Philippines Morning News For March 15

Philippines morning news by AEC News Today is your one stop source for Philippines news on matters of governance and policies affecting Asean business communities.

Villar urges dev’t of downstream mining industry
Despite the continued crackdown on the mining sector, the country should still develop new domestic mineral processing plants, Sen. Cynthia Villar said.
— Phil Star

Jobless rate up, underemployment down in January
The jobless rate rose in January even as the number of underemployed as a share of the labor force declined, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported Tuesday.
— Inquirer.net

Lawyers’ group insists Aquino, Abad liable for DAP
The National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL) appealed the dismissal by the Ombudsman of the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) case of former president Benigno Aquino III.
— Inquirer.net

Court enters not-guilty plea for De Lima in disobedience case
DETAINED Senator Leila M. de Lima on Monday refused to enter a not-guilty plea before the Quezon City Metropolitan Trial Court (QC MeTC) Branch 24 on her disobedience to summons case filed by the Department of Justice (DoJ).
— Business World

Senate passes bills on free Wi-Fi, college education
THE BILLS for free Wi-Fi access in public places and free college education were among the key bills the Senate passed on third and final reading on Monday.
— Business World

Small business mentoring program expanded in Zamboanga region
THE Department of Trade in Industry (DTI)-Zamboanga Peninsula office is rolling out the Kapatid Mentor Micro Entrepreneur (KMME) program to other parts of the region to help more micro and small entrepreneurs (MSEs) following the successful pilot implementation in Zamboanga City last year.
— Business World

Bank exposure to property rises in 2016
BANKS raised their exposure to the property sector in 2016, according to preliminary data the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) released on Monday that bared double-digit increases in loans and real estate investments that were nevertheless deemed “manageable.”
— Business World

PSEi rallies ahead of Fed meet as SMIC rebounds
STOCKS rallied on Monday after SM Investments Corp. (SMIC) bounced back from last week’s losses, easing trading woes late last week.
— Business World

PH rebuffs China: Benham Rise is ours
The Philippine government asserted its right to Benham Rise on Tuesday, following China’s claim that Manila cannot declare the resource-rich water way as its territory despite a 2012 United Nations ruling.
— ABS-CBN

Duterte says he won’t fight China over presence in Benham Rise
President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday said he would rather seek a dialogue with China over the presence of Chinese ships in Benham Rise.
— ABS-CBN

Joint patrols in Sulu Sea to start in April: Malaysia navy chief
Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines will commence joint patrols in the Sulu Sea in April, potentially putting an end to decades of lawlessness in the resource-rich waters.
— Channel NewsAsia

Philippine banana bonanza sparks debate on shift to China
The Philippines has boasted of an early win in its pivot from the US to China: a surge in sales of tropical fruits for which President Rodrigo Duterte’s home island is renowned.
— Financial Times

Philippines’ Duterte quips with American twang to mock minister’s downfall
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday poked fun at the dismissal of his foreign minister by lawmakers, delivering jokes in an American accent about a citizenship scandal that led to the downfall of one of his top loyalists.
— Reuters

Philippine lawmakers postpone vote on embattled resources minister
Philippine lawmakers on Tuesday deferred a decision to confirm or reject an ardent environmentalist as the country’s resources minister, stoking uncertainty over the outlook for mining in the world’s top nickel ore supplier.
— Reuters

Philippines outlines ‘second horizon’ procurement priorities
The Philippine government has outlined some of the priorities of the second-phase programme to modernise the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).
— IHS Jane’s 360

Robredo reveals ‘palit-ulo’ scheme in war on drugs
Vice President Leni Robredo is criticizing human rights abuses being committed in the Duterte administration’s war on illegal drugs.
— ABS-CBN News

Phl, India eye pharma zone
The Philippines and India are exploring the possibility of setting up a pharmaceutical zone in the country to encourage the entry of more Indian manufacturing firms.
— Phil star

Senate concurs in Philippines’ accession to Paris Climate Pact
In a quick and unopposed vote, the Senate on Tuesday concurred in President Duterte’s ratification of the historic Paris climate agreement, a historic international pact to delay and mitigate the destructive impact of extreme weather events.
— Inquirer.net
Philippine peace negotiators decry continued NPA attacks
Philippine government negotiators have lamented renewed attacks carried out by communist insurgents, despite ongoing efforts to put peace talks back on track.
— Gulf News

STANDPOINT | Political killings in the Philippines – complicity in murder
On Thursday, 2 March, Jimboy Tapdasan Pesadilla was contacted by a neighbour to go to his parents’ house urgently. When he got to the house, he found several neighbours outside the house and a team of police inside, taking pictures. His father and mother had both been shot dead.
— Davao Today

Seven Japanese trading houses investing $3.9b in Philippines
Seven major Japanese trading houses are looking at investing up to $3.9 billion (P198.5 billion) in different industries in the Philippines.
— Deal Street Asia

Berjaya Philippines 9-month earnings fall 31%
BERJAYA Philippines, Inc. saw its earnings drop by nearly a third in the first nine months of its fiscal year, after it booked losses from the sale of part of its local auto distribution business as well as from foreign exchange fluctuations.
— Business World

Changi named world’s best airport for 5th year in a row
Changi Airport has won the prestigious Skytrax World’s Best Airport award for the fifth consecutive year, it was announced on Tuesday (March 14).
— Today Online

PUB’s co-digestion plant now processing 3 tonnes of food waste daily
After a delay in completion caused by the woes of its technology provider, a project by national water agency PUB to use food waste to generate more electricity is now processing three tonnes of food waste a day.
— Today Online

PDP-Laban pushing ‘uniquely Filipino’ federal form of government
The Partido Demokratiko Pilipino Lakas ng Bayan (PDP Laban) is advocating for a “uniquely Filipino, semi-presidential executive-legislative set-up” under the proposed federal system of government, Senate President Aquilino Martin Pimentel III said Tuesday.
— Manila Bulletin

Feature photo: Bernard Spragg

Introducing The AEC News Today Mobile App

In an era of hectic schedules where time is precious, the AEC News Today mobile app enables you to stay up to date with the latest Asean news on governance and policy issues affecting the Asean Community while you are on the move and whenever you have a few minutes to spare.

See full details, including our AEC News Today Mobile App Privacy Statement here: Stay up to Date With The AEC News Today Mobile App

Download the AEC News Today mobile app from Google play or the App stores by clicking the icons below.

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

Philippines Morning News For March 15 added by Stella-maris Ewudolu on March 15, 2017
View all posts by Stella-maris Ewudolu →

Bio
Latest Posts

Stella-maris Ewudolu

Journalist at AEC News Today

Stella-maris graduated with a Bachelor of Arts, Education from Ebonyi State University, Nigeria in 2005.

Between November 2010 and February 2012 she was a staff writer at Daylight Online, Nigeria writing on health, fashion, and relationships. From 2010 – 2017 she worked as a freelance screen writer for ‘Nollywood’, Nigeria.

She joined AEC News Today in December 2016.