News Roundup 22 December 2019
Dec 22, 2019 • 2 min Read
21 people, 9 of them soldiers, hurt in Maguindanao, Cotabato blasts | INQUIRER.NET – Twenty-one people, nine of them soldiers, were wounded in a series of explosions that rocked Cotabato City and the neighboring Libungan town in Cotabato province on Sunday as people were busying themselves for the holidays. The first blast occurred at around 6 p.m. on Sinsuat Avenue in Cotabato City, where 16 people, including nine soldiers, were wounded. In the nearby town of Libungan in Cotabato province, Gov. Nancy Catamco said five civilians were wounded when a homemade bomb went off at 6:12 p.m. at the town proper, only minutes after the Cotabato City attack.
Government, NDFP panels agree to recommend Christmas ceasefire | PHILSTAR.COM – The panels of the government and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines, which represents communist rebels at peace talks, have agreed to recommend “unilateral and reciprocal nationwide ceasefires” from December 23, 2019 to January 7, 2020. According to a joint statement posted, the ceasefire is meant to “generate a positive environment” that will lead to informal talks that could in turn lead to a formal return to the peace table after President Rodrigo Duterte scrapped the talks in November 2017.
Defensor stirs up Speakership term split anew as Cayetano continues to impress | Manila Bulletin – Anakalusugan Party-List Rep. Mike Defensor has reiterated his preference for Taguig-Pateros lone district Rep. Alan Peter Cayetano to remain as House Speaker for the rest of the 18th Congress. This, after Cayetano’s trust and performance ratings continued to rise for the fourth quarter of the year after an already impressive output during the previous quarter.
Angkas official claims corruption in motorcycle taxi pilot run | The Manila Times – A top official of Angkas claimed there was “corruption” in the government’s decision to cut the motorcycle ride-hailing firm’s bikers to 10,000 from 27,000, in favor of new players in the transport sharing scheme. George Royeca, chief transport advocate of Angkas, made the accusation in a press briefing on Sunday following the technical working group’s (TWG) move, which would affect its 17,000 partner drivers.
