Philippine Morning News Roundup For March 2

Welcome to the Philippines morning news roundup by AEC News Today, your one stop for Philippines news on matters of governance and policies affecting Asean business communities.

Philippines Moves Closer to Reinstating Death Penalty
The Philippines House of Representatives approved a proposal on Wednesday to reinstate the death penalty, paving the way for capital punishment to be restored more than a decade after it was abolished.
— New York Times

Vietnam gains on PHL to top ASEAN PMI
FACTORIES in the Philippines capped a four-month growth slowdown in February, even as the pickup last month was overtaken by Vietnam’s performance that put that neighbor in the region’s lead, according to monthly surveys IHS Markit conducted for Nikkei, Inc.
— BusinessWorld

Trade dep’t aims to regain lost investment pledge momentum
THE GOVERNMENT is targeting a recovery this year in foreign investment commitments which sank in value in 2016, the country’s Trade chief said yesterday.
— BusinessWorld

Credit expansion picks up in Jan
Credit growth rose nearly 18 percent in January from the revised growth of 17.3 percent in December amid the continued growth in the economy.
— Philippine Star

No more La Niña – PAGASA
THE Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) on Wednesday announced that La Niña conditions are no longer present in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific (CEEP).
— Manila Times

British firms eye Mindanao projects
British companies are considering Mindanao as a new investment destination given the island’s huge growth potential.
— Philippine Star

Philippines takes lead in dengue summit
As the first country to implement a mass immunization program against dengue, the Philippines is taking center stage at the 2nd Asia Dengue Summit in Manila that ends today.
— Philippine Star

‘PH can be economic, moral force in Asia’
WITH the fundamentals for a sustainable growth, the Philippines can become an economic and moral force that can lead an effort to realize the Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ (Asean) full potential and stabilize the rest of Asia.
— Manila Times

Senate to probe ‘defective’ MRT coaches
THE Senate is set to investigate the P3.8-billion brand new coaches of the Metro Rail Transit-3 (MRT-3) found to have compatibility issues and defects.
— Manila Times

SC ruling frustrates electricity consumers
Household consumers, counting on their long-delayed dividends from energy sector reforms, found themselves empty-handed this week after the Supreme Court gave way to last-ditch efforts to derail retail competition and open access in the electric power industry, according to a non-government organization advocating consumer welfare.
— Manila Standard

Big haul of fake tax stamps
Joint operations of the bureaus of Customs and of Internal Revenue on Wednesday yielded a total of 23.2 million packs of cigarettes reportedly manufactured by homegrown manufacturer Mighty Corp. that bore fake tax stamps, depriving the government of some P696 million in unpaid taxes.
— Philippine Daily Inquirer

Pilipinas Shell’s profit jumps 105% to P7.4b
Oil refiner and distributor Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp. said Wednesday net income surged 105 percent last year to P7.4 billion from P3.6 billion in 2015 despite lower oil prices, amid a retail network expansion program.
— Manila Standard

Feature photo: Jose Rodriguez T. Señase

The Philippines morning news roundup is published M-F by AEC News Today: Governance, not government; policies not politics.