Philippines Morning News Roundup For February 28

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.

German tourist beheaded by IS-linked militants in the Philippines
ISLAMIC militants in the Philippines have beheaded an elderly German tourist they had been holding hostage.
– News.com.au

Low-income earners shoulder 72% of tax burden – DOF
Low-income earners are bearing most of the country’s tax burden, according to data from the Department of Finance (DOF).
— Rappler

Nationwide jeepney strike paralyzes transport; LTFRB says little impact in Metro
Transport groups that led the nationwide jeepney strike on Monday claimed to have paralyzed 85 percent of the country’s public transport sector, but the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) said the strike had little impact on the commuting public in Metro Manila.
– Philippine Daily Inquirer

Peso hits fresh 10-year low of 50.27:$1
Uncertainty in local politics coupled with the global markets’ anticipation of US President Trump’s first speech before the US Congress pulled the peso to a new 10-year low of 50.27 to $1 Monday.
– Philippine Daily Inquirer

Foreign investment pledges drop 10.7% in 2016
Foreign investment pledges approved by the country’s seven investment promotion agencies (IPA) declined 10.7 percent to P219 billion in 2016 from P245.2 billion in 2015, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported yesterday.
– The Philippine Star

SWS survey: 11.2M Filipino adults jobless in last quarter of 2016
About 11.2 million adults remained jobless in the last quarter of 2016, the worst in two years according to the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey.
— Philippine Daily Inquirer

Duterte to visit China anew in May: ambassador
President Rodrigo Duterte is heading to Beijing for the second time since assuming office as he attends a multilateral summit in China’s capital in May, the country’s envoy to Manila said Monday.
— ABS-CBN

Philippine Investors Eyeing Bitung Special Economic Zone
The Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) sees a great potential in the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) of Bitung that waits to be exploited by foreign investors in line with its development as an international hub
— Tempo.Co

Duterte to car makers: ‘Tax impact to be fair’
With his Finance chief and Trade secretary in tow, Mr. Duterte appraised the new Mirage G4 in Malacanang in a ceremony seen as symbolic in the government’s bid to make the Philippines another car manufacturing hub in Asia under the Comprehensive Automotive Resurgence Strategy (CARS) program which his predecessor minted.
— Business World Online

Inflation heating up on rising oil
INFLATION likely peaked above 3% for the first time in over two years in February, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said yesterday even as it described the spike as “temporary” following higher prices of fuel, electricity, and transportation fares.
— Business World Online

Agriculture players urged to export in Australia
THE Australian ambassador to the Philippines Amanda Gorely urged agriculture players particularly those in mango production to export fresh mangoes in Australia to take full advantage on the recently-inked amended version of Australia-Philippines Specific Commodity Understanding (SCU).
— Sun Star

Duterte admits money given to cops for drug busts
President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday admitted that authorities gave money to police for legitimate drug buy-bust operations and not as payment to kill drug suspects.
— ABS-CBN

Islamic State forced Philippine nurses to give medical training in Libya
A Philippine nurse held by Islamic State in the Libyan city of Sirte said on Monday that she and her colleagues had been forced to treat militants and give them medical training.
— Channel NewsAsia

Philippine militant group posts video claiming to show beheading of German hostage
An Islamic State-affiliated group in the Philippines posted a video on Monday purporting to show the beheading of a 71-year-old German hostage after a deadline for his ransom had expired, a monitoring group reported.
— Washington Post

Duterte: People want De Lima behind bars, not dead
President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday assured the public that Senator Leila de Lima will be safe while under detention for her drug case.
— ABS-CBN

Rape, plunder, treason to be removed from death penalty bill
The House majority bloc decided to further water down the death penalty bill by removing rape, plunder, and treason to get more votes for the controversial measure.
— Rappler

Foreign service exams for Manila’s future diplomatic corps start in May
The Philippine Embassy in Abu Dhabi (AUHPE) released on Monday the schedule and requirements for the 2017 Foreign Service Officer (FSO) Examinations, conducted by Manila’s Department of Foreign Affairs-Board of Foreign Service Examinations (DFA-BFSE) beginning on May 21.
— The Gulf Today

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.