House panel to suspend BBL hearing if Mamasapano reports not submitted

A House of Representatives committee currently deliberating on the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) on Monday gave an ultimatum to government agencies to submit their respective reports on the bloody Mamasapano, Maguindanao clash or the panel will suspend the hearing on the BBL.

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Sandiganbayan allows Jinggoy to examine Benhur Luy’s bank records

Detained Senator Jinggoy Estrada got his wish Monday when the anti-graft court effectively said he could examine the bank records of key whistleblowers as part of his defense against the graft and plunder cases that he is facing.

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PHL to buy 3 naval landing craft from Australia

The Philippines will buy three surplus naval landing craft from Australia in addition to two vessels Canberra has donated to deal with future relief efforts following typhoons, a defense official said Monday.

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Palace to MILF: Return guns from Fallen 44

The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) should return firearms reportedly taken by some rebels from members of the PNP-Special Action Force (SAF) killed during last week’s encounter in Maguindanao, Malacañang reiterated on Monday.

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Bongbong proposes confidence-building measures following Mamasapano clash

Despite the suspension of the hearings on the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law, Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Monday listed gestures the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and the government should do to regain each other’s trust and move forward in the peace process.

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Peace in Mindanao ‘best way’ to honor 44 killed police commandos – group

The “best way” to pay homage to, and seek justice for, the 44 elite police commandos killed on Jan. 25 is to continue the peace talks between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), a multi-sectoral group said Monday.

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Purisima still in PHL, to attend Senate probe on Mamasapano clash - lawyer

Suspended Philippine National Police chief Director General Alan Purisima is still in the Philippines and amy even attend the Senate hearing on the deadly clash between elements of the PNP-Special Action Force and forces from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and Bangsamoro Islamic Freedomg Fighters in Mamasapano, Maguindanao on Jan. 25.

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Belmonte: Congress, not truth commission, proper party to probe Mamasapano clash

“I really think that Congress is the proper party (to conduct the investigation). The Congress has inherent powers... We have the process, rules, everything is in place. We are the proper party, not some retired justices,” House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. said

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Malacañang downplays coup rumors in wake of Mamasapano clash

Malacañang is not worried about coup rumors over the bungled operation in Maguindanao last week, which left 44 members of the PNP-Special Action Force (SAF) killed.

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Peace talks with MILF in ‘gray area’ after Mamasapano clash –UP dean

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Senate panels reset Mamasapano hearing so PNP can attend to officers’ kin

Senate panels on Monday rescheduled to next week their hearing on the firefight between members of the Philippine National Police Special Action Force and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front in Mamasapano, Maguindanao in which 44 police officers were killed.

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Solon opposes suspension of House probe on Mamasapano clash

An opposition lawmaker on Monday opposed the decision of the House of Representatives leadership to temporarily suspend its own probe on the January 25 clash in Mamasapano, Maguindanao, which resulted in the deaths of 44 policemen.

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Senate OKs postponement of SK polls

The Senate on Monday approved on third and final reading a bill that seeks to move the Sangguniang Kabataan elections scheduled slated next month to October 2016.

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Outgoing poll chief signs P240-M contract for PCOS repair

On his second to the last official day in office, outgoing Commission on Elections chair Sixto Brillantes Jr. signed a contract with Smartmatic-Total Information Management (TIM) for the diagnotics and repairs of 82,000 vote-counting machines, a TV report said Monday.

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Outgoing Comelec chief welcomes call for IT experts to help assess automated polls

Outgoing Comelec chair Sixto Brillantes on Monday welcomed the call of Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas for Catholic lay leaders and academic institutions to lend their information technology expertise in assessing the automated elections.

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30 MILF, BIFF leaders and members to be sued for Mamasapano incident—source

Criminal charges are being readied against at least 30 officials and members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters over the Mamasapano clash that left 44 elite policemen dead.

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Solon wants Bilibid to be under temporary management of AFP

Following reports of VIP treatment of some inmates in the New Bilibid Prisons (NBP), an administration lawmaker on Monday called on President Benigno Aquino III to place the national penitentiary under the temporary management and administration of the military.

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No whitewash in Mamasapano clash probe, Palace assures public

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Emotional Loren blasts poor implementation of environmental laws

Senator Loren Legarda turned emotional during a Senate hearing on Monday after learning that some of the environmental laws she authored are being implemented poorly.

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Miriam: PNoy may be held liable for deaths of fallen 44 SAF men

Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago on Monday said President Benigno Aquino III may be held liable for the January 25 encounter between the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and Philippine National Police-Special Action Force in Mamasapano, Maguindanao which resulted to the deaths of 44 elite policemen.

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Jinggoy wants to attend Senate inquiry on Mamasapano clash

Senator Jinggoy Estrada on Monday again attempted to speak in open court, this time to seek permission to be allowed to attend the Senate inquiry on the Mamasapano clash.

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Clash displaces 6,000 in Mamasapano—ARMM

COTABATO CITY—The Mamasapano "misencounter" that killed 44 policemen, more than ten Moro Islamic Liberation Front members and several civilians has also displaced 6,000 residence in six villages in the Maguindanao town, the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao has said.

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Court clears ex-poll chief Abalos of electoral sabotage

A Pasay City court on Monday cleared former Commission on Elections (Comelec) chairman Benjamin Abalos Sr. of having a hand in the alleged rigging of the 2007 elections.

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Watchdog asks SC to stop Comelec resolution for PCOS repair

A citizens' elections watchdog on Monday asked the Supreme Court to strike down a Commission on Elections resolution allowing Smartmatic-TIM to conduct "diagnostics, repair, and refurbishment" of 80,000 precinct count optical scan machines to be used for the 2016 polls.

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Grace Pulido Tan bows out of COA: I did my best to make stint fulfilling

Outgoing Commission on Audit chairperson Grace Pulido Tan wouldn't extend her term even if she was given an option to do so, a TV report said Monday.

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Fallen SAF member’s widow wants to enter police force

The supreme sacrifice by 44 Special Action Force policemen in a clash in Mamasapano, Maguindanao last Jan. 25 has prompted the widow of one of them to want to enter the police force.

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House puts off inquiry on Mamasapano clash

The House of Representatives will not be holding its own inquiry on the bloody firefight in Mamasapano town in Maguindanao until the investigation of the Philippine National Police (PNP) Board of Inquiry (BOI) is completed, House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. said on Monday.

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MNLF chair not in favor of all-out war following Mamasapano clash

A Moro official on Monday chided those calling for the suspension of the peace process between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) following the January 25 encounter that resulted in the deaths of 44 elite policemen in Maguindanao.

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PHL condemns IS beheading of Japanese journalist

The Philippines joined the international community on Monday in condemning the apparent beheading of a Japanese journalist by the terror group Islamic State.

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Rep. Biazon wants to scrutinize ‘Oplan Wolverine’ that cost lives of 44 SAF men

Incumbent Mandaluyong Rep. Rodolfo Biazon, a former military chief, wanted to scrutinize the failed operation which led to the death of 44 police troopers belonging to the elite Philippine National Police (PNP) unit, the Special Action Force (SAF).

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LOOK: How did retiring Comelec chairman, commissioners spend last day at work?

On their last day on the job, Commission on Elections chairman Sixto Brillantes Jr. and two commissioners on Monday had light moments with employees at the poll body's office in Manila.

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Farmers shave heads, light candles to sympathize with fallen 44

Farmers from Central Luzon on Monday shaved their heads as a show of sympathy for the 44 Special Action Force policemen killed in a clash in Mamasapano, Maguindanao last Jan. 25.

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DepEd asks for 44 seconds of silence for slain SAF police officers

The Department of Education has asked schools to observe 44 seconds of silence on Monday, in honor of the 44 Special Action Force police officers who were killed in the Jan. 25 Mamasapano clash.

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Australia gives Philippines two naval landing craft

Australia is donating two decommissioned military landing craft to the Philippines after the archipelago struggled with relief efforts following Super Typhoon Haiyan, it was announced Sunday.

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Purisima should show up at Senate in order not to appear guilty – Poe

Suspended Philippine National Police chief Director General Alan Purisima better show up to the senate inquiry on the Mamasapano clash, lest he look guilty, Senator Grace Poe warned on Sunday.

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MILF official: Turnover of SAF weapons, MILF members up to central committee

A ranking official of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) said the group is willing to cooperate with the government to find out the truth about the bloody clash in a Maguindanao town that left 44 elite police commandos, 17 MILF fighters, and at least seven civilians dead.

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PNP-SAF trooper: Philippines not always worth dying for

A grieving Philippine National Police-Special Action Force trooper on Sunday spit back the famous words of the late Sen. Ninoy Aquino in his dismay at the deaths of 44 of his comrades in a firefight in Mamasapano town in Maguindanao.

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Palace denies report that Deles stopped Aquino from sending reinforcements to Mamasapano

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Roxas on Mamasapano encounter: Despite losses, it was ‘mission accomplished’

Despite the loss of 44 men of the elite Philippine National Police-Special Action Force, Interior Secretary Mar Roxas comforted the rest of the unit by saying their comrades did not die in vain.

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Mamasapano clash not a massacre because both sides were armed – MILF

A senior official of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) maintained that the bloody clash between its members and the Philippine National Police Special Action Force (PNP SAF) last week that resulted in the death of 44 police commandos was not a massacre because both sides were armed.

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Palace: MILF decommissioning process will have four phases

The decommissioning of Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) forces and weapons will be implemented in four phases and will start with the ceremonial turnover of 75 high-powered firearms, a Palace official said Sunday.

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UN to support peace process through Peace Building Fund

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UN to support peace process through Peace Building Fund

The United Nations will be "releasing sources" in support of the peace process between the Philippines and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

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Palace: Govt working to get soonest DNA test result on alleged Marwan’s body

The Philippine government is working to get soonest the confirmation from the US Federal Bureau of Investigation that Malaysian terrorist Zulkifli Bin Hir – alias Marwan – was killed by police commandos in the clash in Mamasapano town in Maguindanao last Sunday, Malacañang said Sunday.

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Solon wants all government buildings to be painted beige

A lawmaker has proposed covering government structures and buildings in beige paint instead of yellow, orange or other colors that might be identified with a particular government official’s political party affiliation.

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Ban BPA in baby feeding bottles, group urges DOH

An ecological group over the weekend appealed to the Department of Health to fomally ban Bisphenol A (BPA) in baby feeding bottles and sipping cups.

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Don’t reinstate Purisima, says solon

Suspended Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Alan Purisima should not be reinstated, a lawmaker said Sunday amid claims of Purisima's alleged involvement in a botched police operation in Mindanao that left 44 commandos dead.

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CBCP exec asks govt: Keep politics out of efforts to seek justice for Fallen 44

Efforts to attain justice for the 44 Special Action Force policemen killed in Mamasapano, Maguindanao last week should be free of politics, a Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines official said Sunday.

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CBCP exec: Poor need livelihood, not taste luxury

The poor need to be taught livelihood more than being given a taste of luxury. An official of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines stressed this following reports 400 people were spirited off to a Batangas resort during Pope Francis' visit.

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Militant group: P300M presidential intel fund used in Mamasapano operation?

Was some P300 million in discretionary presidential intelligence funds used for last week's operation that killed 44 Special Action Force policemen in Mamasapano, Maguindanao?

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