January

 January 4 – The Sandiganbayan Special Second Division orders Alfonso Lim Sr., a crony of the late
president Ferdinand Marcos, to return to the government all properties he acquired.[1]
 January 7 – The Sandiganbayan Fifth Division denies the bail petition of Senator Jinggoy Estrada in
connection with his alleged involvement in the PDAF scam.[2]

 January 8 – The Department of Foreign Affairs files a diplomatic protest against China's test flights in
the Kagitingan Reef located across the disputed West Philippine Sea.[3]
 January 12 – The Supreme Court upholds the constitutionality of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation
Agreement between the Philippines and the United States signed in 2014.[4]
 January 13 – Zamboanga City declares a state of calamity due to the onslaught of El Niño phenomenon and
its negative effects to the farmlands.[5]
 January 14 – President Aquino vetoes House Bill No. 5842, which intends to increase the pension of the
members of Social Security System.[6]
 January 15 – Munap Saimaran, one of the bandits in the 2000 Sipadan kidnappings, is arrested in Sulu.[7]
 January 19
 President Aquino approves Republic Act No. 10742 or the SK Reforms Act of 2016 that will enable
reforms in strengthening the Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) political system.[8]
 North Cotabato declares a state of calamity after damages due to the 2016 El Niño reached over ₱200
million, including damage due to drought and rats.[9]
 January 20
 Former Iglesia ni Cristo evangelical worker Lowell Menorca II is arrested by Manila Police
District policemen in civil clothes without any warrant of arrest showed due to libel charges filed by SCAN
International Lanao del Norte chapter while he trying to attend a hearing in Court of Appeals.[10] The INC
categorily denied the involvement in commotion between the policemen and Menorca.[11] (see 2015
Iglesia ni Cristo leadership controversy)
 The Office of the Ombudsman orders effectively the dismissal in service of Quezon City District 2
Councilor Roderick Paulate and District 1 Councilor Francisco Calalay and two city liaison officials on the
hiring of "ghost employees" in 2010.[12]
 Lt. Col. Ferdinand Marcelino, a former official of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency's Special
Enforcement Service, is arrested in a buy-bust operation at a shabu laboratory in Santa Cruz, Manila.[13]
 January 24–31 – The 51st International Eucharistic Congress is held in Cebu.[14]
 January 26 – The Senate Blue Ribbon subcommittee concludes its hearings on the corruption allegations
against Vice President and UNA presidential candidate Jejomar Binay.[15]
 January 27 – The Bangsamoro Basic Law fails to pass on its final reading in the House of
Representatives before January.[16] But due to no proper quorum in the Congress, the bill had no chances to
pass in the House of Representatives in the 16th Congress.[17] Aside from the BBL, Aquino administration's
priority bills, the Anti-Dynasty, Anti-Discrimination and the Freedom of Information bills, "killed" in the 16th
congress as the Session will temporarily adjourned in preparation for the 2016 elections.[18]
 January 31 – In the latest report by the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), the Philippines places
second in the list of most dangerous places for journalists.[19]

February

 February 1 – The Makati Regional Trial Court Branch 142 issues a warrant of arrest against Senator and Vice
Presidential candidate Antonio Trillanes IV over the libel case filed by disqualified Makati Mayor Jejomar
Binay, Jr..[20] On February 9, Trillanes posted bail.[21]
 February 3 – The COMELEC 1st Division denied all the disqualification cases against PDP–Laban
presidential candidate Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte.[22]
 February 5
 The Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC) files the usurpation case against former PNP
Chief Alan Purisima due to usurping his role in his involvement in the Mamasapano clash.[23]
 Maguindanao suffers from the effects of the 2014-2016 El Niño, destroying rice and corn crops on
the drought caused, and the provincial government declares a state of calamity in response to residents
experiencing food shortage.[24]
 February 9 – The AFP and PNP operatives arrest Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) top leader
Hassan Indal a.k.a. Abu Hazam in a joint operation in Cotabato City.[25]
 February 10 – The National Mapping and Resource Information Authority announces that it has documented
more than 400 additional islands, mostly in the Mindanao group, using the Interferometric Synthetic Aperture
Radar. The islands were previously thought to be part of a bigger island.[26] The previous official count was
7,107 by the Gazetteer of the Philippine Islands in 1945.[27]
 February 16 – Six policemen killed and eight wounded in a clash with New People's Army members in
Barangay Sta. Margarita, Baggao, Cagayan.[28]
 February 18 – The Department of Transportation and Communications and the Land Transportation
Franchising and Regulatory Board launches the P2P or Point to Point Premium Bus, the first bus service in
the country accessible for thePersons with Disabilities sector.[29][30]
 February 19
  President Aquino signs Executive Order 201 (under the proposed Salary Standardization Law of 2015)
that increases the salaries of government agency workers and adding additional benefits to civilian and
military uniformed personnel.[31]
 The Office of the Ombudsman files graft and documents falsification charges before the Sandiganbayan
against former Makati City mayor Junjun Binay and 22 others over the alleged overpriced construction of
the Makati City Hall Parking Building II.[32]
 February 26 – At least 60 are killed in an encounter in Butig, Lanao del Sur. Among them were suspected
members of Maute Terrorist Group and three soldiers.[33]

 February 29
 The Philippines and Japan signs an agreement on the transfer of the Japanese defense and surveillance
equipment to the country's military.[34]
 The remains of the late President Elpidio Quirino, the sixth president of the Philippines, are transferred
from the Manila South Cemetery in Makati to theHeroes' Cemetery in Taguig to mark his 60th death
anniversary.[35]

March

 March 1 – Aid al-Qarni, a Islam preacher, and a diplomat from Saudi Arabianembassy was shot by a gunman
after a lecture in the Western Mindanao State University in Zamboanga City.[36]
 March 3 – The Office of the Ombudsman files charges against five former Representatives including
former Muntinlupa congressman Ruffy Biazon, in connection with the PDAF scam.[37]
 March 5
 The Ombudsman has ordered the dismissal of Valenzuela City Mayor Rex Gatchalian and 6 others over
the deadly blaze that hit footwear factory Kentex Manufacturing Corporation, killing at least 72 people in
May last year.[38] OnMarch 15, The Ombudsman also ordered the filing of graft charges against
Gatchalian and seven other individuals in connection with this case.[39]
 The Philippine government orders to impound a cargo ship from North Korea in the Subic port, in
response to tighter sanctions by United Nations against North Korea due to its nuclear and ballistic missile
tests.[40] On March 24, the North Korean freighter M/V Jin Teng has left the country, after no contraband
was found onboard and the ship was cleared by the United Nations.[41]

 March 8 – Voted 9-6, the Supreme Court has affirms Grace Poe's natural-born status and declares she is
qualified to run based on her 10-year residency.[42]
 March 15
  The Supreme Court dismisses several petitions by several party-list groups to issue a TRO to stop the
implementation of the K+12 education program of theDepartment of Education.[43]
 The Senate Blue Ribbon Committee has begin its inquiry into the alleged money laundering of $100
million that has dragged into this one of the country's leading financial institutions.[44]
 March 16
 BIR employee Rhodora Alvarez, who blew the whistle on the alleged anomalous deal, filed a plunder
complaint against Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin over a P1.2 billion helicopter deal in 2013.[45]
 Disqualified Laguna Governor Emilio Ramon “ER” Ejercito and eight other individuals were charged with
graft before the Sandiganbayan over an alleged anomalous insurance deal entered in 2008.[46]
 March 18 – Former Camarines Norte Governor Roy Padilla Jr., is arrested over his failure to return a firearm
issued to him in 1992.[47]
 March 21 – The UNESCO has added Albay in the Philippines as one of the 20 additions to its network of
protected biosphere nature reserves.[48]
 March 22
 The Sandiganbayan Second Division has dismissed the graft case against Government Service
Insurance System(GSIS) former president and general manager Winston Garcia on the alleged
anomalous awarding of a multimillion-peso electronic membership card (e-Card) project in 2004.[49]
 The Court of Appeals (CA) has junked dismissed Makati mayor Junjun Binay's contempt charges against
former interior secretary Mar Roxas, Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales, former justice Secretary Leila
de Lima, and 5 others.[50]

 March 23
 Diwata-1 was launched to the International Space Station (ISS) aboard theCygnus spacecraft on a supply
mission. Cygnus itself will be launched using the Atlas V rocket. The satellite was deployed into orbit from
the ISS on April 27. Diwata-1 is the country's first micro-satellite and the first satellite to be built and
designed by Filipinos.[51]
 The National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea (under the Memorandum Circular 94) that aimed at
"achieving unified action" as part of efforts to find a resolution to the country's territorial dispute with China
on theWest Philippine Sea is created.[52]
 March 25 – Customs at the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen destroyed 34.78 tons of "substandard
bananas" imported from the Philippines due to excessive pesticide use.[53]
 March 26 – A raging fire on the Philippines highest mountain, Mt. Apo, forced hundreds of people to flee from
the peak by foot.[54]
 March 27 – Anonymous Philippines has hacked the website of Commission on Elections to force them to
place security features on Vote Counting Machine (VCM).[55] Soon, the LulzSec Pilipinas leaked sensitive
 information of voters all over the Philippines from the COMELEC website, and the incident has been called
the "biggest government data breach in history".[56] On April 21, one of the hackers involved in the recent
defacement and supposed leak of data from the Commission on Elections' official website has been arrested
in Sampaloc, Manila.[57] On April 29, another hacker allegedly responsible for leaking the information of voters
from the Comelec website was arrested by the National Bureau of Investigation.[58]
 March 28
 Laguna Lake Development Authority (LLDA) general manager Neric Acosta has been sentenced to a
maximum of 10 years of imprisonment after being found guilty of one count of graft by the Sandiganbayan
Fourth Division in connection with the misuse of his pork barrel funds as district representative of
Bukidnon.[59]
 None of the three pre-qualified bidders have submitted offers for the largest Private-Public Partnership
(PPP) project to date, the Laguna Lakeshore Expressway estimated to cost around P123 billion.[60]
 Several piles of license plate sheets were stolen from the Quezon City central office of the Land
Transportation Office during the Holy Week break.[61]
 March 29
 Ten Indonesian crew members on board a tugboat were kidnapped by Abu Sayyaf militants in the
Philippines.[62] OnMay 1, ten Indonesian sailors who had been held hostage by Islamist militant group
were released in Jolo.[63]
 President Aquino has signed Republic Act No. 10754 into law a bill authored by Leyte Rep. Martin
Romualdezgranting persons with disabilities (PWDs) exemption from the 12-percent value-added
tax (VAT) on certain goods and services.[64]
 The Commission on Elections has decided not to stop the broadcast of senatorial candidate Manny
Pacquiao's boxing match on April 9.[65]
 March 30 – The Office of the Ombudsman filed graft and technical malversation cases against Sen. JV
Ejercito, before the Sandiganbayan over the alleged anomalous purchase of high-powered firearms worth
P2.1 million during his term as mayor of San Juan City.[66]

 March 31
 The camp of businessman Kim Wong handed over to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, the $4.6 million he
volunteered to return to the Bangladesh government, supposedly after learning that the money was part
of the $81-million money laundering scheme.[67] On April 4, Wong turned over an additional P38.28 million
to the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) office.[68] On April 19, Eastern Hawaii Leisure Co. Ltd., has
turned over P200 million to the AMLC.[69]
 Addong Salahuddin, suspect in the bombing incident at the Zamboanga CityAirport on August 5, 2010,
where two people were killed and 28 others injured, including former Sulu Gov. Abdusakur Tan has
surrendered to the National Bureau of Investigation.[70]
April

 April 1

 At least 3 are killed and several others were wounded when police disperseda farmers' protest

action in Kidapawan demanding relief from the provincial government due to a drought caused by El Niño

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 Napeñas 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 Philippines–Retirement and Separation Benefits System (AFP–

RSBS).[79]

 Bohol declares state of calamity due to the 2016 El Niño.[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 Niño.[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 therape of a murdered Australian missionary goes viral.[86]

 April 20

 The Sandiganbayan Special Fourth Division has acquitted 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 from North 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 aboutDuterte'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 Children’s 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 theDepartment 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 to 27.[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 thePhilippine 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 ex-Colonel Red Kapunan, in

connection with the deaths of former Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) leader, Rolando Olalia and his driver,

Leonor Alay-ay onNovember 13, 1986.[108][109]

 The Vatican’s doctrinal watchdog overrules Lipa Archbishop Ramon Arguelles and rejects his 2012

decree declaring that the alleged Marian apparitions in Batangas in 1948 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 asnuisance 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 Prosecutor’s 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 the Sandiganbayan 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 (CPP-NDF) 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]

 Malacañang 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, has ordered the two siblings of Iglesia ni

Cristoexecutive 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 Filipino-made 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 has dismissed 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 has dismissed 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 14th Vice President of the Philippines, marking the beginning of the Rodrigo Duterte

administration.[135][136][137]

July

 July 2 – Grade 6 student Nasif Cali from Denaig Elementary School in Poona Piagapo, Lanao del Norte wins

the World Food Programme's (WFP) Children's Design Competition 2016 in Rome, Italy. Cali's design was
 chosen from 70 submissions and as a result of his victory, the WFP awarded him with $100 and his school,

Denaig Elementary School, will receive $2,000 for school supplies.[138]

 July 4

 President Rodrigo Duterte signs his first executive order, entitled Reengineering the Office of the

President Towards Greater Responsiveness to the Attainment of Development Goals, allowing

his Cabinet Secretary Leoncio Evasco, Jr.to oversee 12 national government agencies in coming up with

a set of programs to reduce both the incidence and magnitude of poverty.[139]

 After almost two decades of having its gates shut in the past 18 years, the Department of Agrarian

Reform (DAR) office along Elliptical Road in Diliman, Quezon City, opens its doors to farmers and

protesters alike.[140]

 July 5 – President Rodrigo Duterte, in his speech during the 69th anniversary of the Philippine Air

Force names five top police generals who were allegedly involved in illegal drug trade.[141]

 July 6 – The PAGASA announces the end of the El Niño phenomenon.[142]

 July 10 – Three Philippine islands, Palawan, Boracay and Cebu, are featured on the "World’s Best Islands"

list for 2016 of the New York-based magazine Travel + Leisure.[143]

 July 11 – The Office of the Ombudsman finds a probable cause to file graft charges against former Health

SecretaryEnrique Ona and two other officials of the Department of Health (DOH) for an alleged

anomalous ₱392.2-million hospital modernization project in 2012.[144]

 July 12

 The Philippines wins the arbitration case they filed at the Permanent Court of Arbitration regarding the

legality of China's nine-dotted line claim over theSouth China Sea under the United Nations Convention

on the Law of the Sea.[145][146]

 Philippine delegates Debby Sy, Hannah Joy Alcomendas and Camille Joy Buron are recognized for their

contributions to the four-day Asia Pacific Youth Parliament for Water (APYPW) event by the Korea Water

Forum at theDaegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology in Daegu, South Korea.[147]
  The provincial government of Basilan declares a state of emergency in the municipalities of Tipo-

Tipo, Ungkaya Pukan and Al-Barka as the military continued its intensified offensive against the Abu

Sayyaf Group.[148]

 July 13 – A 12-year-old girl is killed while two soldiers were wounded in a firefight between government troops

and members of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters in Maguindanao.[149]

 July 14 – The Office of the Ombudsman files graft, falsification and violation of the government procurement

law charges against former Vice President Jejomar Binay in connection with the overpricing of the Makati City

Hall Building II project.[150]

 July 15 – President Rodrigo Duterte meets with Cebuano-Chinese businessman Peter Lim, one of the three

alleged leaders of illegal drug trade in the Philippines.[151]

 July 18 – The main runway of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport closed due to emergency pavement

repairs that forced 10 international and domestic flights to be diverted to the Clark International Airport in

Pampanga, resulting in delayed and cancelled flights all over the country.[152]

 July 19 – The Supreme Court acquits former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo of her plunder case

regarding the alleged misuse of funds for the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PSCO) in an 11–4

ruling.[153][154]

 July 23 – President Rodrigo Duterte signs an executive order for the implementation of the Freedom of

Information(FOI).[155][156][157][158][159]

 July 25 – President Rodrigo Duterte delivers his first State of the Nation Address(SONA).[160][161]

 July 30

 The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) places the Luzon power grid under a red alert

status due to low level operating reserves, as seven power plants are encountering problems.[162]

 President Rodrigo Duterte lifts the unilateral ceasefire and placed troops on high alert after the

Communist Party of the Philippines-New People's Army(CPP-NPA) failed his deadline to make their own

declaration.[163]
V
August

 August 1 – The Duterte administration launches a 24-hour complaint office accessible to the public through a

nationwide hotline, 8888, and changed the nationwide emergency telephone number from 117 to 911.[164][165]

 August 2 – Mayor Rolando Espinosa of Albuera, Leyte, who is being linked to drug trafficking, surrenders to

Philippine National Police chief director General Ronald dela Rosa. Espinosa and his son Kerwin were asked

by President Rodrigo Duterte to voluntarily surrender within 24 hours or face a shoot-on-sight order by

police.[166]

 August 3 - Six aides of Mayor Rolando Espinosa and his son Kerwin are killed in a shootout with the police in

Albuera, Leyte.[167]

 August 4 – The Sandiganbayan grants the motion of the Office of the Ombudsman to amend the plunder case

against former Agriculture Undersecretary Jocelyn Bolante in connection with the ₱723-million fertilizer fund

scam.[168]

 August 5 – The Supreme Court grants the provisional liberty to Satur Ocampo and two others who were allied

with theCommunist Party of the Philippines to allow them to attend the peace talks with the government

in Oslo, Norway.[169]

 August 7 – President Duterte publicly named more than 150 government officials including mayors, judges,

polices and lawmakers who are allegedly involved in an illegal drug trade.[170][171][172]

 August 8 – 14 dead, 8 injured and 262,271 families were affected after heavy rains and floods due

to southwest monsoon shuts down Metro Manila and nearby provinces.[173]

 August 11 – Ten high-profile inmates are killed in the explosion incident inside the Parañaque City Jail.[174]

 August 12 – The Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 32 grants the bail petition to communist leaders Benito

and Wilma Tiamzon ahead of the scheduled peace talks with the Communist Party of the Philippines in

Oslo.[175]

 August 13 – The peace talks between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front reopens in Kuala

Lumpur, Malaysia.[176]

 August 14
  About thousands of people gather at Rizal Park protesting the burial of the late former

President Ferdinand Marcosscheduled for September 18.[177][178]

 A rare tornado hits Manila and nearby areas at around 4:30 pm PHT, which, according to a report by

the PAGASA, originated from land.[179][180][181]

 August 15 – The Department of Justice orders the filing of direct assault with murder charges in court against

88 people over the Mamasapano clash in 2015 that left 44 SAF commandos dead.[182]

 August 16 – The Supreme Court, acting as the Presidential Electoral Tribunal, dismisses the electoral protest

filed by 2010 vice presidential candidate Mar Roxas against former Vice President Jejomar Binay in the May

10, 2010 elections.[183][184]

 August 17

 Mohammad Safyan, an Indonesian crew member of the tugboat Charles, who were abducted off the high

seas near the Philippine border last June 23, along with six other crew members, escapes from his Abu

Sayyaf captors in Luuk, Sulu.[185]

 Maia Deguito, the former branch manager of the Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation tagged in the

$81-million money laundering scandal, is arrested at a supermarket in Makati for perjury.[186]

 August 20–27 – The peace talks between the government and the Communist Party of the Philippines, New

People’s Army, National Democratic Front (CPP-NPA-NDF) took palce in Oslo.[187]

 August 22 – The Senate Committee on Justice and Human Rights begins its hearing on the spate of summary

executions in the Philippines.[188]

 August 23

 The Sandiganbayan founds NBN-ZTE deal whistleblower Jun Lozada, guilty of graft for granting separate

leasehold rights over public lands to his brother and to a private company with ties to him under the

Lupang Hinirang program of the Philippine Forest Corporation.[189]

 Rogelio Bato Jr., the lawyer of Albuera, Leyte Mayor Rolando Espinosa, and his 15-year-old companion,

Angelica Bonita are killed in a shooting incident in Tacloban City.[190]

 August 25 – President Rodrigo Duterte releases the matrix showing the supposed links of Sen. Leila de Lima

and other former and current government officials to the alleged illegal drug operations inside the New Bilibid

Prison.[191]

 August 26 – The Philippine government and the National Democratic Front signs an

indefinite ceasefire agreement as part of efforts to end a conflict that has lasted almost five decades and killed

at least 40,000 people.[192]

 August 27 – 20 inmates were escaped after the Maute terrorist group armed with assault rifles and rocket

propelled grenades, attack the Lanao del Sur provincial jail.[193]