Cayetano on 2016 polls: ‘Hindi ako atat’

Senate Majority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano on Friday said he is not in a rush to decide whether to run for president in 2016 even though he is reportedly being considered by his political party.

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Reg’l political party for 2016 Bangsamoro polls created

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Govt launches ‘Justice Zone’ to speed up cases

The government on Friday launched its "Justice Zone" Project which aims to further speed up the resolution of cases by allowing courts, the police, and lawyers to coordinate more efficiently.

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Whistleblower Sula willing to part with Napoles-given car

Pork barrel scam whistleblower Marina Sula on Thursday expressed willingness to surrender to the government the Toyota Innova given to her by alleged scam mastermind Janet Lim Napoles while she was still her employee.

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CPP-NPA’s Tiamzons to be brought to Cebu for arraignment Dec. 1

Police and military officials in Cebu on Thursday mapped out security arrangements for the court appearance of two top communist leaders before a court there on December 1.

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Militants set protest actions vs. pork barrel, EDCA on Bonifacio Day

Sunday will be a day of protests by militant groups targeting the pork barrel and the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement to mark the 151st birth anniversary of Katipunan leader Gat Andres Bonifacio.

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Palace: Ona didn’t quit but will extend leave

Health Secretary Enrique Ona has not resigned but will extend his leave of absence, Malacañang said on Friday.

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COA orders 9 Metro Manila cities to return unused ‘pork’

The Commission on Audit has ordered at least nine city governments in Metro Manila to return to the National Treasury its unutilized Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF), or more commonly known as pork barrel.

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PNP pushes Oplan Lambat Sibat vs. criminality

The Philippine National Police is aiming to improve its performance in neutralizing criminality, with a plan that zeroes in on groups behind crimes such as robberies and holdups.

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Napoles did not issue written instructions to avoid paper trail –whistleblower

As advised by her lawyers, alleged pork barrel scam mastermind Janet Lim Napoles did not issue written instructions to her staff regarding deals using government funds to avoid paper trail, whistleblower Marina Sula said Friday.

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CBCP offers spiritual help to peacekeepers in quarantine

Catholic bishops are offering spiritual support to more than 100 Filipino peacekeepers quarantined on Caballo Island following their return from ebola-stricken Liberia.

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Health chief offers courtesy resignation, says newspaper report

Health Secretary Enrique Ona has tendered his courtesy resignation at the end of his one-month leave, even as he belied a supposed irregularity in the purchase of medicines under his watch.

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NDRRMC: 12 casualties, 7528 affected in TD Queenie wake

At least 12 casualties were recorded while 7,528 were affected in the wake of Tropical Depression Queenie, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said Friday.

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Bettor wins P20M Lotto 6/42 jackpot

A lotto bettor is now nearly P20 million richer after bagging the jackpot in the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office's Lotto 6/42 draw Thursday night.

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TD Queenie leaves 4 dead

At least four people were reported killed in the wake of Tropical Depression Queenie, which dumped rain over parts of Visayas and Mindanao this week.

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Enzo’s dad: Dalia, alleged mastermind already engaged

Dalia Pastor, the wife of the slain of car racing champion Enzo Pastor, is now engaged with the alleged mastermind in his killing, Enzo's father alleged.

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Results of Marine Engineer Officers Licensure Examinations out

The Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) on Thursday announced the results of the Marine Engineer Officers Licensure Examinations given earlier this month in Manila and Cebu.

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House leader says chamber to vote on Cha-cha before Christmas break

The House of Representatives is expected to approve on second reading the controversial measure to amend the economic provisions of the 1987 Constitution before Congress adjourns for its Christmas break, Majority Leader Neptali Gonzales II said Thursday.

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DOJ enlists help of military to find rumored drug lab in Bilibid

Unable to find a drug laboratory supposedly operating inside the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima has decided to seek the help of the military to stamp out the illegal drug trade at the national penitentiary.

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AFP to public: Pope’s safety during PHL visit is everyone’s responsibility

The Armed Forces of the Philippines on Thursday asked the public to cooperate in ensuring the safety of Pope Francis during his visit to the country early next year.

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PHL to China: The court has spoken on fate of Sino poachers

The Department of Foreign Affairs on Thursday said it could not intervene in the case of the nine Chinese fishermen who were found guilty by a local court of poaching in Philippine waters.

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Palace rejects China’s call for unconditional release of Chinese poachers

Malacañang on Thursday rejected China’s call for the unconditional release of nine Chinese fishermen found guilty of poaching in disputed waters.

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LP leader denies misuse of P315M worth of pork barrel funds

House Majority Leader Neptali Gonzales II on Thursday denied misusing P315 million of his pork barrel fund allocation from 2007 to 2009 but expressed readiness to face the graft and plunder charges filed against him before the Office of the Ombudsman by a multi-sectoral group called Sentinels of the Rule of Law.

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Custom-built ‘Popemobile’ to secure Pope Francis in PHL visit

The Philippines will custom-build a "Popemobile" for Pope Francis during his visit in the country in January next year, organizers said Thursday.

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Let SC resolve EDCA petition—Drilon

There's nothing the Senate could do as regards the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement if Malacañang doesn't want to submit the supposed executive pact for ratification as a treaty, Senate President Frankliin Drilon said on Thursday.

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Will Ona be back as DOH chief? Palace can’t say for certain

Health Secretary Enrique Ona’s month-long leave of absence will end on Friday, but his fate in President Benigno Aquino III’s Cabinet remains uncertain.

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DOJ wants raps vs. 59 suspects in Zambo siege dropped —source

The Department of Justice has recommended the dismissal of the criminal charges against 59 of the more than 200 alleged members of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) implicated in the Zamboanga crisis in September 2013, a reliable source said Thursday.

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Palace: EDCA talks can continue despite SC, Senate proceedings

Formal discussions between the Philippines and the United States on the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) can continue despite legal questions the deal is facing before the Supreme Court (SC) and the Senate, Malacañang said Thursday.

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Chiz Escudero: Where did P137B for Yolanda rehab go? I don’t see it

The chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance on Thursday questioned the government's handling of the P137-billion that Congress earlier set aside for the rehabilitation and reconstruction in areas affected by supertyphoon Yolanda.

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Miriam bares ‘red flags’ for choosing leaders in 2016

Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago on Thursday urged the youth to support politicians who resist to make corruption a routine practice in the government.

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DOJ indicts importer of stinking shipment from Canada

The Department of Justice has recommended the filing of criminal charges against a company responsible for importing garbage from Canada to the Philippines.

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Miriam: Abad statement shows 2015 budget not free of ‘pork’

Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago on Thursday said that despite Budget Sec. Florencio Abad's insistence that the proposed budget for 2015 is free of pork barrel, there are some indications that it is not.

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Senate hearing on EDCA set on Dec. 1

The Senate committee on foreign relations will discuss next week whether the chamber should concur with the controversial new defense agreement the Philippines entered into with the United States — an pact that, according to Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago, could be a ground to impeach the president.

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Orphans, youths to welcome Pope Francis as he arrives in Manila

Some 1,200 youths led by two orphans will greet Pope Francis as he arrives in the Philippines at dusk of Jan. 15 for his four-day visit.

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Bureau of Immigration posts ‘no escorting’ signs at NAIA

With the holidays approaching, the Bureau of Immigration has posted signs in the Ninoy Aquino International Airport against "escorting."

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Walang Pasok: List of schools in Vis-Min with no classes due to TD Queenie

Classes were suspended in several areas affected by Tropical Depression Queenie.

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Phivolcs: No tsunami threat from mag.-7 quake in Indonesia

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology on Wednesday evening allayed fears of a tsunami from a magnitude-7 quake that hit Indonesia.

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PNoy signs law allowing tech-voc graduates to earn units for undergrad degrees

President Benigno Aquino III has signed a law enabling graduates of technical-vocational (tech-voc) schools to earn units for college degrees.

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SC asked to stop Comelec’s bidding for new counting machines

The Supreme Court on Wednesday has been asked to stop the Commission on Elections from conducting a public bidding for the purchase of additional and new counting machines for the 2016 elections.

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Belmonte: LP can ‘definitely’ choose an outsider to be its standard-bearer

Echoing the sentiments of some party leaders, House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. said Wednesday that the Liberal Party need not limit the search for its standard-bearer in 2016 to within its ranks.

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12,245 pass Criminologist Licensure Exam –PRC

The Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) on Wednesday announced that 12,245 out of 28,187 passed the Criminologist Licensure Examination given last October.

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Pope Francis visit a ‘big challenge’ to security –Roxas

The five-day visit of Pope Francis in January next year will pose a “big challenge” to security, Interior Secretary Mar Roxas admitted Wednesday, noting the large number of Filipinos who want to see the pope in person.

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China silent on PHL protest on Kagitingan Reef activity – DFA exec

China seemed to have ignored a Philippine government protest over its ongoing reclamation activity on a Manila-claimed area in the disputed South China Sea, the Department of Foreign Affairs said on Wednesday.

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768 stranded due to Queenie

At least 768 people were stranded Wednesday due to bad weather conditions brought by Tropical Depression Queenie, the Philippine Coast Guard said.

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Belmonte: No railroading of P23-B supplemental budget

Although he is bent on approving Malacañang’s request for supplemental budget before 2014 ends, House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. said Wednesday the proposal will have to go through the legislative mill just like other measures.

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Manny Villar asked if VP Binay probe had his go-ahead—wife

Certain personalities have asked the Nacionalista Party leadership whether the Senate Blue Ribbon Subcommittee's investigation into the alleged corrupt activities of Vice President Jejomar Binay had the blessing of NP president former Senate President Manuel Villar.

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US Embassy in Manila closed Nov. 27 for Thanksgiving

The United States Embassy in Manila will be closed on Nov. 27, Thursday, in observance of Thanksgiving, a holiday in the US.

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Farmers hope PNoy will release P71-B coco levy fund, not just interest

Farmers who marched for 71 days from Davao to Manila on Wednesday voiced hopes the full P71-billion coco fund levied on them decades ago would be released in full, and not just the P3-billion interest their money gained after the government took control of it.

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‘There are offers but Manny Villar won’t run for VP’

Former Senate President Manny Villar has yet to say whether he'll make another run at the presidency in 2016 but he certainly won't run for Vice President, his wife Senator Cynthia Villar said on Wednesday.

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Ombudsman indicts ex-PCGG chair Sabio for influence peddling

The Office of the Ombudsman has indicted former Presidential Commission on Good Government chairman Camilo Sabio for graft after he allegedly tried to influence his brother, then a magistrate in the Court of Appeals, as regards an ownership row in the Manila Electric Co. (MERALCO) in 2008.

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