Philippines Morning News For October 4

House okays P3.757-T national budget on 2nd reading
The House of Representatives on Wednesday night approved on second reading the proposed PHP3.757-trillion 2019 national budget.
— Philippine News Agency

Makati earmarks P12.5 million for math project for schools
The Makati City government has allocated P12.5 million to implement its new program dubbed Project MILES (Mathematics Intensive Learning Enhancement for Students).
— Manilastandard.net

P1.3B for Boracay not released
The P1.3-billion fund for the rehabilitation of Boracay has not been released more than five months after the island was shut down, officials said.
— Philippine Daily Inquirer

BSP eases dollar hedging rules
Bank regulators have relaxed the rules for their dollar hedging facility meant to encourage more financial institutions to use it and consequently ease the selling pressure on the peso.
— Philippine Daily Inquirer

Fintech firm, DTI to extend P1.5-B loan for SMEs
Philippine-based financial technology firm First Circle has partnered with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to extend a PHP1.5-billion credit facility to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the country.
— Philippine News Agency

Senate ratifies work-from-home bill
THE Senate on Wednesday ratified the bicameral conference committee report on the proposed law allowing employees in the private sector to “telecommute” or work from home.
— The Manila Times

Philippines to rein in visitors to Boracay island, strained by tourism
The Philippines will limit the number of visitors setting foot on its most treasured island resort each day when it reopens to tourists on October 26 after a six-month rehabilitation effort, an environment official said on Wednesday.
— Reuters

House signals plan to add P20 billion to Agri dep’t budget for 2019, Piñol claims
AGRICULTURE SECRETARY Emmanuel F. Piñol said on Wednesday that key legislators have signalled their intention to raise the Department of Agriculture’s 2019 budget by about P20 billion, amid concern in the House about the adequacy of its proposed budget of P55 billion.
— BusinessWorld Online

Philippine Officials Stop Search and Retrieval Operations at Landslide Sites
Search operations for more bodies buried under tons of debris are to be called off in the northern and central Philippines because excavation efforts at landslide sites have become too dangerous, the disaster relief agency said Wednesday.
— Benar News

Delight Customers With Newgen at The Future of Finance 2018, Philippines
Newgen Software, a provider of banking solutions, today announced its participation as a sponsor at The Future of Finance, Philippines 2018.
AEC News Today/ PR Newswire (media release)

New Boracay won’t be party central
Beach boozing and smoking will be consigned to the past when Boracay, the Philippines’ top holiday island, welcomes back a capped number of tourists after its six-month shutdown, the authorities said yesterday.
— The Straits Times

Philippines plans law to give Duterte Marcos-like powers
The Congress of the Philippines is rushing approval of a new law that could give President Rodrigo Duterte wide-ranging powers similar to those of his idol, the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos.
— South China Morning Post

Goodbye bukbok? Gov’t to inspect imported rice before shipment to PH
After getting flak over bukbok or weevil-infested rice, the Department of Agriculture (DA) announced that a government team will check rice bound for the Philippines before the imports are loaded and shipped to the country.
— Rappler

Philippine Official who Supported Duterte on Social Media Resigns
A divisive blogger who became Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s top defender on social media resigned from her government post Wednesday after angering legislators who threatened to withhold her agency’s budget.
— Benar News

Duterte mulls total ban on mining
The President, during the presentation of rebel returnees held at Camp Juan Ponce Sumuroy in Northern Samar on Tuesday, reiterated his opposition on mining, banking on the election of new members of Congress next year to support his advocacy against mining.
— Malaya

Undervalued quarry output costing government billions of pesos
THE government’s failure to check an apparent misdeclaration by quarrying firms of the value of their limestone output may be causing it to lose billions of pesos in revenues, according to a mining engineer.
— Business Mirror

AirAsia not adding fuel surcharge to fares
Philippines Air Asia has decided not to pass on added fuel costs to flyers in a move that undercuts its competitors which availed themselves of the recently approved fuel surcharge mechanism.
— Philippine Daily Inquirer

Auto sector jobs seen hitting 1M
The Philippine Auto Industry-Academia Linkage (PAAL) coalition estimates that by 2028, direct employment in the automotive industry will grow to 700,000 to 1.17 million from the current 400,000 on higher demand for cars and increased participation in the component manufacturing supply chain.
— Malaya

UK’s Vodafone may enter PH as 3rd telco
British telecommunications firm Vodafone may enter the Philippines as the country’s third telco player, Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno announced on Wednesday, October 3.
— Rappler

SWS: Net personal optimism at a 6-year low
More Filipinos are pessimistic about their future, according to the latest survey by the Social Weather Stations (SWS).
— CNN Philippines

Philippines, U.S. Marines Launch Anti-Terror Drills
Amid reports of a resurgent Islamic State (IS) presence in Southern Philippines, more than 1,300 U.S. and Filipino Marines began joint large-scale anti-terrorism training, officials said Wednesday,
— Benar News

AFP: Reds recruiting in 18 schools for oust-Duterte plot
A senior military officer on Wednesday warned that communist rebels were recruiting students from some of the country’s top universities to join a plot to oust President Rodrigo Duterte so they could establish a dictatorship similar to the brutal Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia that killed millions of its own people.
— Philippine Daily Inquirer

FastCat gets total of $25.98-M loan to build 2 new ferries
In line with its goal to bridge the country’s 7,000-plus islands through reliable vessels, Archipelago Philippine Ferries Corporation (APFC), the shipping company that operates FastCat, has received $12.7 million in funding from Asian United Bank (AUB) to finance the construction of two new ferries, and $13.28 million from United Coconut Planters Bank (UCPB) for the construction of two more new ferries.
— Manila Bulletin

SM donates 2,000 pairs of shoes to Cabanatuan kids
Cabanatuan City, Nueva Ecija—SM City Cabanatuan and SM Megacenter donated 2,000 pairs of shoes to public elementary school students here on Monday, part of the 60,000 shoes pledged in a simultaneous donation by the different SM malls nationwide in line with the 60th-anniversary celebration of the retail giant.
— Manilastandard.net

Sugar imports at record high 350K MT
The Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) recently ordered the additional importation of about 150,000 metric tons (MT) of sugar, after importing 200,000 MT of the sweetener in June.
— Philippine Daily Inquirer

Demand for term deposits surges
BANKS scrambled to get hold of term deposits offered by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) yesterday, with the auction marked by overwhelming bids as the central bank accepted higher yields following a strong rate hike last week.
— BusinessWorld Online

First Circle opens another P1.5-b funding for SMEs
Financial technology company First Circle opened up an additional P1.5 billion in funding for small and medium enterprises.
— Manilastandard.net

Muntinlupa gets P17M for ‘green’ project
The local government of Muntinlupa is among the first batch of recipients of the Department of Budget and Management’s (DBM) “Green, Green, Green” program that funds local greening projects.
— The Manila Times

Duterte slated to sign petroleum exploration contract of Israeli firm
President Rodrigo Duterte will formally sign in Malacañang next week the service contract (SC) of Israeli firm Ratio Oil Exploration Ltd. for a petroleum block in Northwest Palawan basin.
— Manila Bulletin

Customs says collections on target for 8th straight month in Sept
The Bureau of Customs said Wednesday it collected P52.4 billion in September, hitting its target for the 8th straight month.
— ABS-CBN News

President Duterte orders AFP to neutralize communist rebels
President Rodrigo Roa Duterte on Tuesday, October 2, instructed the Armed Forces of the Philippines to intensify its intelligence gathering thrust to effectively neutralize communist insurgents, particularly in Northern Samar and nearby areas.
— Philippine Information Agency

Customs to incinerate abandoned donations for ‘Yolanda’ survivors
The Bureau of Customs in Central Visayas will dispose relief goods intended for survivors of Supertyphoon Yolanda in northern Cebu.
— Inquirer.net

Microinsurance-covered Filipinos’ number rises by 28.59% in H1–IC
THE number of Filipinos covered by microinsurance grew to 36.55 million for the first six months of the year, from 28.42 million reported in the same period for 2017, the Insurance Commission (IC) has reported.
— Business Mirror

Makati opens 31 realty tax satellite payment centers
BARANGAY HALLS in Makati will be used as satellite centers for the collection of 4th quarter real estate taxes, the city government announced Monday. Specific days have been designated in 31 areas from Oct. 2 to 12.
— BusinessWorld Online

Japanese woman gives out money as ‘apology’ for war in PH
It’s not every day that you see a Japanese woman at a marketplace here and randomly handing out money to complete strangers.
— Philippine Daily Inquirer

Feature photo Asian Development Bank

This week’s Philippines morning news feature photo acknowledges World Teachers’ Day, October 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 October 4 added by Stella-maris Ewudolu on October 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.