Pork barrel cases vs. ex-House members reach Sandiganbayan

The Office of the Ombudsman on Thursday formally filed cases against five former lawmakers over their alleged involvement in the Priority Development Assistance Fund scam allegedly engineered by Janet Lim Napoles.

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China defends ship’s actions against PHL fishing boats off Panatag Shoal

BEIJING - China on Thursday defended the actions of a coast guard vessel in the disputed Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal after the Philippines accused it of ramming three fishing boats and urged Manila to increase "indoctrination" of its fishermen.

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412 pass Physical Therapist Licensure Exam –PRC

The Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) on Thursday announced that 412 out of 766 passed the Physical Therapist Licensure Examination given in the cities of Manila and Cebu this month.

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PHL Embassy in US thanks FBI for DNA work to confirm Marwan’s death

The Philippine Embassy in Washington D.C. extended its gratitude to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for testing DNA samples sent by the country to the US to confirm whether they were of Jemaah Islamiyah leader Zulkifli bin Hir also known as Marwan.

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CHR chief: Sanctions for ‘overkill’ of SAF men should be made ‘in context of peace agreement’

The peace process between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front should be a factor in determining sanctions once it is proven that the policemen killed in the January 25 Mamasapano clash were mutilated, Commission on Human Rights chairperson Etta Rosales said Thursday.

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Embassy denies US drone used to locate commandos in Mamasapano clash

The United States Embassy in Manila has denied a report that a drone sent by the US helped locate Special Action Force commandos during the recent Mamasapano operation.

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LTFRB suspends bus firm for crushed Vios

The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board on Thursday preventively suspended for 30 days the firm of the bus that flattened a sedan in a smashup in Quezon City.

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No need for loyalty check within PNP, Espina says

There is no need for a loyalty check within the Philippine National Police despite the reported low morale following the deaths of 44 policemen in the January 25 clash with Moro fighters in Mamasapano, Maguindanao, PNP officer-in-charge Deputy Director General Leonardo Espina said Thursday.

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PHL donates P90M to UN Ebola global response program

The Philippines strengthened its global commitment to fight the Ebola virus by donating P90 million to the United Nations Development Programme.

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Govt panel: Coordination with MILF required even in pursuit of high-value targets

The Ad Hoc Joint Action Group of the government peace panel on Thursday said government forces still needed to coordinate with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front even if they were pursuing high value targets such as international terrorists in MILF territory.

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Koko sees good deal in P240-M diagnosis and repair of 82k PCOS machines

Senator Aquilino Pimentel III believes the government will get a good deal out of the P240-million contract the Commission on Election signed with Smartmatic for the diagnostics and repairs of 82,000 vote-counting machines.

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DepEd, USAID to expand education access in conflict-affected areas

The Department of Education and the United States Agency for International Development are working to make education more accessible to out-of-school youths in conflict-affected areas.

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Visayan solons reject calls for PNoy’s resignation, impeachment

Members of the Visayan bloc in the House of Representatives on Thursday rejected calls for the resignation or impeachment of President Benigno Aquino III following the bloody Mamasapano incident last January 25.

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Espina renews call for return of PNP-SAF’s firearms, other items

PNP officer-in-charge Deputy Director General Leonardo Espina on Thursday renewed his call to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front to return the firearms and other items reportedly seized from the slain PNP-Special Action Force personnel following the bloody Jan. 25 clash in Mamasapano, Maguindanao.

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PNoy didn’t fight with Mar over Ochoa, Purisima’s dismissal – Palace

President Benigno Aquino III did not fight with his close ally, Interior Secretary Mar Roxas, over the latter's supposed demand to dismiss Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr. and suspended Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Alan Purisima, a Malacañang official said Thursday.

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Trillanes: Groups are taking advantage of Mamasapano clash to oust PNoy

Senator Antonio Trillanes IV on Thursday said there are groups taking advantage of the tense situation following the deaths of 44 Special Action Force commandos in Mamasapano, Maguindanao to oust President Benigno Aquino III.

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FBI confirms DNA sample came from Marwan

The Federal Bureau of Investigation on Wednesday said the DNA sample it received from Philippine authorities showed it came from wanted international terrorist Zulkifli bin Hir, also known as Marwan.

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Mamasapano BoI probe: MILF commander among the combatants who engaged the SAF 44

A Moro Islamic Liberation Front commander, who was released from police custody last year because of the peace talks, was named as among the leaders of the armed men that engaged the police Special Action Force in an hours-long firefight in Mamasapano, Maguindanao last January 25.

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House to launch own probe on Mamasapano clash Wednesday next week

Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. said the House of Representatives, through its Committee on Public Order, will launch Wednesday next week its own probe on the Mamasapano clash which left 44 Special Action Force (SAF) police officers dead.

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Trillanes urges PNoy to be careful with his words, actions following Mamasapano clash

The members of the Philippine National Police Special Action Force may still be emotional now following the death of 44 of their colleagues in Mamasapano, Maguindanao but there are no signs of unrest among the ranks, Senator Antonio Trillanes IV said Wednesday.

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FBI: Marwan 'possibly killed' in PHL police assault

WASHINGTON - DNA tests indicate one of the United States' "most wanted terrorists," Zulkifli bin Hir, also known as Marwan, was possibly killed in a raid by police in the Philippines last week, the FBI said on Wednesday.

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PHL files two diplomatic protests over China’s harassment of Pinoy fishers

The Philippines on Wednesday lodged two diplomatic protests against China’s alleged harassment of Filipino fishermen off the Manila-claimed Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea and its illegal harvest of endangered species in the same area.

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PROFILE: Found alive in 2014, Bali bomber confirmed dead in 2015

Zulkifli bin Hir, also known as Marwan, was one of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation's most wanted terrorists. The FBI put up a sizeable bounty of $5 million for him to be neutralized.

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LTFRB: Suspends taxi fleet over hit-and-run incident

The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board on Wednesday suspended the entire fleet of a taxi company following a hit-and-run incident last Monday involving one of its units.

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Opposition solons renew call for PNoy’s impeachment

Seven party-list lawmakers belonging to the Makabayan bloc on Wednesday urged their fellow lawmakers to support the existing impeachment complaint against Pres. Benigno Aquino III, following the recent ruling of the Supreme Court (SC) affirming the unconstitutionality of the administration’s Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP).

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COA hits PhilHealth for P1.71B in unauthorized bonuses

The Commission on Audit has questioned some P1.761 billion in bonuses that the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) gave its officers and employees, saying such bonuses have not been authorized.

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US drone helped locate PNP-SAF in Mamasapano —source

A drone sent by the United States was key in locating pinned Philippine National Police Special Action Force units during the recent Mamasapano operation where 44 elite lawmen were killed, “24-Oras” reported on Wednesday.

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NBI didn't buy guns from firm owned by Purisima’s kin

A company partly owned by the wife and son of suspended Philippine National Police chief Director General Alan Purisima has never supplied firearms and ammunition to the National Bureau of Investigation.

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Brillantes pushes De Lima for Comelec chair, Leila says no

Justice Secretary Leila de Lima on Wednesday admitted already getting fed up with repeated proddings that she aim for the post vacated by retired Commission on Elections chairman Sixto Brillantes.

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Bongbong: Mamasapano survivors want executive session with senators

Fearing backlash for their testimonies, several survivors of the bloody January 25 Mamasapano clash have asked for an executive session when the Senate begins its investigation on the bloodshed on Monday.

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Silent treatment from SAF was due to lateness of the hour, says Palace

The silence that met President Benigno Aquino when he addressed the members of the Philippine National Police-Special Action Force (PNP SAF) on January 30 was due to the lateness of the hour, Malacañang said.

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PHL Post: 260 post offices now processing new high-tech postal ID

After announcing it late last year, the Philippine Postal Corp. has started rolling out its new postal ID cards nationwide.

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De Lima: NBI-ARMM has begun parallel probe on Mamasapano incident

The Department of Justice's parallel probe on the Mamasapano clash that killed 44 elite policemen has kicked off with the deployment of regional agents of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, Secretary Leila de Lima said Wednesday.

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Senators welcome modified SC decision on DAP

Opposition Sen. Nancy Binay wants the Senate to continue its investigation on how the government spent funds under the Disbursement Acceleration Program even after the Supreme Court modified its earlier decision finding certain acts under the DAP unconstitutional.

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LTFRB approves 50c jeepney fare rollback for South Luzon

Commuters in Southern Luzon - Calabarzon and Mimaropa - will feel the benefits of recent fuel price rollbacks after the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board approved a 50-centavo rollback in jeepney fares.

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Poe asks PNoy to fire Purisima, name new PNP chief

President Benigno Aquino III should fire and permanently replace suspended Philippine National Police chief Director General Alan Purisima, Senator Grace Poe said Wednesday.

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DNA test confirms Marwan's death –source

Malaysian terrorist Zulkifli bin Hir alias Marwan, the main target in the January 25 police operations in Mamasapano town in Maguindanao, is confirmed dead.

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Ex-SAF chief to resign if Marwan is still alive

Sacked police Special Action Force chief Director Getulio Napeñas on Wednesday said he will resign from service if Malaysian terrorist Zulkifli bin Hir, one of the two targets of the bloody January 25 operation in Mamasapano, Maguindanao, is still alive.

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Drilon to AFP, PNP brass on Mamasapano clash: Shut up

Shut up. This was the message on Wednesday of Senate President Franklin Drilon to officials of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police, who gave conflicting versions of how the Mamasapano clash came down and resulted in the deaths of 44 police commandos on Jan. 25.

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No animosity between AFP, PNP after Mamasapano incident – Palace

Officials from the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) may have given conflicting statements on the deadly encounter in Maguindanao, but Malacañang maintained Wednesday that the relationship between the two remains harmonious.

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Jinggoy appeals to Sandiganbayan: Let me attend Mamasapano hearings

Detained Sen. Jinggoy Estrada on Wednesday formalized his request to the Sandiganbayan to be allowed to attend the Senate inquiry on the bloody Mamasapano clash.

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Solons push for conferment of highest honor to Fallen 44

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Purisima’s order: Inform Espina when Mamasapano mission is underway

Until the actual operation was carried out, suspended Philippine National Police chief Director General Alan Purisima was on top of the PNP-Special Action Force's manhunt against suspected Jemaah Islamiya bombmaker Zulkifli bin Hir alias Marwan.

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Recto wants detailed timetable on Mamasapano clash

Senator Ralph Recto on Wednesday said police and military units should present a detailed timetable of the bloody Mamasapano clash that killed over 50 people, most of them elite policemen.

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PNoy won’t resign over deadly Mamasapano operation –Palace

President Benigno Aquino III will not heed calls for him to resign over the botched operation in Mamasapano, Maguindanao, last week, which left 44 PNP-Special Action Force (SAF) members dead, Malacañang said Wednesday.

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We coordinated Mamasapano operation with AFP , says ex-SAF chief

There was coordination between the Philippine National Police's Special Action Force and the Armed Forces of the Philippines in going after suspected bombers Marwan and Usman, the suspended head of the police unit said Wednesday.

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PNP wants peace process to push through but calls on MILF to be ‘sincere’

Philippine National Police (PNP) officer-in-charge Deputy Director General Leonardo Espina on Wednesday said the peace process between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) must continue despite the bloody January 25 incident over at Mamasapano, Maguindanao.

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Sotto, Chiz not in favor of joint Congress probe on Mamasapano clash

At least two senators are not in favor of House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr.'s proposal for a joint congressional inquiry on the January 25 clash in Mamasapano, Maguindanao, which resulted in the deaths of over 50 people, most of them elite policemen.

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Espina to MILF: Lack of coordination not an excuse to kill my men

Do not use lack of coordination as an excuse for the killing of the 44 police commandos. This was the strong message Wednesday of Philippine National Police (PNP) officer-in-charge Deputy Director General Leonardo Espina to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), which is blamed for the deaths of the elite PNP-SAF personnel in the encounter in Mamasapano, Maguindanao on January 25.

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Aquino didn’t break chain of command, says AFP chief

Contrary to criticisms, Armed Forces of the Philippines chief Gen. Gregorio Pio Catapang Jr. on Wednesday said President Benigno Aquino III did not break the chain of command for the Mamasapano operation that saw the deaths of 44 police officers from the Special Action Force.

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