A group composed of former members of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) said no one is funding the organization. The Abante Sentrong Alyansa ng mga Mamamayan para sa Bayan (SAMBAYANAN) denied the accusations of active members of CPP-NPA and its legal front organizations that alleged they are being funded by the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) to enter the party-list system. The groups added that the insurgency task force’s 2022 budget for Barangay Development Program will be “used for the delivery of necessary services to long-neglected communities”, not for Sambayanan’s gain.

The Bureau of Immigration (BI) on Friday said travelers from six countries that are under the red list will be barred from entering the country. BI Commissioner Jaime Morente, in an advisory, said they will be implementing the latest resolution from the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) on the new red, yellow, and green lists. He said the updated country risk classification is effective from January 1 to 15, 2022. Under the red list are Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, and Spain. Foreign nationals coming from the said countries, or who have a travel

The French government has earmarked EUR2 million (approximately PHP115.5 million) to support the ongoing relief efforts in the Visayas and Mindanao following the destruction brought by Typhoon Odette. “Following the damage caused by Super Typhoon Odette (Rai), which has claimed nearly 400 victims and displaced tens of thousands of people in the Philippines, France stands alongside the Filipino people,” the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs said in a statement. The French Embassy in Manila said at least EUR1 million of the funding would be coursed through the French non-government organization ACTED and the French Red Cross in partnership

The Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) party on Friday asked the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to postpone the printing of official ballots for the May 9, 2022 polls. In a 20-page petition, the group of Energy Secretary and party president Alfonso Cusi urged Comelec to reschedule the printing of ballots, set Jan. 15, 2022, since there are still pending cases involving individual candidates and party-list organizations. “There are numerous proceedings pending with this Honorable Commission and even the Supreme Court (SC), thus rendering it legally impossible for the ballots for the upcoming 2022 elections to be printed,” the petition

First Congressional District Rep. Paolo “Pulong” Z. Duterte here released on Thursday night his accomplishments at the House of Representatives wherein he has authored a total of 62 House Bills (HB). In a statement, Duterte said of the 62 HBs, 16 were enacted into laws, 21 were already sent and received by the Senate, and 25 are still pending in the different committees in the House of Representatives. Two of the HBs authored by Duterte are still in the period of sponsorship, another two with copies distributed to the House members, and one recommitted. Apart from the HBs, the presidential

The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) here on Friday suspended the operations of sea vessels with a gross tonnage (GT) of 250 and below plying the Negros Oriental route following a gale warning issued by the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA). Lt. Jr. Grade Mark Anthony Tolentino, Negros Oriental Coast Guard Station commander, cited PAGASA’s gale warning issued at 5 a.m. that said strong to gale-force winds associated with the northeast monsoon will affect parts of the country in his notice addressed to mariners, ship owners, Philippine Ports Authority, and Maritime Industry Authority. All sea vessels below the