France's Hollande to visit the PHL Feb 26-27

French President François Hollande will be in the Philippines from Feb. 26 and 27 for a state visit, during which he will visit Guiuan, Samar - an area devastated by super Typhoon Yolanda in 2013.

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Muslim, Christian advocates ask Congress not to hold the BBL ‘hostage’

The Bangsamoro Basic Law should not be held "hostage" because of the Mamasapano clash, Muslim and Christians advocates of the law said in a press conference Friday. Chair of the Bangsamoro National Movement for Peace and Development, Agakhan Sharief, said the Filipino people, particularly government leaders, should push for the BBL's passage and look beyond the Mamasapano incident as it will benefit everyone.

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Palace accepts delays, but stands firm on passing Bangsamoro law

Malacañang is already resigned to the fact that passage of the draft Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) will be delayed after congressional hearings on the measure were suspended following the Jan. 25 Mamasapano incident that left 44 police commandos dead.

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MILF will not surrender members in Mamasapano clash

The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) will not surrender its members who figured in the firefight in Mamasapano, Maguindanao last month which left over 60 people, including 44 police commandos and 18 MILF fighters dead.

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Justices scold ‘pork’ scam whistleblower for ‘selective memory’

A witness in the pork barrel fund scam case drew the ire of the justices of the Sandiganbayan Third Division for repeatedly failing to recall some details of the scheme where billions in government funds were allegedly funneled to fake foundations linked to businesswoman Janet Lim-Napoles.

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PNP to trace who issued misused gas coupon in viral Facebook post

The Philippine National Police will trace who among its officers allegedly misused his or her gas allocation coupons as indicated by a viral post on social media, GMA News' "24 Oras" reported on Friday.

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MILF denies ‘cannibalizing’ SAF firearms

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Slain SAF commando’s pa: PNoy evasive on reinforcements in Mamasapano

Some of the relatives of the police commandos that died in the Mamasapano misencounter were disappointed with President Benigno Aquino III's explanations when they pressed him over the lack of reinforcements that could have saved the lives of the fallen troopers, GMA News' "24 Oras" reported on Friday.

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Activists hold ‘people's hearing’ on Mamasapano clash

Various activist groups on Friday held its own hearing on the January 25 Mamasapano clash that left 44 elite policemen dead.

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No sign of public support for resignation calls vs. PNoy –Palace

Malacañang on Friday said it does not see any indication of public support for calls for President Benigno Aquino III's resignation following the tragic January 25 Mamasapano operation that left 44 police commandos dead.

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BIFF: Video shows white male among the dead in Mamasapano

Video footage showed a male Caucasian as among those killed in the Mamasapano operation, a spokesperson for the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters told GMA News Online on Friday.

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DOJ affirms murder case vs. Pemberton

The Department of Justice (DOJ) on Friday affirmed anew the filing of a murder case against US Marine Lance Corporal Joseph Scott Pemberton over the death of Filipino transgender woman Jeffrey "Jennifer" Laude in Olongapo City last year.

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BIFF to PNP: Rematch first before return of SAF guns

The Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) has no plans of returning the firearms seized from some of the elite policemen killed in the January 25 Mamasapano clash unless the Philippine National Police (PNP) will agree to a "rematch."

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Senate panel asks DFA’s Del Rosario to attend Mamasapano clash probe

Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario has been asked to attend the Senate probe on the Mamasapano operation, which left over 60 people, including 44 elite PNP-Special Action Force commandos dead.

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2010, 2013 source codes transferred to another vault at BSP

The officials of the Commission on Elections went to the Bangko Sentral of the Philippines on Monday to transfer the source codes used in the 2010 and 2013 elections to another vault inside the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas .

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PNP: No heated exchange between PNoy and kin of Fallen 44

The Philippine National Police on Friday denied that President Benigno Aquino's meeting with families of the fallen Special Action Force (SAF) troopers last Wednesday in Camp Crame became heated at one point.

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Pinay nurse clear of MERS-CoV –DOH

The Filipina nurse who was tested positive for MERS Coronavirus has already been discharged from quarantine after she was cleared of the deadly virus.

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Bangsamoro peace advocate to Richard Gomez: Go to war yourself

The chairperson of the Bangsamoro National Movement For Peace and Development on Friday called on actor Richard Gomez to stop issuing statements asking for war and the scrapping of the Bangsamoro Basic Law, and challenged him to go fight the war in Mindanao himself if he doesn't.

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Masbate Gov. Lanete ordered detained at Camp Bagong Diwa

The Sandiganbayan Fourth Division on Friday issued a commitment order directing the police to bring Masbate Governor Rizalina Seachon-Lanete, who is facing charges in connection with the pork barrel scam, to the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology Female Dormitory in Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig.

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DOJ vows to resolve Pemberton’s plea to dismiss case before arraignment

The Department of Justice vowed to resolve US Marine Lance Corporal Joseph Scott Pemberton's final appeal at the DOJ before his arraignment in Olongapo City Monday next week.

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More minors nabbed for illegal drugs in 2014 —PDEA

The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) on Friday said the number of minors involved in illegal drug activities in 2014 increased by 20.94 percent as compared to the year before.

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Bam Aquino seeks medals of valor for SAF survivors in Mamasapano

Sen. Benigno Paolo Aquino IV, the President's namesake and cousin, has filed Senate Resolution 1180 recommending the awarding of Medal of Valor to the surviving and wounded SAF officers who directly participated in the operation to take down Malaysian terrorist Zulkifli bin Hir alias Marwan and "commending them for their exemplary courage and heroism."

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Appeals court affirms ex-DA exec’s liability in fertilizer fund scam

The Court of Appeals has affirmed an Ombudsman decision finding a dismissed official of the Department of Agriculture (DA) liable for his involvement in the controversial fertilizer fund scam, one of the corruption issues that rocked the Arroyo administration.

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Senator seeks to increase maternity leave from two months to four months

Citing the vital role of women in nation-building, Senator Antonio Trillanes IV is seeking to double the maternity leave benefits from 60 days or two months to 120 days or four months.

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Muslim groups giving aid to kin of MILF fighters killed in Mamasapano clash

Relatives of Moro Islamic Liberation Front fighters killed in a clash in Mamasapano, Maguindanao last Jan. 25 are getting financial aid.

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Masbate Gov. Lanete presented to Sandiganbayan

The Philippine National Police Criminal Investigation and Detection Group presented former Masbate Representative and incumbent Masbate Governor Rizalina Seachon-Lanete before the anti-graft court Sandiganbayan Friday morning to let the court decide on where the former lawmaker will be detained.

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SWS: 41% Pinoys expect life to improve in next 12 months

Some 41 percent of Filipinos expect life to improve in the next 12 months, according to a poll conducted by Social Weather Stations in the last quarter of 2014.

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PNoy told slain SAF men's families what he knew of Mamasapano clash – Palace

In a phone interview, Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said President Benigno Aquino III had the chance to explain what he knew about the deadly operation during a seven-hour meeting on Wednesday with bereaved families of the slain Philippine National Police-Special Action Force (PNP-SAF) officers.

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Professors, students ready signature campaign calling for PNoy's resignation

Members of the academe will launch a signature campaign to call for the resignation of President Benigno Aquino III for allegedly not disclosing the United States' role in a police operation in Mamasapano, Maguindanao last month.

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Some of Mamasapano guns from MILF ‘stripped of scopes, parts’

Some of the 16 firearms surrendered by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front were purposely stripped of their expensive accessories such as scopes and other parts, a survivor of the Mamasapano operation and a former junior officer who's now in Congress said on Thursday.

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With Bohol broadcaster's murder, PHL still among deadliest places for journalists – CPJ

With the murder last weekend of a radio commentator in Bohol, an international media watchdog group on Wednesday said the Philippines could still be one of the world's most dangerous places to be a journalist.

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Cellphones used in uploading Mamasapano videos undergo forensic examination

Government agents on Thursday subjected to forensic examination the two cellphones allegedly used to upload the disturbing videos showing the brutality that transpired during the January 25 Mamasapano clash on the Internet.

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Fallen 44’s kin ask PNoy: Where were the reinforcements?

The families of some of the 44 police commandos that died in the Mamasapano misencounter pressed President Benigno Aquino III for an explanation why no reinforcements arrived to extricate the beleaguered policemen, most of whom died virtually defenseless in a cornfield on Jan. 25.

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Iqbal: MILF still accounting for remaining SAF firearms

More firearms belonging to the 44 policemen killed in the January 25 Mamasapano clash with Moro rebels may be turned over to the government in the coming days, a Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) official said Thursday.

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Final autopsy report: Fallen 44 had 150 gunshot wounds

The Fallen 44—the members of the Phlippine National Police-Special Action Force that died in the Mamasapano operation on Jan. 25—suffered a total of 150 gunshot wounds, the final autopsy report obtained by GMA News showed.

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Don’t turn Lenten sacrifice into tourist spectacle —bishop

Now that the Lenten season has started, a bishop reminded Catholics against turning shows of remorse into tourist spectacles—such as flagellation and staged crucifixions.

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Usman hiding in MILF camp in Lanao del Sur, ex-military lawmaker claims

Filipino terrorist Abdul Basit Usman, reported wounded in a clash in Maguindanao last month, is now hiding at a Moro Islamic Liberation Front camp in Lanao del Sur, a lawmaker has claimed, citing an unspecified source.

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House panel hopes to approve BBL in March

The ad hoc committee on the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) has set a deadline of June 11 for its passage in the House of Representatives even as discussion on the bill remains in limbo because of the Mamasapano clash.

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VP Binay prays for PNoy amid resignation calls

Vice President Jejomar Binay on Thursday said he is praying for President Benigno Aquino III amid calls for the latter to resign following the deaths of 44 Special Action Force commandos in an operation in Mamasapano, Maguindanao last month.

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China to project power from artificial islands in South China Sea

HONG KONG - China's creation of artificial islands in the South China Sea is happening so fast that Beijing will be able to extend the range of its navy, air force, coastguard and fishing fleets before long, much to the alarm of rival claimants to the contested waters.

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PNoy willing to cooperate in Mamasapano inquiries —Palace

President Benigno Aquino III is willing to cooperate in the ongoing probes on the Mamasapano incident last month which left 44 police commandos dead, Malacañang indicated Thursday.

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Palace not keen on imposing deadline for MILF to identify members in Mamasapano clash

Malacañang is not inclined to give a deadline for the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) to identify its members involved in the firefight in Mamasapano, Maguindanao which left over 60 people, including 44 police commandos and 18 MILF fighters dead.

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Band of Brothers: AFP, PNP renew ties after Mamasapano

After weeks of subdued finger-pointing over the Mamasapano misencounter that led to the deaths of 44 police commandos in the hands of Moro rebels, leaders of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police on Thursday found an opportunity to renew the sense of unity between the two security groups.

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Heidi Mendoza named COA officer-in-charge

Commission on Audit (COA) Commissioner Heidi Mendoza is now the acting chairman of the audit body until President Benigno Aquino III names a replacement for former chairperson Grace Pulido-Tan, according to a resolution posted on its website.

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Palace won’t urge Purisima to divulge private testimony on Mamasapano incident

Malacañang is not about to urge resigned PNP chief Director General Alan Purisima to divulge his testimony during a Senate executive session on the deadly Mamasapano operation, despite a lawmaker’s assessment that doing so can help President Benigno Aquino III.

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Return of 16 guns not enough: Espina tells MILF to surrender Usman, SAF killers

Philippine National Police officer-in-charge Deputy Director-General Leonardo Espina yesterday called on the Moro Islamic Liberation Front to surrender its members responsible for the deaths of the 44 police commandos who died in the Mamasapano misencounter.

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Unseated Antique gov fails to get SC relief

The unseated governor of Antique province has failed to get an immediate relief from the Supreme Court to stop his removal from office.

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PNP probe on Mamasapano clash ‘70 percent done’

The police investigation on the January 25 Mamasapano clash is about 70 percent done, according to Police Director Benjamin Magalong, the police official leading the probe. “Basically, alam na namin kung anong nangyari, from mission planning to execution,” he said.

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Senator Marcos asks MILF: Be open-minded, flexible on changes in BBL

Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr on Thursday asked the Moro Islamic Liberation Front to be open-minded and flexible on the changes that will be introduced by Congress in the draft Bangsamoro Basic Law.

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IBP asks SC to void Comelec-Smartmatic PCOS repair deal

The Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) has asked the Supreme Court to void the agreement between the Commission on Elections and the Smartmatic-TIM for the refurbishment and repair of Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS) machines to be used in the 2016 elections.

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