ELECTION 2016

The Philippine presidential and vice presidential elections of 2016 was held
on Monday, May 9, 2016, as part of the 2016 general election. This was the 16th
presidential election in the Philippines since1935 and the
sixth sextennial presidential election since 1986.
CAMPAIGN - While the campaign period as set by law started on February 9, 2016.
DRUGS - As of October 13, there are at least 740,245 drug dependents who have
surrenderedsince the government started its campaign against illegal drugs last July. A large
majority, over 686,000, are users, while over 53,000 are pushers. Of the surrenderers, only
about 500 have been admitted to rehabilitation centers.
On Friday, October 14, Chinese Ambassador Zhao Jianhua announced that a Chinese
businessman is donating a 12-hectare drug rehab center that will cover 120,000 square meters
(12 hectares).
2016 FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament - July 4, 2016 July 10, 2016
April

April 1

At least 3 are killed and several others were wounded when police dispersed a
farmers' protest action in Kidapawan demanding relief from the provincial government
due to a drought caused by El Nio affecting the province since November 2015.[71]

The Department of Education in partnership with Stairway Foundation launches

CyberSafe Project Manuals, which contain individual lesson plans targeting Grades 5 to
6 and junior high students to prevent internet-related child abuse.[72]

April 2 A power outage hits the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3 in
Pasay City causing a disruption in the processing of passengers.[73]

April 4 The Olongapo Regional Trial Court Branch 74 denies the petition of US Marine
Joseph Scott Pemberton to reverse his conviction for his homicide case of Filipino
transgender Jennifer Laude.[74]

April 5

The Office of the Ombudsman finds probable cause to file charges against
former PNP chief Alan Purisima and former SAF director Getulio Napeas for the
Mamasapano operation that saw 44 SAF troopers killed, the biggest loss of the police in
recent history.[75]

The Ombudsman orders the filing of graft charges against re-electionist Cebu 3rd
District Rep. Gwendolyn Garcia and 11 other former officials over the alleged

anomalous construction of the P833-million Cebu International Convention

Center (CICC) in 2006.[76]

April 6 A group calling itself iBalik ang Bilyones ng Mamamayan (iBBM) filed a
complaint for plunder against Senator Bongbong Marcos for his alleged involvement in the
PDAF scam.[77]

April 8

Italian national Rolando Del Torchio is released after being kidnapped at his
pizza parlor in Dipolog on October 7, 2015.[78]

Memorandum Order No. 90 was signed by Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa

Jr. directs the abolition of the 42-year-old Armed Forces of the PhilippinesRetirement
and Separation Benefits System (AFPRSBS).[79]
Bohol declares state of calamity due to the 2016 El Nio.[80]

April 9

The Supreme Court declares that their vote on Grace Poe's natural-born
status and 10-year residency is final and executory and she is eligible to
become president.[81]

18 soldiers and 5 Abu Sayyaf bandits including a suspected foreign terrorist,

Moroccan national Mohammad Khattab, and Ubaida Hapilon, the son of senior leader
Isnilon Hapilon are killed during a clash in Tipo-Tipo, Basilan.[82]

April 11

The groundbreaking rites for the Clark Green City, a sustainable city located in
the Clark Freeport Zone in Angeles, Pampanga, is conducted and led by President
Aquino.[83]
Cebu province is placed under state of calamity due to the 2016 El Nio.[84]

April 13 The Sandidganbayan Fifth Division grants the petitions for bail of former APEC
party-list Representative Edgar Valdez, former Masbate Representative Rizalina Lanete and
Janet Lim Napoles who were facing plunder charges in connection with the PDAF scam.[85]

April 17 Presidential frontrunner Rodrigo Duterte causes controversy when a video of

him making a joke about the rape of a murdered Australian missionary goes viral.[86]

April 20

The Sandiganbayan Special Fourth Division acquitts former Presidential

Commission on Good Government (PCGG) chairman Camilo Sabio from graft and

malversation of public funds cases, which stemmed from his alleged misuse of almost
P12 million worth of recovered ill-gotten wealth of the Marcoses.[87]

The groundbreaking rites for the 69.3-billion Metro Rail Transit Line 7 (MRT-7)
project, marking the start of the construction of the 23-kilo-meter elevated railway
fromNorth Avenue, Quezon City to San Jose del Monte in Bulacan, is conducted and led
by President Aquino.[88]

April 25 John Ridsdel, a Canadian taken hostage by the Abu Sayyaf in Samal Island,
is beheaded on Jolo, Sulu.[89]

April 27 Voted 4-3, the COMELEC en banc has officially cancelled the voting on the
selected malls scheduled on May 9.[90]
May

May 2 Vice presidential candidate and senator Antonio Trillanes IV and Atty. Sal
Panelo, lawyer of presidential frontrunner and Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, visits
the Bank of the Philippine Islands branch along Julia Vargas Avenue in Pasig, in a bid to
settle the lawmaker's allegations of hidden wealth against the mayor.[91]

May 5 Both negative advertisements paid by Antonio Trillanes IV, targets

presidential candidate Rodrigo Duterte using children and another one is about Duterte's
alleged hidden wealth were aired on TV and radio stations, causing dismay among netizens.
[92]
A 72-hour TRO was issued by Regional Trial Court in Taguig to stop any TV stations from
airing the negative advertisement.[93]

May 6 Mario Reyes, former mayor of Coron, Palawan and one of two brothers accused
of masterminding the 2011 murder of journalist and good governance advocate Gerry
Ortega is granted bail by the court trying the case.[94]
May 9 The 2016 National and Local elections are held.[95]

May 11 The Sandiganbayan absolves former Commission on Elections

chairman Benjamin Abalos' graft charges over the botched $329-million ZTE-National
Broadband Network (NBN) deal in 2007.[96]

May 14 Special elections are held in select villages in Visayas and Mindanao, where
the Commission on Elections declared failure of elections.[97]

May 18 President Aquino signs Republic Act No. 10821 or the Childrens Emergency
Relief and Protection Act which seeks to provide children with comprehensive relief and
protection in the aftermath of disasters.[98]

May 23

The historic San Pedro bell is finally returned and displayed at the Bauang
Church in La Union, more than a hundred years after it was taken by American soldiers
as a war booty during the Philippine-American War.[99]

President Aquino signs Republic Act No. 10844 into law, which creates
the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT).[100][101]

May 30 The Congress proclaims Rodrigo Duterte and Leni Robredo as President-elect
and Vice President-elect of the Philippines, respectively, based on the canvassing of votes
by the National Board of Canvassers for President and Vice President from May 25 to27.[102]

May 31

The Supreme Court dismisses the appeal of former MMDA Chairman and
senatorial candidate Francis Tolentino to stop the proclamation of Win
Gatchalian, Ralph Recto and Leila de Lima, the top 10, 11 and 12 senators in
the Philippine Senate election, 2016 respectively.[103]

President Aquino signs Republic Act No. 10863 or the Customs Modernization
and Tariff Act (CMTA) which amends some previsions of the Tariff and Customs Code of
1978 and to modernize the operations of the Bureau of Customs.[104]

June

June 1

The Office of the Ombudsman orders the filing of criminal charges against former
Valenzuela representative and senator-elect Sherwin Gatchalian, former Local Water
Utilities Administration (LWUA) chairman of the board Prospero Pichay Jr. and 24 other
former government officials and private individuals for alleged anomalous acquisition of
a thrift bank by in 2009.[105]

The Philippine Navy commissions its brand new and largest ship, the BRP Tarlac
together with three newly acquired landing craft heavy vessels, BRP Waray, BRP Iwak,
and BRP Agta.[106]

The Sandiganbayan Third Division dismisses the perjury and violation of the
code of conduct cases against the late Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona.[107]

The Antipolo Regional Trial Court dismisses the double-murder case against exColonel Red Kapunan, in connection with the deaths of former Kilusang Mayo Uno
(KMU) leader, Rolando Olalia and his driver, Leonor Alay-ay on November 13, 1986.[108]
[109]

The Vaticans doctrinal watchdog overrules Lipa Archbishop Ramon

Arguelles and rejects his 2012 decree declaring that the alleged Marian
apparitions in Batangas in1948 were authentic.[110]

June 2 The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) officially
starts phasing out school service vehicles 15 years old and up.[111]

June 7 The Supreme Court dismisses the petition filed by Atty. Elly Pamatong, a
presidential candidate classified as nuisance that seeks to null and void the votes of

President-elect Rodrigo Duterte and to stop his proclamation by the National Board of
Canvassers.[112]

June 8 The Office of the Ombudsman upholds the decision of the Manila Prosecutors
Office dismissing treason and inciting to sedition complaint filed last year against outgoing
Presidential Peace Adviser Teresita Deles, peace negotiators Miriam Coronel-Ferrer and
Mohagher Iqbal and members of the Bangsamoro Transition Commission (BTC).[113]

June 12 Chinese Coast Guard bars Kalayaan Atin Ito Movement, a Filipino youth
group, from sailing to the disputed Panatag Shoal to plant a Philippine flag there to
celebrate the country's Independence Day.[114]

June 14

Robert Hall, the second Canadian taken hostage by the Abu Sayyaf in Samal
Island, is beheaded on Jolo, Sulu.[115]

The Supreme Court dismisses a petition that sought to stop the lease of
70,977 optical mark reader (OMR) machines for P6.286 billion that were used in the
May 2016 elections.[116]

The two Cessna aircraft sequestered from the late Alfonso Lim, an alleged crony
of the Marcos family, is sold by theSandiganbayan at a measly amount of P140,000.[117]

The Supreme Court temporarily stops the Land Transportation Office (LTO) from
issuing 700,000 license plates to motorists and from accepting more license plates from
the Bureau of Customs.[118]

Eight Philippine universities led by the University of the Philippines (UP) are
included in the latest Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) University Rankings on the top 350
universities in Asia.[119]

June 15 Informal talks between the incoming Duterte administration and

representatives of the Communist Party of the Philippines-National Democratic Front (CPPNDF) commence in Oslo, Norway.[120]

June 16

President Aquino vetoes House Bill No. 6411 and Senate Bill No. 2720 that seeks
to improve the nursing profession, including raising the minimum monthly salary of
nurses to almost P25,000.[121]

The Sandiganbayan First Division acquits former Philippine Sports

Commission (PSC) chairman William Ramirez of graft in connection with the alleged
anomalous procurement of cycling equipment in 2007.[122]

The COMELEC en banc grants the Liberal Party's request and several similar
petitions that they be allowed to file their Statement of Contributions and Expenses
(SOCE) beyond the June 8 deadline long before the May 9 elections.[123]

Malacaang temporarily stops the Department of Justice (DOJ) from filing

criminal charges against newly elected 1-Pacman party-list Representative Mikee
Romero, who was alleged to have committed qualified theft against Harbour Centre Port
Terminal Inc. (HCPTI).[124]

June 17 The Manila Metropolitan Trial Court (MTC) Branch 12, orders the two siblings
of Iglesia ni Cristo executive minister Eduardo V. Manalo, expelled members Angel and
Lottie, to vacant from a property of the religious sect in No. 36 Tandang Sora Street, Quezon
City.[125]

June 21 The Commission on Elections en banc accepts the resignation of senior

Commissioner Christian Robert Lim as head of the Campaign Finance Office (CFO),
following the extension of the filing of their statements of contributions and expenditures.[126]

June 23 The Department of Justice dismisses criminal complaints filed by American

missionary Lane Michael White, against airport employees, including four aviation police
officers, in connection with the alleged bullet planting scheme at the Ninoy Aquino
International Airport.[127]

June 24 Marites Flor, a Filipina taken hostage by the Abu Sayyaf in Samal Island, is
released in Jolo, Sulu.[128]

June 25 The Department of Science and Technology launches the very first Filipinomade hybrid electric train.[129]

June 27

President Aquino signs Republic Act No. 10868 into law a measure that will grant
a P100,000 cash incentive and additional benefits and privileges to Filipino
centenarians.[130]

Merilyn and Stharra, the wife and daughter of retired PNP Chief Superintendent
Ismael Rafanan, are killed from a fire that struck their home in Quezon City.[131]

June 28

President Aquino signs Republic Act No. 10867 into law, that mandating the
National Bureau of Investigation (NBI)s reorganization and modernization, 69 years
after the creation of its first charter.[132]

The Supreme Court dismisses a petition filed by retired Army Col. Justino
Padiernos and Atty. Manuelito Luna, questioning the Commission on Elections' decision
to extend the filing of the statements of contributions and expenditures of candidates
and political parties in the 2016 election.[133]

The Supreme Court dismisses a petition filed by Greco Belgica and former Tarlac
Governor Tingting Cojuangco that seeking the prosecution of all the authors, proponents
and implementors of both the pork barrel system and the Disbursement Acceleration
Program (DAP).[134]

June 30 Rodrigo Duterte is inaugurated as the 16th President of the

Philippines with Leni Robredo being inaugurated as the 14thVice President of the
Philippines, marking the beginning of the Rodrigo Duterte administration.[135][136][137]