Philippines Morning News For May 29

$40m spent on Philippines terror fight
Australia allocated close to $40 million towards helping the Philippines counter Islamic militants and the threat of returned foreign fighters from the Middle East.
— 9news.com.au

Philippines modernises its ‘weak’ navy as China muscles closer
The Philippine Navy is one of the weakest maritime defence forces in Southeast Asia, leaving the sprawling island nation of over 100 million people vulnerable to threats like China’s assertiveness in taking control of disputed territory, according to senior officers, including the top commander.
— South China Morning Post

Boracay folk deal with hunger, mounting debts
For nearly a month, Olive Abañera’s family has been subsisting on rice, dried fish, canned goods and instant noodles.
— Philippines Magazines

DTI allocates P350-K for Silay City coffee processing project
The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has allocated PHP350,000 to fund the coffee processing project in Silay City, Negros Occidental under the agency’s shared service facility (SSF) initiative.
— Philippine News Agency

Bacolod hits almost 207,000 tourists in first quarter, earns P4.1B
BACOLOD City has catered to 206,594 local and foreign tourists during the first quarter of the year, generating about P4.1 billion in tourism receipts.
— Sun Star

Philippines: Beijing Oil Drilling In Disputed South China Sea A ‘Red Line’
The Philippines has notified China of its “red lines”—potential Chinese actions that would be unacceptable to Manila—in the South China Sea, including oil and gas extraction in disputed areas, the Philippine Foreign Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano said on Monday.
— OilPrice.com

Boracay road clearing operations 80% complete
Clearing operations along the Boracay circumferential road is 80 percent complete, according to the Department of Public Works and Highways.
— Philippine Star

P137M for Southern Leyte tourism sites
The Department of Public Works and Highways said it has allocated P137 million to make tourism sites of Southern Leyte more accessible to both locals and tourists.
— Manilastandard.net

Senate approves bill allowing more Filipinos to avail of loans from financial institutions
Voting 21-0, the Senate approved on third and final reading the bill that would allow more Filipinos to avail of loans from financial institutions and improving their access to loans, Monday.
— Manila Bulletin

DA to transfer P1-B ACEF fund to Land Bank
Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol said the Department of Agriculture (DA) is set to facilitate the transfer of more than P1 billion worth of Agricultural Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (ACEF) to Land Bank of the Philippines.
— Manila Bulletin

Philippines plans to sell $2bn samurai, dollar bonds
The Philippines said on Monday it is aiming to raise as much as $2 billion via bond issues denominated in yen and US dollars before the year ends, depending on market conditions.
— Business Recorder (media release)

Probe Shell’s P113.7-billion tax case, House urged
A DEPUTY speaker of the House of Representatives has asked Congress to investigate the alleged P113.7-billion tax-evasion case of Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp.
— Business Mirror

Oil firm buys majority of digital payment platform
Phoenix Petroleum Philippines Inc. has acquired a 75 percent stake in digital payment platform, Pos!ble.net for P71.2 million.
— Malaya

Lawmakers seek P750 wage rate
A measure seeking a uniform P750 minimum wage rate nationwide and the abolition of all the regional wage boards was filed at the House of Representatives on Monday.
— The Manila Times

Megaworld sells two-thirds of Pampanga property for P1 billion
PROPERTY developer Megaworld Corp. on Monday said it sold around 70 percent of its Pampanga project called Shophouse District.
— Business Mirror

PCC flags competition concerns in Grab-Uber transaction
THE Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) has flagged competition concerns in the market amid Grab’s takeover of its main rival Uber, citing price increases and service deterioration in the merged ride-hailing app.
— Sun Star

Agri workers can now tap revived P1.28-B fund
FARMERS and fishermen can now avail themselves of loans from the revived P1.28-billion Agricultural Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (ACEF) to boost production, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said.
— The Manila Times

‘Threat to privacy, security’: Lawmaker slams national ID bill
Bayan Muna party-list Rep. Carlos Zarate on Monday criticized the proposed national ID system, citing fears it could be used to silence critics of the administration and may be a possible threat to privacy.
— ABS-CBN (video)

97 MNLF men released from jail
Government troopers escorted 97 members of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) to this city yesterday after a court ordered their release from a jail in Taguig.
— Philippine Star

Duterte signs Ease of Doing Business Act to boost competitiveness
President Rodrigo Duterte has signed the bill that will reduce processing times of business transactions in government agencies.
— Philippines Magazines

Mineral production value down 6% in Q1
The Philippines’ total metallic production value dropped 6.05 percent to P22.51 billionin the first quarter of the year,from P23.96 billion a year earlier,due to the production decline of most mining companies, the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) said.
— Malaya

Piñol open to debate over abolishing 4Ps program
Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol said he is open to a debate over his proposal to scrap the government’s P70 billion Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) and have the funds diverted to livelihood programs.
— Rappler

PHL employee engagement rises to 71% after 2016 drop — Aon
EMPLOYEE engagement levels in the Philippines rose by six percentage points to 71%, according to a new report by global professional services firm Aon.
— BusinessWorld Online

For Filipinos, high blood pressure guideline remains 140/90, not the US’ 130/80
The Philippines still follows the 2003 high blood pressure guideline—at 140/90 instead of the new 130/80 set by the American College of Cardiology (ACC) and the American Heart Association (AHA) last November.
— Philippine Daily Inquirer

Cayetano: I’ll quit if PH loses territory to China
Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano on Monday vowed to quit his post and leave public service if it could proven that the Philippines lost part of its territory during the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte.
— Inquirer.net

Chemical execs convicted for money laundering
The Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) obtained the conviction of a liaison officer and secretary to the president of a chemical trader-distributor who amassed P12 million over a four-year period.
— Philippine Star

Consumers struggling to cope with rising prices
The trade department ups the ante of its price monitoring after President Rodrigo Duterte ordered his cabinet to ease the impact of rising prices on Filipinos.
— ABS-CBN (video)

Stricter monitoring on illegal quarry operation ordered in Davao
Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio has ordered environment officials to closely monitor illegal operations of sand and gravel quarry operation.
— Davao Today

Fariñas: Duterte certifies proposed BBL as urgent
President Rodrigo Duterte certified Monday the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law as urgent.
— CNN Philippines

Feature photo Brian Evans

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 May 29 added by Stella-maris Ewudolu on May 29, 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.