China could seize gas in Reed Bank if PH can’t pay loans – Carpio
The Philippines should be wary about the Chico River Pump Irrigation Loan Agreement because it could potentially allow China to take the gas-rich Reed Bank (Recto Bank) in the West Philippine Sea if it is unable to pay the $62-million loan, Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio warned.
— Inquirer.net
Govt subsidies to GOCCs in Jan decrease by 13.77%
THE subsidy given in January by the national government to companies it owns or controls was lower by 13.77 percent compared to the subsidies disbursed in January last year.
— Business Mirror
Pagasa: 51 provinces to suffer drought
THE STATE weather bureau expects 51 provinces to experience drought by the end of April, as the country suffers from the effects of the El Niño phenomenon.
— The Manila Times
PHL ‘out of the woods’ with inflation
THE PHILIPPINES appears “out of the woods” as far as inflation is concerned, with the overall rise in prices of basic goods seen consistently lower until the last few months of 2019, a senior central bank official said, although rising oil prices and the impact of severe weather may be disruptive.
— BusinessWorld Online
Philippines hails fall of last ISIS territory
The Philippines joined the world in celebrating the fall of the last remaining territory held by the terrorist Islamic State (ISIS) in Syria, even as it said the fight “is not over.”
— Rappler
PAGASA: Angat Dam water seen to hit critical level by end-April
Angat Dam water is expected to hit its critical level by the end of April, a PAGASA hydrologist said Sunday.
— GMA News
BSP weighs banks’fitness for higher liquidity
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is evaluating the banking sector’s preparedness in digesting more money supply as the central bank mulls of further cuts in the reserve requirement ratio (RRR) anytime soon, based on current economic and liquidity conditions.
— Manila Bulletin
Cavite tops number of dengue cases in Calabarzon in Q1 – DOH
Cavite recorded the most number of dengue cases in the Calabarzon region in the first quarter of the year, the Department of Health (DOH) reported on Friday, March 22.
— Rappler
Cloud seeding in Davao del Sur starts this week; province now under state of calamity
THE DAVAO del Sur government has placed the province under a state of calamity due to the dry spell brought that has caused an estimated P161.2 million in damage to rice and corn farms.
— BusinessWorld Online
Duterte EO bans junkets
PRESIDENT Rodrigo R. Duterte has issued an executive order prohibiting “all forms” of junkets for government officials and employees, and the conduct of planning workshops and team building activities abroad.
— BusinessWorld Online
Flood China with lawsuits, analyst urges Philippines
The Philippine government should lodge complaints in all available platforms against China to divert international attention on its incursions in contested waters, a political risk analyst said Sunday.
— ABS-CBN News
Philippine’s new law on motorbike erupt riders’ protest
More than 10,000 motorcycle riders staged a motorcade on Sunday in the main highways of the Philippine capital Manila to protest at new regulations forcing them to display bigger licence plates, saying the measure would not solve the problem.
— Devdiscourse
Pag-IBIG Fund profit hits P33B in 2018
THE HOME Development Mutual Fund (Pag-IBIG Fund) saw its net income rise by 10% to a record P33.17 billion in 2018, driven by robust loan payment collections and improved operational efficiencies.
— BusinessWorld Online
DOLE, 3M partnership seeks to ensure healthy, productive workforce
The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) has partnered with 3M Philippines, a global science company, to promote occupational safety and health (OSH) and to further ensure a healthy and productive workforce in the country.
— Manila Bulletin
SC rejects appeal to prosecute ex-DBP officials over Marcos-era loans
The Supreme Court (SC) rejected the request of the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) to prosecute former Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) officials over multimillion-peso loans under the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos.
— Rappler
PH, Japan sign MOC to protect OFWs
The governments of the Philippines and Japan on Tuesday signed a Memorandum of Cooperation (MOC), providing better protection for Filipino workers to be hired under a new specified skills residency in Japan.
— Manila Bulletin
More communities in E. Mindanao declaring CPP-NPA ‘persona non grata’
New People’s Army (NPA) members are on the run after more communities and local government units (LGUs) are now declaring them “persona non grata”, denying them of space to hide and maneuver from the long arm of the law and pursuing troops.
— Manila Bulletin
DICT to start mass building of cell towers
The Department of Information and Communications Technology is ready for the construction of common towers in the country.
— Manilastandard.net
Manila eyes more opportunities to link up with Belt and Road
THE PHILIPPINES is gearing up to secure additional funding support from China for local infrastructure projects, with the two economies enjoying deeper investment ties amid growing “mutual trust.”
— BusinessWorld Online
Firms urged to prepare for Telecommuting Act
Globe Telecom is urging enterprises to prepare for a mobile workforce in order to remain competitive in line with the Telecommuting Act which allows employees in the private sector to work from an alternative workplace using information and communication technology (ICT) tools.
— The Philippine Star
BIR reminds candidates to pay tax obligations
The Bureau of Internal Revenue is reminding all political candidates, political parties and party list groups, and campaign contributors to the May 2019 midterm elections of their tax obligations relative to the political exercise.
— Philippine Information Agency
PH becomes steel bar exporter
Leading Philippine steel firm SteelAsia Manufacturing Corp. is delivering its first export of rebars to Canada, making the Philippines a steel bar exporter again after several decades.
— Manila Bulletin
DILG committed to realizing federalism
The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) assured that its commitment to help bring about a federal form of government remains firm and it is now working with other government agencies to finalize the Bayanihan Federalism model developed by the Consultative Committee to Review the 1987 Constitution.
— Philippine News Agency
Meralco, partners to build P1-B facility for New Clark City
Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) and its partners plan to spend around P1 billion to build the facilities for power distribution services in New Clark City in Tarlac.
— The Philippine Star
BSP likely to cut rates by May
THE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) will likely reduce key interest rates by May, noting that policy makers are likely growing more confident after inflation forecasts were slashed anew on Thursday.
— BusinessWorld Online
Senate bets demand swift end to water interruptions
With numerous Metro Manila and Rizal households suffering from the daily water service interruptions, Senate candidates in the May 2019 elections laid out their solutions for the current water crisis.
— GMA News
Pasig City residents share water supply woes
In Pasig City, people from different walks of life struggled to cope with the water shortage that hit Metro Manila and Rizal .
— Rappler
Construction of 30th SEA Games venue ‘ahead of target’
Philippine Southeast Asian Games Organizing Committee (PHISGOC) chairman Alan Cayetano said the New Clark City Sports Complex is now 60 percent done.
— Philippine News Agency
GrabExpress driver’s tip leads to seizure of P1.5-M party drugs in Makati
A GrabExpress driver’s tip to authorities led to the seizure of P1.5 million worth of party drugs and the arrest of two college students in Makati this week.
— Rappler
Summer is officially here: PAGASA says El Niño may run until August
THE Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) declared the official start of the dry season on Friday, saying that the El Niño phenomenon may last until August.
— BusinessWorld Online
DA halts onion imports, probes price manipulation
The Agriculture department on Friday announced a temporary halt to bulb onion imports pending a probe of alleged price manipulation.
— The Manila Times
Bulacan, Pampanga rice farmers assured of irrigation water supply
The National Irrigation Administration (NIA) has assured that irrigation water supply to rice lands in Bulacan and some parts of Pampanga will last until May 15 this year.
— Philippine News Agency
NDF consultants with safe conduct passes can now be arrested – AFP
The Armed Forces of the Philippines has said that National Democratic Front consultants with safe conduct passes may now be arrested following President Duterte’s decision to permanently terminate the government’s peace talks with the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s …
— Tempo
Comelec asks DoH to remove ‘Malasakit’ posters bearing Bong Go’s face, name
The Commission on Elections has asked the Department of Health to remove “Malasakit Center” posters which usually bear the name and face of administration senatorial candidate Bong Go in government hospitals in view of the prevailing ban on propaganda materials being placed in government-owned and -controlled establishments.
— Tempo
Will senators vote to send children to jail?
We entered the so-called Bahay Pagasa, “House of Hope.” It turned out to be a children’s jail.
— The Manila Times
Over half of population now residing in urban areas
More than half of the country’s population of over 100 million now reside in urban areas, with four regions registering the highest levels of urbanization, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
— The Philippine Star
PDEA tags Golden Triangle
The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) has again tagged the notorious Golden Triangle syndicate as the group behind the P1.8-billion shabu shipment seized at the Manila port on Friday night.
— The Philippine Star
FOI website data leak? Privacy commission investigating
The government and the National Privacy Commission (NPC) are looking into an issue with the country’s freedom of information request website, foi.gov,ph , as some data submitted by users to the site appears to be getting indexed on search engines.
— Rappler
Up to 50 bps rate cut seen this year
Economists expect at least two rate cuts as well as a further reduction in the level of deposits banks are required to keep with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) this year.
— The Philippine Star
More bets weigh in on ICC communication vs. China’s Xi
The Bayan Muna Party-list on Saturday expressed support while Senator Francis Escudero expressed doubts over a communication filed at the International Criminal Court (ICC) against Chinese President Xi Jinping and other Chinese officials.
— GMA News
ADVISORY: Select BPI services won’t be available April 5-7
The Bank of the Philippine Islands announced on Friday, March 22, that some of its services will be temporarily unavailable on the first weekend of April as the bank undergoes “a major systems upgrade.”
— Rappler
18 Chinese arrested for access device fraud, illegal online gambling
EIGHTEEN Chinese nationals were arrested for access device fraud and illegal online gambling, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) reported on Friday.
— BusinessWorld Online
Despite honesty system hitch, bus firm still willing to go ‘conductorless’
After ending its honesty system because a number of passengers who did not pay their fare, Green Frog Hybrid Bus Company told Rappler that it would still give the conductorless system another try.
— Rappler
PAL system upgrade successful
Flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) said its system upgrade was successful as of 3 p.m. Sunday.
— Philippine News Agency
Dinagat Islands local officials arrested for illegal posession of firearms
MANILA, Philippines – Two local officials in Dinagat Islands were arrested in separate incidents on Saturday, March 23, for illegal possession of firearms.
— Rappler
Feature photo Philippine Red Cross
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 25 added by Stella-maris Ewudolu on
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Stella-maris Ewudolu
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.
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