Philippines Morning News For September 17

‘Ompong’ death toll rises to 65
THE death toll in the aftermath of Typhoon “Ompong” rose to 65 on Sunday while scores remained missing, authorities said, as northern Luzon reeled from flooding, landslides and power outages.
— The Manila Times

Cagayan’s agriculture ‘totally devastated’; infra damage at P40M
TYPHOON Ompong, which exited the Philippines after leaving behind a trail of destruction—and killing at least 18 people—wrought billions in farm damage mostly in Northern Luzon, but Transportation Secretary Arthur P. Tugade said damage to transportation infrastructure appeared to be much less, initially at P40 million, for Cagayan.
— Business Mirror

Fund set for typhoon-hit electric cooperatives
With the fury of typhoon Ompong heavily disrupting services of many electric cooperatives in the country, Senate Committee on Energy Chairman Sherwin T. Gatchalian has prodded the National Electrification Administration (NEA) to immediately activate the P750- million emergency capital support that could be funneled to the affected power utilities.
— Manila Bulletin

Owwa has P100M for typhoon-hit OFW kin; DFA helps the stranded
THE Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (Owwa) has allocated P100 million to provide cash aid to overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and their families affected by Typhoon Ompong (international code name Mangkhut).
— Business Mirror

‘Ompong’-affected families now at 63.7K
Typhoon Ompong has so far affected 63,769 families or 250,036 persons residing in 1,403 barangays in the Ilocos, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, Cordillera regions and the National Capital Region (NCR), the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said in its 6 a.m. update on Sunday.
— Philippine News Agency

PCSO ready to release calamity fund
Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office general manager Alexander Balutan announced on Sunday that the agency is on standby to release its calamity fund once assessment has been made by local government units.
— Manilastandard.net

Proposed P3.757-trillion nat’l budget faces toughest challenge
The Duterte administration’s proposed P3.757 trillion national budget faces its toughest challenge since it came to power last 2016 as opposition congressmen grew in number following the change in leaders in the House of Representatives.
— Manila Bulletin

‘Ompong’ leaves P29.9-M initial agri damage in Aurora
The cost of damage to agriculture caused by the onslaught of Typhoon Ompong in this province was initially placed at PHP29.98 million.
— Northbound Philippines

Retailers to sell more affordable rice: Additional imports eyed
The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has asked the National Food Authority (NFA) to exert its authority and require rice retailers to always sell the affordable regular and well-milled rice varieties.
— Malaya

Borrowings fall 2.8% as of end July
The government’s gross borrowings as of end-July fell by 2.83 percent as it borrowed less from local lenders versus the same period last year.
— Malaya

DENR Western Visayas requires P3.4B to build sanitary landfills
THE Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) in Region 6 is proposing the construction of 17 sanitary landfills, one each for every congressional district, costing a total of P3.4 billion, to address the growing garbage menace in Western Visayas.
— Business Mirror

DTI seeking to cancel permits of traders found selling only premium rice
THE Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said it will seek to revoke the business permits of rice retailers who do not offer more affordable types of rice.
— BusinessWorld Online

Piñol: Up to 300,000 MT of sugar to be imported
The Philippines is set to import up to 300,000 metric tons (MT) of sugar to address continued price increases for the commodity, a Cabinet official said.
— The Manila Times

Government asked to order price freeze in typhoon-hit areas
Anakpawis Representative Ariel Casilao has asked government to impose a freezing of prices of basic commodities in the areas damaged by typhoon Ompong.
— Davao Today

Gov’t agencies use up 86% of budget in 8 months
State agencies utilized 86 percent of their notices of cash allocation (NCA) in the first eight months to fund their programs and projects, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) reported.
— The Philippine Star

July OFW remittances expected to have edged up
REMITTANCES likely grew modestly in July from a year ago as overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) reaped benefits of a weaker peso, a global bank said, giving their families more cash even with the same level of dollars they used to send home.
— BusinessWorld Online

Record current account shortfall forecast this year
Dutch financial giant ING Bank expects the current account deficit to widen to a new record of at least $7.5 billion this year or three times last year’s $2.52 billion as the country spends more dollars to finance surging imports to support the expanding economy.
— The Philippine Star

Electronics imports up 20% in Jan-July
The country’s electronics imports grew by 20.11 percent to $15.80 billion in the first seven months of the year from $13.16 billion a year earlier, the Semiconductor and Electronic Industries in the Philippines Foundation, Inc. (Seipi) said.
— The Manila Times

Government cash utilization improves to 86% in August
CASH utilization by government agencies improved to 86% in August from 78% in July, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) said.
— BusinessWorld Online

The Food Conundrum
Amid high levels of undernourishment and food insecurity, the Philippines has one of the highest numbers of overweight children and obese adults in Southeast Asia, says a UN report.
— Business Mirror

Meat processors seek retention of tariff on raw material imports
The country’s meat processing industry has called for the retention of tariff rates on imported raw materials for processing to keep food prices manageable and help ease inflationary pressures.
— The Philippine Star

7 wounded in General Santos blast
Seven people, one of them a three-year-old girl, were wounded in an explosion in Barangay Apopong, General Santos City at past 11 a.m. yesterday.
— The Philippine Star

DOTr sets bidding for Manila-Bulacan railway link
The Department of Transportation (DOTr) is moving forward with the selection of a Japanese contractor that will build a 38-kilometer railway line from Manila to Malolos, Bulacan, according to a senior government official.
— Philippine Daily Inquirer

E-commerce growth prompts foodpanda expansion till 2019
THE foodpanda Group plans to expand into six more cities until 2019 as it tries to catch up with the fast-growing e-commerce market in the country.
— BusinessWorld Online

Fullerton Health local units acquire $40-M loan from IFC to improve health care in PHL
FOUR months after Fullerton Healthcare Corp. Ltd. (Fullerton Health) entered the domestic market, its local subsidiaries Fullerton Health Philippines Holdings Corp. and Fullerton Health Philippines Pte. Ltd. have secured a long-term loan worth $40 million from the International Finance Corp. (IFC) to develop more of its vertically integrated managed care strategy in the country.
— Business Mirror

Duterte names Army chief as next head of NFA
President Rodrigo Duterte has picked Army chief Lt. Gen. Rolando Bautista to be the new National Food Authority (NFA) Administrator.
— CNN Philippines

De Lima to ICC, UN: End impunity in PH
Detained Sen. Leila de Lima has urged the international community to take urgent action to end impunity in the Philippines, particularly the government’s bloody war against illegal drugs.
— Philippine Daily Inquirer

DFA offers P5,000 to OFWs disrupted by Ompong
THE DEPARTMENT of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has provided P5,000 worth of cash assistance to Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) whose flights were affected by Typhoon Ompong (International name: Mangkhut).
— BusinessWorld Online

Indonesian trader faces syndicated estafa raps
The Department of Justice (DOJ) has ordered the filing of criminal charges against an Indonesian businessman and five others.
— The Philippine Star

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Philippines morning news for September 17 added by Stella-maris Ewudolu on September 17, 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.