “mad rush” to sign a vaccine supply deal with AstraZeneca isn’t justified.
Manila Bulletin

OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT

OFFICE OF THE VICE PRESIDENT

True leaders inspire supporters, says Leni
Vice President Leni Robredo said Sunday that true leaders should inspire their supporters to do good and not the opposite, especially now the country is battling the coronavirus pandemic and reeling from the impact of recent typhoons.
Manila Bulletin

Robredo agrees with NCR mayors to keep general community quarantine
Vice President Leni Robredo on Sunday backed the recommendation of Metro Manila mayors to keep the general community quarantine over the nation’s capital region until the end of the year.
Manila Bulletin

VP Robredo tells gov’t: Be open-minded to Bloomberg study to improve COVID measures
Vice President and opposition leader Leni Robredo on Sunday, Nov. 29, urged the administration to take the country’s low COVID-19 resilience ranking as a way to improve its response efforts.
Manila Bulletin

AUDIT, GRAFT, AND CORRUPTION

Stay vigilant vs corruption -- Morales
Former Supreme Court Associate Justice and former Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales and a transparency and good governance advocate have called on the public to be more vigilant for possible corruption in the disbursement of billions of pesos in public funds intended to bankroll government’s responses to emergencies arising from coronavirus disease and devastations brought by super typhoon Rolly and typhoon Ulysses, which caused destructions in large parts of Luzon, including Metro Manila in recent weeks.
Manila Standard 

[Opinion] We must remember what went wrong, and why
Filipinos readily forgive, a distinction. We also easily forget – a flaw? Forgiving buttresses our society. Forgetting opens us to repeated abuse, especially by crooked government officials. No wonder many of us feel fated to suffer their corruption.
Philippine Star 

BUDGET, FINANCE, and TAXATION

BSP orders closure of San Fernando Rural Bank
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has ordered the closure of a Pampanga-based rural bank as part of continuing efforts to protect depositors by weeding the industry of weak players.
Philippine Star 

BUSINESS, ECONOMY AND INVESTMENT

Aboitiz Group’s contribution to government coronavirus response efforts reaches P2.2B
THE ABOITIZ GROUP’S contribution to the country’s coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) response has reached over P2.2 billion, with the company being among the firms that first offered support to the government at the beginning of the pandemic.
Business Mirror 

SEC taps PayMaya for digital payments
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has tapped digital financial services firm PayMaya to provide local businesses with more convenient cashless options when paying for online services fees.
Philippine Star 

JG Summit named 2020 DX Leader at 4th IDC Digital Transformation Awards
JG Summit Holdings Inc. Group CIO and Corporate IT Shared Services Leader Carlos Santos was recently named by the International Data Corporation (IDC) as the 2020 DX Leader for the Philippines at the 4th IDC Digital Transformation Awards.
Manila Times 

BUILD, BUILD, BUILD and PUBLIC WORKS

CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS

DISASTER AND EMERGENCY RESPONSE

Gordon thanks SoKor for P10-M aid for typhoon victims
Philippine Red Cross (PRC) chairman and CEO Senator Richard Gordon thanked the South Korea government for donating nearly PHP10-million as humanitarian assistance for families and communities affected by Super Typhoon Rolly and Typhoon Ulysses.
Philippine News Agency 

[Opinion] Disaster management & the Marikina Watershed
During Typhoon Ulysses, all eyes were on the Marikina River. The tragedy that beset the Marikeños and their neigboring areas like Cainta and Pasig during Typhoon Ondoy can never be forgotten. One would think both national and local governments would have learned from the very painful experience, swearing it will never happen again. Unfortunately, it did!
Philippine Star 

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

Guevarra orders NBI to intensify search for missing UP professor
Justice Secretary Menardo I. Guevarra on Sunday directed the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to intensify its search for the missing University of the Philippines (UP) Law Professor Ryan Oliva.
Manila Bulletin

DEFENSE AND SECURITY

Armed Forces of the Philippines

Jungle Fighter Ladies Crossed Rivers to Bring ‘Bags of Hope’ to Ulysses Victims
A two-hour travel through muddy terrain of unpaved roads and crossing a number of rivers did not dampen the Jungle Fighter Ladies Club of the Army’s 2nd Infantry Division’s desire to help typhoon-affected families in Rizal this Saturday, November 28.
Kalinaw News

New Cebu Farmers engage in corn farming
Brgy New Cebu is one of the most successful brgys in the municipality of Pres Roxas, Cotabato for its continuous harvest of vegetables planted by members of People’s Organization (PO). Yesterday, November 28, 2020, United Farmers Association of New Cebu, a People’s Organization organized by the Community Support Program Team (CSPT) of 72IB harvested 9 sacks with a total of more or less 483 kilos of corn at their vegetable farm.
Kalinaw News

Philippine National Police

PNP-IAS Western Visayas resolves 51 administrative cases against cops
The Philippine National Police (PNP) Internal Affairs Service (IAS) in Western Visayas has recorded a 94.4-percent administrative case solution efficiency since January this year that included the immediate dismissal of four policemen.
Manila Bulletin

PNP to beef up disaster response capability
After the destruction caused by Typhoon Ulysses in large parts of Luzon early this month, a ranking police official said they will be giving more focus on their humanitarian assistance disaster relief trainings and equipment.
Philippine News Agency 

EDUCATION
 
INFORMATION, COMMUNICATION AND TECHNOLOGY  
 
Sen Gatchalian seeks ban on expiry dates of prepaid Internet, cellphone load credits
Senator Sherwin Gatchalian on Sunday urged the Senate to start tackling the bill seeking to lift the validity period of prepaid load credits for phones and Internet services.
Manila Bulletin

ELECTION RELATED

ENVIRONMENT AND NATURAL RESOURCES

Co-processing: Addressing the nation’s waste management crisis
Due to rapid population growth and continued development in both urban and rural areas, the waste generated every day in the Philippines has steadily increased from over 37,000 tons per day in 2012 to over 40,000 tons per day in 2016. In Metro Manila alone, an average of over 9,000 tons of waste per day was recorded as of 2018. Of this, only 85% of the solid waste is collected and brought to landfills or dumpsites, while the remaining 15% remains uncollected and mostly ends up in waterways and bodies of water.
Business World 

LABOR

Agricultural workers’ daily pay averaged P247.81 in 2019
FARM WORKERS received an average basic wage of P247.81 per day in 2019, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA). In a report, the PSA said the 2019 average was up 4.4% from a year earlier and well above the pay reported in 2015 of P194.50.
Business World 

Smooth, no frills protests on Bonifacio Day, says labor groups
Labor groups expect things to run smoothly as they launch Bonifacio Day protests on Nov. 30.
“We expect to peacefully hold our protests with no interference from the police,” Elmer “Ka Bong” Labog, KMU chairperson, said in a statement.
Manila Bulletin

LEGISLATIVE

Senate of the Philippines

House of Representatives

LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNITS (LGUs)

OFFICIAL DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE

FOREIGN RELATIONS  

Biden And US-China-Philippines Relations
The United States (US) elections have just concluded with President-elect Joe Biden at the helm as incoming President of the “free world” on 20 January, 2021. Just last week, the Trump administration officially initiated the transition process and Biden thus far has been focused on building his incoming administration while at the same time extending a hand and offering a message of healing on Tuesday (24 November, 2020). 
The Asean Post 

India pushes closer PH trade relations
India believes that it could build stronger trade relations with the Philippines in various sectors as the two countries matched in terms of the economic landscape.
Manila Times 

West Philippine Sea

FOOD AND AGRICULTURE
 
HOUSING and SETTLEMENT

POVERTY

SOCIAL WELFARE AND DEVELOPMENT

TRANSPORTATION

TOURISM

DOT chief hopes for uniform travel requirements
Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat is hoping for eventual uniform travel requirements from local government units (LGUs) in time for the reopening of the country’s tourist destinations. 
Manila Bulletin

Coron, Palawan opens its beaches, hotels on Dec. 1
The Department of Tourism (DOT) supports Coron, Palawan’s decision to ease its travel restrictions starting Dec. 1, allowing local tourists from ages 15 to 65 years old to enter the island under a test-before-travel policy.
Manila Bulletin

WATER and ENERGY

PSALM trims debt to P371 billion as of October

State-run Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM) has managed to continuously trim its debt as it surpassed its collection efficiency target this year despite the COVID-19 pandemic.
Philippine Star

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