Tag: Arjay L. Balinbin

THE INVOLVEMENT of Israel and Russia in the Philippine government’s counter-terrorism efforts, especially in Mindanao, will be advantageous to the military, but analysts cautioned against the potential for corruption in defense-related contracts.

THE COMMISSION on Human Rights (CHR) has called out the Philippine National Police (PNP) over what it deems an excessive handling of detained opposition Senator Leila M. de Lima.

MALACAÑANG ON Thursday said the Philippines should "perhaps be thankful" to China for the reported maritime rescue center it constructed in the Philippine-claimed Kagitingan Reef in the West Philippine Sea because it will be beneficial to seamen in distress.

THE Department of Finance (DoF) on Wednesday said it is still hoping to pass measures raising the excise tax on tobacco and alcohol products before Congress goes on break in early February for the May 13 midterm elections, adding that it will be “re-filing” the other remaining tax reform packages.

THE National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) on Wednesday said its report on the sexual harassment complaint filed against one of its officials has been transmitted to President Rodrigo R. Duterte for his action.

A JOBS fair for at least 3,000 affected workers of Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction Corp. Philippines (HHIC-Phil), which has declared a debt default, will be held on Feb. 9 at the Subic Gymnasium.

THE House committee on appropriations on Tuesday agreed to the motion of Leyte 3^rd district Rep. Vicente S.E. Veloso to issue a show-cause order to Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno of the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), allowing him to explain why he should not be cited in contempt for failing to appear in the hearings on alleged anomalies in the proposed 2019 budget.

AUTHORITIES INCLUDING President Rodrigo R. Duterte himself are considering the possibility of suicide bombers involved in Sunday’s twin blasts at the Jolo Cathedral, according to their updates on Tuesday.

MALACAÑANG ON Monday defended the continued implementation of martial law in Mindanao, in the wake of Sunday’s twin blasts at the Jolo Cathedral in the predominantly Muslim island and municipality of Jolo.

AFTER firing him in October last year, President Rodrigo R. Duterte has reappointed Joel B. Maglunsod to the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE).

AT LEAST 18, including soldiers, were killed and about 80 were wounded on Sunday morning, after two bombs exploded at Jolo Cathedral in the predominantly Muslim island and capital of Jolo, about a week after the plebiscite on the Bangsamoro Organic Law.

MOST BUSINESS LEADERS agree that President Rodrigo R. Duterte has fared well when it comes to things that matter — continued economic growth and higher foreign direct investments (FDIs).

MALACAÑANG on Thursday said President Rodrigo R. Duterte does not see Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) leader Nur Misuari as a threat to the success of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), despite the rejection of Sulu province, Mr. Misuari’s turf, of the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) on Monday’s plebiscite.

THE coup at the House of Representatives that catapulted Pampanga (2^nd District) Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to the speakership, on that very day of July 23 last year, when President Rodrigo R. Duterte was scheduled to deliver his State of the Nation Address, was a signal even to the surprised reporters covering the House that Mr. Duterte did not have a sure grip on his allies.

AMID the backlash to its bill on criminal liability, the House of Representatives on Wednesday approved on second reading an amended version of that bill lowering the age of “social” responsibility to 12 years old, from the originally proposed age of nine years old the chamber had earlier passed.

THE LOCAL police have been directed to resolve the failed murder attempt on the mayor of San Fernando town in Cebu last Tuesday, which is suspected to be politically-motivated.

MALACAÑANG ON Tuesday said it is open to appealing the US government’s imposing a one-year ban on hiring workers from the Philippines.

IT IS reasonable to expect that charter change will be the predominant theme in the agenda of this year’s 18^th Congress.

PRESIDENT Rodrigo R. Duterte is now open to limiting Charter change to just economic provisions, noting that Congress is “taking too long” to act on it.

MALACAÑANG on Sunday condemned the murder of a former assistant prosecutor in Cebu City as it ordered the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to probe the killing.

FILIPINO FAMILIES reporting that they experienced “involuntary hunger at least once in the past three months” fell by 2.8 points to 10.5%, equivalent to about 2.4 million families, according to the fourth quarter Social Weather Survey conducted by Social Weather Stations (SWS).

MALACAÑANG on Thursday said there is no need to apply pressure on Congress to pass the proposed 2019 National Budget because it will be passed in February.

DEFENSE Secretary Delfin N. Lorenzana said funding for the underground communist movement remains a challenge to the government in its objective to end the insurgency.

SRI LANKAN President Maithripala Sirisena on Wednesday said President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s drug war is “an example to the whole world.

MALACAÑANG has issued Proclamation No. 646 declaring Monday, Jan. 21, a special non-working day in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), Isabela City in Basilan, and Cotabato City for the plebiscite on the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL).

A TAX amnesty measure was set to be transmitted on Wednesday to the office of President Rodrigo R. Duterte, Finance Assistant Secretary Antonio Joselito G. Lambino II said.

PRESIDENT Rodrigo R. Duterte and Sri Lanka President Maithripala Sirisena on Wednesday witnessed the signing of five bilateral agreements at Malacañang Palace, including cooperation on defense, agriculture, education, and tourism.

PRESIDENT Rodrigo R. Duterte has appointed Makati City Regional Trial Court Judge Ronald B. Moreno as Associate Justice of the Sandiganbayan.

PRESIDENT Rodrigo R. Duterte on Wednesday said that dismissed Bacolod police chief Senior Supt. Francisco B. Ebreo “might not be” in the illegal drug trade, but revealed that he is a protector of a certain drug lord in the city.

COTABATO CITY — Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) Chairman Al Haj Murad Ebrahim expressed confidence in the ratification of the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) given the vigorous campaign that various sectors have been conducting in the past weeks.

MALACAÑANG SAID on Monday it will look into the alleged passport data breach, together with the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), the Presidential Communications Operations Office(PCOO), and the United Graphics Expression Corporation (UGEC).

MALACAÑANG on Monday said the President Maithripala Sirisena of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is scheduled to arrive in Manila today, Jan. 15, for a five-day state visit to the country.

PRESIDENT Rodrigo R. Duterte has fired Senior Supt. Francisco B. Ebreo as Bacolod City police chief and four other officials for their alleged involvement in illegal drugs.

PRESIDENT Rodrigo R. Duterte remains the most trusted among the four top national officials, according to Pulse Asia’s December 2018 Nationwide Survey on the performance and trust ratings of key government officials.

PRESIDENT Rodrigo R. Duterte has signed an executive order mandating the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC) to recommend complaints of violations of the Anti-Red Tape Act to the Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA).

PRESIDENT Rodrigo R. Duterte has appointed Board of Investments (BoI) Management Service Group OIC-Executive Director Marjorie O. Ramos-Samaniego as BoI governor.

A MEASURE institutionalizing telecommuting as an alternative work scheme has been signed into law by President Rodrigo R. Duterte, as confirmed on Thursday by Malacañang and also by Senator Emmanuel Joel J. Villanueva, one of the measure’s principal authors.

PRESIDENT Rodrigo R. Duterte has signed a law increasing the monthly pension of war veterans to “300%” beginning this year.

MALACAÑANG on Thursday denied that the government, through the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO), is red-baiting members of the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP).

MALACAÑANG ANNOUNCED on Wednesday that President Rodrigo R. Duterte has signed into law the Philippine HIV and AIDS Policy Act of 2018.

MALACAÑANG HAS declared special non-working days in three cities for their respective local celebrations. These are:

MALACAÑANG on Tuesday said President Rodrigo R. Duterte approved a proposal of the Department of Health (DoH) and the Department of Finance (DoF) to impose a P60 tax per pack of tobacco and P40 per liter of alcohol.

MALACAÑANG on Tuesday dismissed House Majority Leader Rolando G. Andaya, Jr.’s threat to seek Supreme Court intervention if the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) fails to implement a scheduled salary increase for government employees by Jan. 15.

PRESIDENTIAL Spokesperson Salvador S. Panelo on Tuesday said the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC) should give officials under investigation for alleged corruption a chance to respond.

MALACAÑANG on Tuesday assured the public that President Rodrigo R. Duterte supports the proposed HIV and AIDS Policy Act of 2018.