Philippines morning news for July 17

Philippines morning news for July 17
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Philippines morning news

Supreme Court issues gag order in fishermen’s West PH Sea petition
The Supreme Court (SC) has issued a gag order against both parties in the writ of kalikasan petition involving fishermen from Zambales and Palawan after counsels traded barbs over the media for some time.
— Rappler

Duterte’s governance of lies led to anti-poor policies – debt watchdog
The Duterte administration’s governance of lies has resulted in anti-poor policies such as unabated mining and rice imports, the influx of illegal Chinese businesses, unemployment, water shortages, debt-watchdog group Freedom of Debt Coalition (FDC) said Tuesday.
— GMA News

‘Falcon’ intensifies into storm as it approaches Northern Luzon
Fishermen in this northernmost island town of Batanes province are staying on land as Tropical Depression “Falcon” crawls toward extreme northern Luzon on Wednesday.
— Inquirer.net

US banks on PH to ensure COC in SCS consistent with int’l law
The United States government is banking on the Philippines as a claimant state in the South China Sea/West Philippine Sea to ensure that the conclusion of a Code of Conduct in the contested waters would be consistent with international law.
— Philippine News Agency

Duterte wants SEA Games committee out of picture due to ‘corruption’
Malacañang has confirmed that President Rodrigo Duterte wants to give the organizing responsibilities of the 2019 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games to the government, as he accused the Philippine SEA Games Organizing Committee (PHISGOC) of corruption.
— Rappler

Dengue patients crowd gov’t hospitals
Tents will serve as makeshift treatment centers for dengue cases in Iloilo province, as government hospitals have run out of space for patients seeking treatment for the illness.
— Inquirer.net

IPs’ displacement cited in report on violation of indigenous rights in UNHRC session
The state of indigenous peoples’ (IP) rights in the Philippines was cited during a session on the rights of IPs at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) event in Geneva, Switzerland.
— GMA News

Govt signs P12-b deal to buy Japanese trains for Malolos rail
The Department of Transportation said Tuesday it signed a P12.1-billion contract with the joint venture of Japan Transport Engineering Co. and Sumitomo Corp. to purchase trains for a rail system between Tutuban, Manila and Malolos, Bulacan.
— Manilastandard.net

KAPA ‘donors’ can pray to court to get money back
Hoping for a better life, members of non-stock and independent religious corporation KAPA Community Ministry International, Inc. donated their money expecting to receive a return in “blessings”.
— The Philippine Star

U.S. companies to take part in ‘Build, Build, Build’
The United States is supporting the Duterte administration’s ambitious infrastructure program, its ambassador to Manila said Tuesday.
— CNN Philippines

‘Misogynist’ Duterte slammed over Philippines anti-harassment law
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, whose rape jokes have sparked outrage in the past, drew fresh flak Tuesday after signing a law against sexual harassment, with campaigners saying his role as the “misogynist-in-chief” would make implementation challenging.
— The Jakarta Post

Sandigan affirms Samar governor’s 115-year sentence
Former Samar congresswoman and now Gov. Milagrosa Tan will have to vacate her post and spend the rest of her life in prison.
— The Philippine Star

US to aid Philippines in ‘evidence-based’ drug war
The United States remains committed to working with the Philippines on “evidence-based” approaches to reducing drug demand and sharing information to address the drug problem in ways that will respect human rights and the rule of law, the US State Department’s top diplomat for East Asia said yesterday.
— The Philippine Star

Duterte signs Innovation Act; P1-billion revolving fund to help small enterprises
PRESIDENT Duterte has finally signed the Philippine Innovation Act, which sets up at least P1 billion in a revolving Innovation Fund to strengthen entrepreneurship and enterprises engaged in developing innovative solutions to benefit the poorest of the poor.
— Business Mirror

DTI’s Lopez pushes P4-billion yearly MSME budget to stop ‘5-6’ lending scheme
NO less than P4 billion should be allocated to the government’s microfinancing program yearly to stop the “5-6” lending scheme preying on micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), the country’s trade chief said on Tuesday.
— Business Mirror

Workers air gripes over Duterte’s unmet ‘promises’
Halfway through his term, President Duterte has yet to fulfill his two major labor-related campaign “promises,” according to labor groups.
— Business Mirror

Duterte declares Feb. 4 as ‘Philippine-American War Memorial Day’
President Rodrigo Duterte has signed into law a measure which declares February 4 of every year a special working holiday for the “Philippine-American War Memorial Day.”
— Inquirer.net

‘Duterte needs emergency powers to speed up Internet’
A SENIOR lawmaker made a pitch for the passage of a measure granting President Duterte emergency powers to address poor Internet speed and connectivity in the Philippines.
— Business Mirror

COA justifies 8 infra projects in Leyte overpriced by P35M
The Commission on Audit (COA) has insisted that eight infrastructure projects in Leyte were overpriced by P35.14 million, junking the appeal of a local engineer on a previously issued notice of disallowance (ND).
— Inquirer.net

Floating Solar: Philippines Switches On It’s First Hybrid Floating Photovoltaic Hydro Power Project
The Philippines first 200kw floating solar power project by Ocean Sun, a leading solar energy company based in Norway, was recently switched on.
— AEC News Today/ PR Newswire (media release)

PH, U.S. sign education deals, create new fellowship for Filipino scholars
The Philippines and United States signed on Tuesday, July 16, two statements and agreements on education and during the Bilateral Strategic Dialogue (BSD) held between the two countries in Manila.
— Rappler

Philippines to deepen counter-terror cooperation with US after Sulu blast
The Philippines and the United States have expressed commitment to enhance counter-terrorism cooperation following the bomb attack on a military camp in Sulu which was carried out by suspected suicide bombers.
— Inquirer.net

COA to Philhealth regional officials: Return P34-M illegal bonuses
The Commission on Audit (COA) has ordered officials of the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (Philhealth) in Metro Manila and in Region 12 (Soccsksargen region) to return over P34 million in Illegal bonuses they received in 2009 and 2012.
— Rappler

Smartmatic must improve or be replaced as tech provider – DICT
Smartmatic Philippines, Inc. faces stiff competition and must improve its service if it hopes to remain as the country’s automated election system (AES) operator, Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) Undersecretary Eliseo Rio, Jr. warned Monday.
— Manila Bulletin

Duterte warns landowners against resisting agrarian reform
President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday warned landowners, whose properties were subject to agrarian reform, against resisting the distribution of these properties to beneficiaries.
— GMA News

Duterte and Jokowi seek new capitals to solve old cities’ woes
Jolu Bunda spends up to four hours a day commuting to and from his job as a bank manager in Metro Manila.
— Nikkei Asian Review (paywall)

NCMH officials face graft at Ombudsman
THE NATIONAL Bureau of Investigation (NBI) filed a corruption complaint at the Office of the Ombudsman against 13 officials of the National Center for Mental Health (NCMH) and a private individual after it found irregularities in the bidding for a P60 million building project, it said in a statement.
— BusinessWorld Online

Anti-graft court rules Purisima, 16 co-accused to argue corruption case in trial
The Sandiganbayan ruled against Former PNP Chief Alan La Madrid Purisima and 16 other co-accused in a 3-year-old graft case filed against them, adding the defendants would have to argue their case and present evidence in a trial to prove their innocence.
— Rappler

Philippines and Indonesia to partially unwind 2018 hikes
Bank Indonesia (BI) and Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) were two of the busier central banks in 2018, each hiking policy rates by 175 basis points as pressure on their respective currencies mounted.
— ING

BARMM starts drafting new Bangsamoro local gov’t code
The Ministry of the Interior and Local Government in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (MILG-BARMM) began drafting on Monday a priority legislation entrusted to the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) — the Bangsamoro Local Government Code.
— Philippine News Agency

Tito Sotto wants lying under oath punishable by up to 10 years
This will serve as a deterrent to suspects who retracts testimonies to get off sticky situations.
— GMA New

BARMM gov’t laments ‘seeming lack of support’ from LGUs
Officials of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) have raised concerns about the “seemingly lack of support” from some local government units (LGUs) that did not vote for the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL).
— Inquirer.net

New law strengthens disease surveillance and reporting
President Rodrigo Duterte signed a new law that strengthens the capacities of the Department of Health (DOH) in reporting and responding to infectious and communicable diseases like dengue, measles, smallpox, and cholera.
— Rappler

DOH to hold PWD health fair, forum
The Department of Health (DOH) – Center for Health Development in Western Visayas is spearheading a health fair and forum intended for persons with disabilities (PWDs) from the provinces of Iloilo and Negros Occidental this July.
— Philippine Information Agency

Go files bill seeking to institutionalize 24-hour nationwide emergency medical services system
Senator Bong Go has filed a bill that aims to institutionalize a 24-hour nationwide emergency medical services system.
— Eagle News

Coast Guard to launch French-made patrol vessel for West PHL Sea
The Philippine Coast Guard will be leading patrols in the disputed West Philippine Sea when it takes in the delivery of the 84-meter Offshore Patrol Vessel this coming December.
— GMA News

Charges eyed vs DepEd chief over ‘lumad’ school closures
Militant lawmakers on Tuesday said they were considering filing graft charges against Education Secretary Leonor Briones for ordering the closure of 55 schools serving the “lumad” communities in southern Mindanao.
— Inquirer.net

Duterte directs national task force to work double-time to end the problem of insurgency
President Duterte has directed the national task force to step up efforts to address the problem of communist insurgency in the country.
— Manila Bulletin

Biz groups to govt: Veto SoT bill
VARIOUS industry groups and business chambers urged the government on Tuesday to veto Senate Bill 1826, or the Security of Tenure (SoT) measure, arguing that there are existing laws already safeguarding workers.
— The Manila Times

Tackling rural poverty: land reform is failing Filipinos
Over successive generations, the Filipino government has been committed to reducing poverty rates among rural communities.
— Asean Today

Rising feedstock costs may force shutdown of bioethanol plants
The skyrocketing costs of feedstock for bioethanol production may force domestic producers to shutdown operations – especially if government measures to remedy the situation won’t come quick and judicious as they are needed.
— Manila Bulletin

Sandiganbayan won’t junk case vs ex-PNP chief
The Sandiganbayan Sixth Division has denied the bid of former Philippine National Police chief Alan Purisima to have his graft case dismissed, ruling that the prosecution’s initial evidence in the case was strong.
— Inquirer.net

American firm eyeing LNG investments in PH
New York-headquartered New Fortress Energy is the latest investor that approached the Department of Energy (DoE) for prospective investment in an onshore liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal to be integrated with a gas-fired power facility.
— Manila Bulletin

Duterte signs law strengthening National Museum as keeper of Filipino heritage
President Rodrigo Duterte has signed a law strengthening the role of the National Museum of the Philippines as keeper of Filipino heritage.
— GMA News

Filipino takes the helm of Asian society for breeding research
A Filipino scientist and research expert has been elected president of an international society dedicated to the basic and applied aspects of breeding research in economically important plants.
— Manila Bulletin

One Network Bank offers financing help to MSMEs
Stressing she can empathize with the struggles of the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), Tessie Sy-Coson, vice-chair of the country’s leading conglomerate SM Investment Corp. (SMIC), offers financing assistance via its BDO One Network Bank and its mall chain as market for entrepreneurs.
— Manila Bulletin

 

Feature photo WorldSkills Thailand

This week’s Philippines morning news feature photo focuses on World Youth Skills Day, July 15.

 

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.

 

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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.

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