Philippines Morning News For January 16

Philippines Shuts Down News Site Critical of Duterte
A popular news website that has been critical of the government of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte was shut down by the country’s securities regulator, a move the company called harassment.
— The Wall Street Journal

Reduction in corporate income tax to boost PHL’s competitiveness–TMAP
The Tax Management Association of the Philippines (TMAP) has expressed its support for Package 2 of the government’s Comprehensive Tax Reform Program (CTRP), as the lowering of corporate income-tax (CIT) rates will enable the Philippines to become more competitive.
— BusinessMirror

Sanofi to reimburse Philippines for unused dengue vaccine
French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi is to reimburse the Philippine government for leftover doses of an anti-dengue vaccine whose use was suspended due to health concerns, the two parties said Monday (Jan 15).
— Channel NewsAsia

Philippine brass up in arms on the South China Sea
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) and other regional powers have, despite their best diplomatic efforts, wholly failed to tame China’s maritime ambitions in the South China Sea and beyond.
— Asia Times

12,000 flee as Philippines warns of volcano eruption
Volcanic earthquakes and rockfalls have shaken the summit of Mayon over the last 24 hours, after a number of steam-driven eruptions, scientists said.
— The New Paper

Philippine remittances up in November
The Central Bank of the Philippines said on Monday that personal remittances from overseas Filipinos reached 2.5 billion U.S. dollars in November 2017, or 3.2 percent higher than the level posted in the same month in 2016.
— Xinhua Net

PH seeks more banana exports
Philippine bananas hope to get better market access to three countries starting this year.
Ramon Lopez, secretary of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said the agency has initiated negotiations with Japan, Korea and Australia for lower tariffs and higher volume of exports of bananas, a key produce of southern Philippines.
— Malaya

Data-Protection Compliance: Failure will be costly
Data protection is in the news daily. Reports on data breaches are common and the damages involved are substantial, in the Philippines, in the Eropean Union, the United States and in other important partner countries of the Philippines.
— BusinessMirror

Philippines volcano begins spewing lava
The Philippines’ most active volcano has begun erupting again, after thousands of people on the main island of Luzon were earlier forced to evacuate.
— CNN

Philippines’ president made call on China’s sea research: spokesman
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte personally made a decision to let China conduct scientific research off the Philippines’ Pacific coast, his spokesman said on Monday, despite concern among critics about threats to maritime sovereignty.
— Channel NewsAsia

Pres. Duterte receives new patrol vehicles from Japan
President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday, January 15, expressed his gratitude to the Japanese government for donating new patrol vehicles to the Davao City Police, which he said would strengthen its capability in fighting and suppressing crime in the region.
— Philippine News Agency

McDonald’s to further expand footprint in PH
The McDonald’s chain in the Philippines sees continued expansion in 2018, buoyed by a growing middle class with a preference for meals on the go.
— Philippine Daily Inquirer

Cancel P15.5-B project to acquire warships for PH Navy – Alejano
Magdalo Representative Gary Alejano in a privilege speech on Monday, January 15, called for the cancellation a project to acquire two warships for the Philippine Navy.
— Rappler

PH joins bis database
THE Philippines will join a group of fewer than 50 jurisdictions worldwide that report cross-border banking statistics to the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) as part of the global database.
— Sun Star

New toll plaza to improve Skyway traffic
San Miguel Corp. unit, Skyway O&M Corp., operator of Skyway, yesterday said it is set to open next week a newly completed Runway Toll Plaza to help handle the increasing traffic volume through a faster collection system.
— Malaya

Muntinlupa judge inhibits from Leila de Lima drug cases
The judge handling the drug charges filed against detained Sen. Leila de Lima and two other respondents has inhibited from the case.
— Philstar

China to help build P350-million mega rehab in Sarangani
Chinese and Philippine officials last Friday attended the groundbreaking ceremony of one of two mega-sized rehabilitation centers in Mindanao in Sarangani province.
— BusinessMirror

Government urged: Protect workers from profiteers
As prices of essential commodities continue to rise ahead of the full implementation of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) law, workers are asking the government to set in place safety measures to protect them from profiteers.
— Philstar

DTI bullish on investments, exports
The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) targets at least 10 percent growth in both Investment pledges and exports this year buoyed by the strong performance of both economic indicators in 2017.
— Malaya

Lacson files resolution convening Senate
SEN. Panfilo Lacson on Monday filed a resolution that seeks to convene the Senate into a Constituent Assembly (Con-Ass) to amend the Constitution.
— The Manila Times

Gordon seeks tighter rules on shipment of minerals
Senator Richard J. Gordon on Monday moved to tighten the Philippine Mining Act of 1995 through provisions mandating stricter screening of mineral ores for export to ensure the country will not be shortchanged in the exploitation of its resources.
— BusinessMirror

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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 January 16 added by Leakhena Khat on January 16, 2018
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Leakhena Khat

Leakhena is a junior journalist at AEC News Today who is also currently studying International Relations, which she finds adds perspective to her work reporting on the Asean Community.

“I love what I am doing so much as it gives me a lot of great experience and provides challenges to my mind.