Philippines Morning News For March 22

Australians to pour $40.4 million for power plant, hotel in PHL
AUSTRALIAN businessmen are looking to invest a total of $40.4 million on a power plant and a hotel project in the Philippines, as they intend to maximize the country’s growing economy.
— Business Mirror

Count PH out of wars, Duterte tells US
PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday took a swipe anew at the United States (US), saying Washington should count Manila out of any expeditions or wars.
— The Manila Times

INCREASES NAIA’S CAPACITY TO 65M; ‘Super consortium’ seeks approval of P350B rehab plan
The so-called super consortium is optimistic of obtaining the original proponent status (OPS) for its P350-billion proposal to rehabilitate and expand the country’s premier gateway, Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).
— Malaya

PCSO releases P797.6-million medical aid in February
THE Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO), through its Charity Assistance Department (CAD), has disbursed P797.6 million for the Individual Medical Assistance Program (Imap) in February.
— Business Mirror

Tourist arrivals break 1.4M mark
Tourist arrivals broke the 1.4-million mark in the first two months of the year, data from the Department of Tourism (DOT) show.
— Malaya

Malaysian firm to close P13.7-B financing deal for Clark dev’t project
Alloy MTD, the joint venture partner of government-owned Bases Conversion Development Authority (BCDA) in the development of the National Government Administrative Center (NGAC) in Clark New City, is expected to close a financing deal for the P13.7-billion development of the Phase 1 of the Philippines’ integrated government operations hub, south of Manila.
— Manila Bulletin

Makati billboard shut down after airing porn video
Makati City Mayor Abby Binay yesterday ordered the operator of a digital billboard to stop its operations after airing a pornographic video on Tuesday.
— Philippine Star

PLDT’s data, IT services post record revenues
PLDT Inc. posted record revenues of P34.1 billion from its enterprise business, driven by demand for information technology (IT) services and cloud services.
— Philippine Star

OWWA allots P25-million aid for OFWs affected by Kuwait deployment ban
The Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) has allocated P25 million to extend financial assistance to its listed members affected by the overseas Filipino workers’ (OFWs) deployment ban to Kuwait.
— Business Mirror

P445-million JICA-funded Bohol bridge starts reconstruction next month
The reconstruction of the earthquake-damaged Clarin Bridge in Bohol, which would be funded by a loan from the Japanese government, would begin next month, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) said yesterday.
— Philippine Star

SMC Global Power completes $1.9-billion Masinloc acquisition
SMC Global Power Holdings Corp., the energy unit of diversified conglomerate San Miguel Corp. (SMC), has completed the acquisition of the Masinloc power plants valued at $1.9 billion.
— Philippine Star

China vows to have ‘prudent’ oil exploration with Philippines
China will “prudently advance” cooperation with the Philippines on joint oil and gas exploration in the South China Sea, China’s top diplomat State Councillor Wang Yi said on Wednesday after meeting his Philippine counterpart.
— ABS-CBN

China warns PH planes ‘every time’ they fly over West Philippine Sea
The Philippines continues to get warnings from China whenever it conducts aerial patrols over the features of China in the Spratlys in the West Philippine Sea, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said Tuesday.
— Inquirer.net

Boracay casino seen earning $100M a year
The Boracay integrated resort that will be built by Leisure and Resorts World Corp. (LRWC) and its foreign partner will bring in at least $100 million in annual revenue, a substantial portion of which will be paid to the government in fees and royalties.
— Philippine Daily Inquirer

DFA, Japan ink fresh P3.5-B ODA projects
Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano and Japan Ambassador to the Philippines Koji Haneda on Tuesday signed two new official development assistance (ODA) project to the Philippines, amounting to P3.5 billion.
— Manila Bulletin

ICC reps planning trip to appeal PH pullout
Representatives of the International Criminal Court are purportedly poised to travel to the Philippines to try and persuade the government to return to the folds of the ICC by abandoning its decision to withdraw from the Rome Statute, the Court’s founding treaty.
— Manila Bulletin

Budget reform bill gets House nod
The House of Representatives on Tuesday approved on third and final reading House Bill 7302 or the “Budget Reform Act,” a measure certified as urgent by President Rodrigo Duterte.
— Davao Today

Stocks fall; index slips below 8,000
The stock market fell sharply again Wednesday ahead of a crucial Federal Reserve policy meeting later in the day, with the benchmark index dropping below 8,000 points for the first time since Sept. 6, 2017.
— Manila Standard

Filinvest’s 2017 profit up 9% to P5.83 billion
Filinvest Land Inc.’s net profit increased by 9 percent to P5.83 billion in 2017 from P5.35 billion the year before.
— The Manila Times

Duterte blames Western countries for climate change
President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday placed the blame for climate change on rich Western countries.
— ABS-CBN

Peso weakens as markets expect interest rate hike from US FOMC
THE PESO weakened against the dollar on Wednesday as investors expect the US Federal Reserve to hike its interest rates, which is seen to support the greenback.
— BusinessWorld Online

House passes bill to abolish PCGG
The House of Representatives has passed a bill to abolish the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG), the agency tasked to recover the estimated $10 billion ill-gotten wealth of the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos and his family.
— The Manila Times

NPA members, drunk drivers excluded from Davao City medical assistance program
DAVAO CITY Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio has issued an order denying members of the communist New People’s Army (NPA) from availing of the local medical assistance program.
— BusinessWorld Online

Viettel interested in Philippines foray
Vietnamese military-run operator Viettel has reportedly expressed an interest in becoming the international partner for the Philippines’ third telco.
— Telecomasia.net

Federalism to stop internal migration : QC vice mayor
Quezon City Vice Mayor Joy Belmonte said on Wednesday federalism is critical in solving overpopulation in the cities.
— Philippine News Agency

BAP to continue pursuing PH banking roadmap
THE Bankers’ Association of the Philippines (BAP) reelected its president Nestor V. Tan for another term.
— Sun Star

Feature photo Fabio Achilli

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 March 22 added by Stella-maris Ewudolu on March 22, 2018
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.