China belies report claiming it excluded PHL from maritime silk road plan

China has belied a report claiming it excluded the Philippines from its planned revival of an ancient maritime silk road, which aims to build infrastructure across the region to bolster trade among nations.

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DPWH’s 165-02 hotline now nationwide

The Department of Public Works and Highways this week announced its call center hotline 165-02 is now nationwide.

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Aquino back from APEC, ASEAN meets

President Benigno Aquino III arrived before dawn Friday from his trip to China and Myanmar where he represented the Philippines in two summit meetings of leaders of APEC and ASEAN.

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China made no demands during talks; Aquino issued ‘gentle reminders’

In his 10-minute talk with Chinese President Xi Jinping during the ASEAN summit in Myanmar, President Aquino said that not once did the Chinese leader ask that the Philippines’ case seeking to invalidate China’s massive claim over the South China Sea be withdrawn.

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PNoy: No need to speak to Obama about Laude murder

While President Benigno Aquino III had the chance to speak with US President Barrack Obama “one or two” times in Myanmar, he said he saw no need to broach the topic of the murder of Jeffrey "Jennifer" Laude, allegedly at the hands of a US Marine.

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De Lima: NBI to consider DOH findings in probe on P833-M vaccine purchase

Justice Secretary Leila de Lima is open to the Department of Health sharing its findings in an investigation into the controversial procurement of pneumococcal vaccines amounting to P833.6 million in 2012 with the National Bureau of Investigation.

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VP Binay camp: Senate probe costs P50M a day

The camp of Vice President Jejomar Binay on Thursday said that the Senate was spending P50 million for every hearing of the Senate Blue Ribbon Subcommittee looking into the alleged corrupt activities of the second highest elected official in the country.

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DPWH details bidding process for Iloilo Convention Center, denies overpricing

Insisting that there was no overpricing in the construction of the Iloilo Convention Center, Public Works and Highways Secretary Rogelio Singson detailed before the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee the bidding process conducted for the project.

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Prosecution rests case in Bong Revilla bail hearing

Government prosecutors on Thursday officially ended their presentation of evidence in the bail hearing of Senator Ramon Bong Revilla Jr., one of the three senators charged over the alleged pork barrel scam.

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DOH: No need to wear protective gear around quarantined peacekeepers

The Department of Health said there was no need for government personnel to wear protective gear when they received Filipino peacekeepers from Ebola-stricken Liberia on Wednesday.

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Drilon loses cool over Sen. Binay's ‘beating around the bush’ at probe

Senate President Franklin Drilon seemed to lose his cool Thursday when Senator Nancy Binay “beat around the bush” by not asking him directly about his participation in funding the Iloilo Convention Center, which his critics say is overpriced.

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PNoy still noncommittal on Mar-Poe tandem

President Benigno Aquino III could not give a categorical statement on whether or not he will support the Mar Roxas-Grace Poe tandem for 2016, which was floated by a Liberal Party official as the "team to beat" in the next elections.

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1,401 pass Midwife Licensure Exam –PRC

A total of 1,401 out of 2,768 passed the Midwife Licensure Examination given this month, the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) announced Thursday.

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VP Binay helped Magdalo soldiers but not with coup – Remulla

The camp of Vice President Jejomar Binay on Thursday said that it did help some soldiers from the Magdalo group that participated in mutinies against the Arroyo administration. The assistance, though, was not in planning a coup but in hiring them as workers at Binay's piggery in Rosario, Batangas.

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VP Binay helped Magdalo soldiers but not with Manila Pen siege – Remulla

The camp of Vice President Jejomar Binay on Thursday said that it did help some soldiers from the Magdalo group that participated in mutinies against the Arroyo administration. The assistance, though, was not in planning a coup but in hiring them as workers at Binay's piggery in Rosario, Batangas.

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13 ranking PNP officers to face Ombudsman probe over missing rifles

The Office of the Ombudsman has ordered the conduct of preliminary investigation against 13 police officers and three civilians in connection with the missing high-powered firearms that allegedly ended up in the hands of communist rebels in Mindanao.

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‘No rift between executive and Congress over Iloilo Center probe’

Malacañang doesn't expect the working relationship of the executive and legislative branches to be affected with the ongoing investigation of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee on the alleged overpricing of the P700-million Iloilo Convention Center.

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Sandiganbayan allows Revilla to stay overnight at St. Luke’s for tests

The First Division of the Sandiganbayan anti-graft court on Thursday gave Senator Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. permission to stay overnight at St. Luke’s Medical Center (SLMC) in Taguig City to undergo medical tests.

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Senators yet to see proof of overpricing in Iloilo Center

Senators have yet to see any evidence of overpricing in the construction of the P700-million Iloilo Convention Center even after the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee on Tuesday conducted a hearing on the allegations of padded costs and graft against Senate President Franklin Drilon and other officials.

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VP Binay open to possible tandem with Grace Poe in 2016

Vice President Jejomar Binay on Thursday said he is open to a possible team-up with Senator Grace Poe in the 2016 elections.

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Singson, Jimenez don't need Drilon to defend ICC project –Palace

Malacañang on Thursday said Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez and Public Works Secretary Rogelio Singson do not need Senate President Franklin Drilon to defend the controversial Iloilo Convention Center (ICC) project.

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VP Binay apologizes to KBP for retreating from debate

Vice President Jejomar Binay on Thursday apologized to Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas for backing out of the debate supposedly on November 27 with Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV.

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De Lima: Identities of Binay probers classified

Justice Secretary Leila de Lima on Thursday said the identities of the National Bureau of Investigation agents probing Vice President Jejomar Binay would be kept secret to allow them to "freely discharge" their tasks.

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VP Binay camp downplays death threat on Alan Cayetano

The camp of Vice President Jejomar Binay on Thursday dismissed as the claim of Senate Majority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano's office that he received a death threat on Wednesday as part of the senator's "squid tactics."

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PNoy to step away from VP Binay probe? Coloma thinks Koko may have been misquoted

Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma on Thursday said that Senator Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel may have been misquoted when reports about Pimentel's alleged statements for President Benigno Aquino III to back off the Senate probe on Vice President Jejomar Binay surfaced.

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No hospital arrest, just checkup, Revilla insists

Detained Senator Ramon Bong Revilla Jr. on Thursday said he has no plan of seeking hospital arrest despite his request to the court to allow him to stay overnight at the St. Luke's Medical Center (SLMC) in Taguig.

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ICC construction undergoing audit –COA official

The construction of the Iloilo Convention Center is undergoing audit, a Commission on Audit official said Thursday as he refused to answer questions during the blue ribbon committee hearing on the alleged overpriced establishment.

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Guingona acts as referee between Nancy Binay, Trillanes

Senator Teofisto Guingona III found himself serving as "referee" between warring Senators Nancy Binay and Antonio Trillanes IV Thursday during the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing on the alleged overpriced construction of the Iloilo Convention Center.

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Sandiganbayan admits major evidence vs. Revilla in ‘pork’ case

The First Division of the anti-graft court Sandiganbayan on Thursday admitted almost all of the evidence presented by the prosecution panel against Senator Ramon Bong Revilla Jr. for plunder charges in connection with his alleged involvement in the multi-billion pork barrel fund scam.

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ASEAN countries agree to discuss code of conduct in South China Sea

Members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations have agreed to discuss a code of conduct in a bid to solve maritime disputes in the South China Sea, parts of which Manila calls the West Philippine Sea, a television report said Thursday.

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Belmonte lauds PNoy’s ‘icebreaker’ meeting with Xi Jinping

House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. on Wednesday hailed the landmark meeting between President Benigno Aquino III and Chinese President Xi Jinping as an “icebreaker” that could pave the way for the possible resolution of current and long-standing conflicts between the two countries.

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Singson to resign if proven to have benefited from alleged ICC overprice

In maintaining that the Iloilo Convention Center was not overpriced, Public Works and Highways Secretary Rogelio Singson said he will resign if proven to have benefited or received even P1 from the construction of the public building.

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DOH OIC: Protective gear was not needed for returning peacekeepers

No personal protective gear was needed for the personnel who welcomed the 133 Filipino United Nations peacekeepers who returned from Liberia Wednesday, Department of Health's OIC Janette Garin assured Thursday.

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Senate panel allows Syjuco to testify against Drilon in ICC probe

The request of a former Iloilo representative to testify against Senate President Franklin Drilon in the probe on the Iloilo Convention Center (ICC) has been granted by the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee on Thursday but he will have to wait.

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Drilon insists Iloilo Convention Center not overpriced, inhibits from Senate probe

Senate President Franklin Drilon insisted Thursday that the Iloilo Convention Center was not overpriced as alleged by his former staff. “In defense of my name, my honor and my family, I specifically and categorically deny the baseless, speculative, and wild allegations of Mr. (Manuel) Mejorada. I did not commit any wrongdoing in the construction of the Iloilo Convention Center,” Drilon said in his speech at the start of the hearing of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee.

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Heroes’ welcome await peacekeepers after 21-day quarantine

A heroes' welcome – and another medical procedure – await the 133 Filipino peacekeepers who arrived Wednesday from Ebola-stricken Liberia, once they complete their 21-day quarantine at on an island in Manila Bay, the Armed Forces of the Philippines said Thursday.

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Customs officials arrest BOC employee in an entrapment operation

A 12-year veteran employee of the Bureau of Customs was arrested on Wednesday after receiving P7,000 in marked money in an entrapment operation led by Customs Deputy Commissioner Jessie Dellosa.

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House energy panel still hopeful on emergency powers for PNoy

House of Representatives energy committee chairman Reynaldo Umali is still interested in allowing President Benigno Aquino III to wield emergency powers although the president has said those powers are no longer a viable solution to the looming power crisis next year.

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PNoy pushes anew for Code of Conduct in South China Sea

President Benigno Aquino III made a fresh push for a code of conduct to solve territorial disputes in the West Philippine Sea during the 25th Association of Southeast Asian Nations Summit in Myanmar.

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LP eyeing Roxas-Poe tandem in 2016 –Erice

A Liberal Party official on Wednesday bared that the ruling party is considering the tandem of Interior Secretary Mar Roxas and Sen. Grace Poe in the 2016 elections.

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Alan Cayetano gets a death threat: ‘Isang bala lang siya’

The staff of Senate Majority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano on Wednesday night claimed receiving a phoned-in death threat against the senator at his office.

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Drilon, Cabinet members confirm presence in Iloilo Center probe

Senate President Franklin Drilon and the two Cabinet secretaries implicated in the alleged overpricing of the P700-million Iloilo Convention Center will be present when the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee starts its inquiry on the matter on Thursday.

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Iloilo officials rally behind Drilon on eve of Senate probe on ICC

About 200 officials in Iloilo City have expressed support for the Iloilo Convention Center (ICC) on the eve of the first hearing of the Senate blue ribbon committee on its alleged overpricing.

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Prosecution blocks Jinggoys’s request for subpoena on Benhur’s bank records

State prosecutors on Wednesday opposed Senator Jinggoy Estrada’s bid to have bank accounts of whistleblowers subpoenaed, saying such a broad request was nothing but a “fishing expedition.”

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Aquino blames Tacloban execs for slow post-Yolanda rehab

If politicking was the reason for the slow pace of rehabilitation in Tacloban, it's not coming from the administration, President Benigno Aquino III said on Tuesday evening.

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CA agrees with QC court: 3 Maguindanao massacre suspects can’t be state witnesses

The Court of Appeals has upheld the ruling of the Quezon City court denying a request to convert three suspects in the November 2009 Maguindanao massacre into state witnesses.

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Garin dares critics to present evidence linking her to anomaly

Acting Health Secretary Janette Loreto-Garin, declaring her readiness to immediately resign if proven guilty of corruption, challenged her detractors on Wednesday to present evidence linking her to an alleged anomaly involving P5 billion in funds from the defunct National Agribusiness Corp. (Nabcor).

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Bong Revilla sets hospital date before court approves leave

Detained Senator Ramon “Bong” Revilla has taken it for himself to set the date for his medical check up, even before the Sandiganbayan has given him the go signal.

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Why PNoy had Ona investigated and not Alan Purisima

Why did President Benigno Aquino III order an investigation on Health Secretary Enrique Ona and the Department of Health's P833-million purchase of vaccines in 2012 and not on the allegations of corruption against Philippine National Police chief Director-General Alan Purisima and even political ally Senate President Franklin Drilon?

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CA upholds Pasay judge’s refusal to inhibit in poll case vs. Gloria Arroyo, Abalos

The Court of Appeals has affirmed a Pasay judge's decision not to inhibit from the electoral sabotage case against former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and former Comelec chair Benjamin Abalos Sr. over alleged poll fraud in the 2007 mid-term elections.

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