Philippines Morning News For March 5

Boracay’s White Beach the Top Beach in Asean in 2018 (video)
The White Beach in Boracay some 315 km (196 mi) south of Manila in the Western Visayas region of the Philippines has been judged by the TripAdvisor community as the 25th Top Beach in the World in 2018, with the added distinction of being the only Asean beach to make it into the global top 25.
— AEC News Today

EU agrees Philippine aid package
The European Union is set to provide the Philippines with 243.1 million peso (€3.8 million) for its drug rehabilitation programme, despite having rocky relations with President Rodrigo Duterte.
— Asean Economist

32 El Nido easement violators evicted
Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu on Sunday ordered the eviction of at least 32 establishments found to have been built illegally on the beach of a cove in El Nido town, Palawan’s prime beach destination.
— Philippine Daily Inquirer

BCDA raises record-high P8-B for military modernization
The state-owned Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) has contributed PHP8 billion for the modernization program of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) during the first two years of the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte.
— Philippine News Agency

Banish the thought of closing Boracay: Villar
Senator Cynthia Villar yesterday said she and other senators will ask Malacañang not to implement a total closure of Boracay island.
— Malaya

Poll puts Feb. inflation beyond target
INFLATION likely picked up further in February as prices of food, fuel and electricity rose faster on higher taxes, analysts said in a BusinessWorld poll that also bared mounting bets on a central bank rate hike.
— BusinessWorld Online

Peso to strengthen amid mixed signals abroad
THE PESO will likely strengthen against the dollar this week on the back of expectations of a faster inflation print as well as mixed signals abroad.
— BusinessWorld Online

US official reminds PH on rule of law
A visiting ranking official of the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has reminded the Duterte administration that the rule of law should be the “benchmark” in enforcing the war on drugs in the Philippines or in any other country in the world.
— Philippine Daily Inquirer

LandBank: PDS takeover to cost P1.5B
State-run Land Bank of the Philippines (LandBank) said it would need about P1.5 billion to acquire control of Philippine Dealing System Holding Corp. (PDSHC).
— The Manila Times

Stocks to decline ahead of local inflation data
The bellwether Philippine Stock Exchange index dipped 0.08% or 7.20 points to 8,458.57 last Friday. The industrial and financial sectors lifted the market, rising 3.3% and 1.8% week on week respectively, but was weighed down by a 2.7% decline in the mining and oil sub-index.
— BusinessWorld Online

Bill ensuring nutrition of mothers, babies to pass before yearend
The bill seeking to strengthen the mental and nutritional health of pregnant women and children ages 0-2 years old is scheduled to be passed before the year ends.
— Inquirer.net

Philippine Coast Guard plane keeps watch over Philippine Rise
The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) now has “eyes” patrolling the Philippine Rise with its Islander plane.
— Philippine Star

PDIC to bid out P52 M banks’ foreclosed assets
State-run Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. (PDIC) is set to bid out more assets of closed banks to beef up its funds for distribution to uninsured depositors and other creditors.
— Philippine Star

P600B airport in Sangley proposed
A group led by the Sy family and businessman Wilson Tieng has submitted a $12-billion (P600 billion) unsolicited proposal to the government for the financing, construction and development of a new Asian airport hub in Sangley, Cavite.
— Malaya

Fintech firm to give away 1 million microinsurance policies
A financial technology subsidiary of PLDT said Sunday it is providing 1 million microinsurance policies across 42,000 barangays across the Philippines.
— ABS-CBN

US tariff on steel no direct impact on Steel Asia
The country’s largest steel producer, Steel Asia Manufacturing Corp., does not see any direct effect from the plan of the government of the United States to increase tariffs on steel and aluminum, its president said in a statement.
— Philippine Canadian Inquirer

DBP net up 21%
State-owned Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) posted a net income of P5.1-billion in 2017 showing a 21.43 percent increase from the P4.2-billion recorded in 2016 spurred largely by a steady growth in its loan portfolio.
— Malaya

Senate urged to probe foreign loan terms
Sen. Leila de Lima has sought an inquiry into the terms and conditions of foreign loans obtained by the Duterte administration to fund its ambitious Build Build Build program to assess their impact on the economy and national security.
— Philippine Star

PIDS: Govt should pursue agri-venture schemes, block farming
The Agribusiness Venture Arrangements (AVAs) and Sugarcane Block Farming (SBF), two government initiatives aimed at boosting farm productivity and income of agrarian-reform beneficiaries (ARBs), should be encouraged.
— Business Mirror

Feature photo Adam Cohn

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 5 added by Stella-maris Ewudolu on March 5, 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.