Philippines Morning News For December 4

Treasury: National government debt jumped P666b to P7.17t in October
Outstanding national government debt jumped P666 billion or 10.2 percent over a 12-month period to P7.17 trillion as of October, data from the Treasury show.
— Manilastandard.net

Manufacturing PMI continues to strengthen
The Philippine manufacturing sector continued to strengthen in November, results of the latest IHS Markit/Nikkei survey showed on Monday, with the Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) rising for a fourth straight month to an 11-month high.
— The Manila Times

Philippines: News Portal CEO Posts Bail, Calls Tax Case Harassment
The head of Rappler, a popular online news portal that has criticized President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on illegal drugs, posted bail on Monday for a tax evasion case, which she described as government harassment.
— Benar News

Economy to grow faster in Q4: FMIC-UA&P
The Philippine economy is expected to expand 6.6 percent in the fourth quarter of 2018, bringing full-year growth to 6.38 percent, buoyed mainly by higher investment spending and a modest rebound in exports.
— Philippine News Agency

November inflation likely at 6.3-6.7 percent, finance dept says
Inflation likely slowed to a range of 6.3 to 6.7 percent in November due to lower prices of food and and non-food items, the Department of Finance said Monday.
— ABS-CBN News

Drug-busting Duterte quips smoking pot ‘keeps him awake’
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, who has waged a controversial crusade against drugs, said that smoking pot helps him keep fit at events that are too tedious for a man of his age. He later said he was “cracking a joke.”
— RT

Expenses shrink to P80.6B amount generated by water collection, treatment, supply
THE country’s water collection, treatment and supply establishments only generated P80.6 billion, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
— Business Mirror

Senate to work double time to pass 2019 budget
The Senate is looking at a 14-hour session days to deliberate on the proposed 2019 budget in an attempt to ratify the measure before the year ends, Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri said Monday.
— ABS-CBN News

Agri exports expected to rise to $5.5 B in 2019
The country’s agriculture exports may see a recovery next year, which will be largely supported by China’s intention to open up its market for more products coming from the Philippines.
— Manila Bulletin

Measles threat looms in Philippines as trust in vaccines declines
Health experts on Monday warned against a possible outbreak of measles in the Philippines, as a disease long under control is fuelled by patchy immunisation programmes and declining trust in vaccines.
— Business Recorder

PH shares poised to rise
Philippine equity markets are poised to trek higher in 2019 as the economy expands and inflation eases, but a sustainable rally will remain elusive unless investors see convincing signs of a strong corporate earnings growth.
— Philippine Daily Inquirer

Jobs in services most at risk to automation
Services face the largest proportion of high-risk workers to be displaced by automation while agriculture has the smallest, findings of a study of the Asian Institute of Management Rizalino S. Navarro Policy Center for Competitiveness (AIM RSN PCC).
— Malaya

Duterte: No pardon for cops guilty of Kian slay
President Rodrigo Duterte would not pardon the policemen involved in the killing of a teenager in Caloocan.
— CNN Philippines

Military seeks 1-yr martial law extension
THE MILITARY is set to recommend another year of martial law in Mindanao, Armed Forces chief Gen. Carlito Galvez Jr. announced on Monday, citing the need to quell terrorists still “lurking” in the island.
— The Manila Times

Immigration bureau tightens screening amid influx of foreign nationals
Amid the rising number of foreigners in the country, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) said it has been beefing up security and screening process at airports.
— CNN Philippines

Gordon files proposed Immigration Act of the Philippines
Sen. Richard J. Gordon filed on Monday a bill seeking to reorganize the Bureau of Immigration (BI) and create the Commission on Immigration (CI) to be primarily responsible for implementing and enforcing the country’s laws, regulations and rules concerning the entry and admission into, stay, and departure from the Philippines of all persons.
— Manila Bulletin

Cebu farmers get P8-M farm input, machineries during 11th farmer-scientists congress
OVER P8 million worth of equipment, fertilizer, seeds and other materials were distributed to farmers during last week’s 11th Farmer-Scientists Congress organized by the Cebu provincial government under its Farmer-Scientists Training Program (FSTP).
— BusinessWorld Online

Raps filed vs Philippine Children’s Medical Center doctors over Dengvaxia
Families who say their children died because of the Dengvaxia vaccine filed criminal complaints against a former official of the Philippine Children’s Medical Center on Monday.
— The Philippine Star

UnionBank hikes bond issuance size to P11B
STRONG demand again prompted Union Bank of the Philippines (UnionBank) on Monday to increase the size of its maiden peso bond issuance to P11 billion, a week after the lender doubled it to P10.5 billion.
— The Manila Times

Senators open to legalizing medical marijuana
Some lawmakers on Monday said they are open to legalizing medical marijuana in the country.
— ABS-CBN News

Gov’t makes full award of T-bills with offer twice oversubscribed
THE GOVERNMENT made a full award of the Treasury bills (T-bill) it auctioned off on Monday, with the rate of the longest tenor even slipping a tad as investors expect inflation to decelerate.
— BusinessWorld Online

Holcim spending $300 million to expand plant capacity
Holcim Philippines Inc. will invest nearly $300 million to raise its cement production capacity by 2020.
— The Philippine Star

PCOO, other agencies recognized for 2017 ASEAN hosting
President Rodrigo R. Duterte on Monday recognized the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) and other agencies and officials for their contribution to the successful chairmanship of the Philippines for Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit in 2017.
— Philippine News Agency

Feature photo U.S. Department of Defense Current Photos

This week’s Philippines morning news feature photo acknowledges International Volunteer Day, December 5.

Find our previous morning news feature photos in the AEC News Today Morning News Feature Photos gallery where you will find a pictorial display of daily life throughout the Asean Economic Community (AEC).

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. It is published M-F by AEC News Today: Governance, not government; policies not politics.

Philippines morning news for December 4 added by Stella-maris Ewudolu on December 4, 2018
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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.