Philippines Morning News For August 14

Duterte’s China policy shift: strategy or serendipity?
Departing from the previous government’s opposition to Chinese assertiveness in the South China Sea, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has downplayed maritime disputes in favour of pursuing close economic and political ties with China.
— East Asia Forum

Bird flu triggers ban on fowl shipment
THE Agriculture department has banned the shipment of fowl from Luzon to other parts of the country after an avian flu outbreak in Pampanga.
— Manilastandard.net

Bangko Sentral assures public: No peso free fall
The peso will not “free fall” against the dollar despite breaching the P51-level last week, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Nestor Espenilla said Sunday, citing “very strong” economic fundamentals.
— ABS-CBN

‘Philippines facing unprecedented HIV crisis’
With new infections doubling in the past six years to over 10,000 new cases in 2016 alone, the Philippines is facing an “unprecedented HIV crisis,” the global medical journal The Lancet said yesterday.
— The Philippine Star

Thailand, PHL want no part of Asia dollar-bond boom
OVER in Asia’s booming dollar-bond market, there are two notable absentees: Thailand and the Philippines.
— Business Mirror

Phoenix’s core profit up by 35% to P610m
Independent oil company Phoenix Petroleum Philippines Inc. said core income grew 35 percent in the first half to P610 million from P450 million in the same period last year.
— Manilastandard.net

DTI: Chicken supply still abundant, prices still stable
The Trade Department said chicken supply is abundant and prices are still stable despite a reported P10 drop in some wet market.
— CNN Philippines

Gov’t to pay P80 per slaughtered chicken
Authorities began culling some 200,000 chickens yesterday in poultry farms within the one-kilometer quarantine zone believed to be infected with the avian flu virus in San Luis town in this province.
— The Philippine Star

DBS Bank sees 6% growth for Phl in Q2
Philippine economic growth may stay above six percent in the second quarter, according to DBS Bank Ltd. of Singapore and Moody’s Analytics.
— The Philippine Star

Philippines warns against killing of migratory birds amid avian flu outbreak
The Philippines on Sunday warned citizens not to kill or poach migratory birds that usually fly in from China, the possible source of a virus that triggered the Southeast Asian nation’s first outbreak of avian flu, to avoid worsening the situation.
— Times Live

Philippines: Budget doubled for Moro children nutrition
The Philippines government doubled the 2018 budget to 156 million pesos ($8.75 million) for a program intended to combat hunger and malnutrition of 7,000 children in the Bangsamoro region.
— Anadolu Agency

PDEA arrests barangay chairman, 3 others in Sarangani
Agents arrested on Saturday a barangay chairman and three other high-value targets of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency.
— The Philippine Star

Ex-PNR chief fined P245,000 for failing to remit P52,000 in GSIS contributions
Former Philippine National Railways general manager Jose Ma. Sarasola II has pleaded guilty to criminal failure to remit an employee’s premium contributions to the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) for 49 straight months.
— Philippine Daily Inquirer

Estrada hands out P5-m biz aid for poor
Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada has released more than P5.54 million in capital assistance fund in his continuing commitment to aid indigent families and aspiring entrepreneurs put up their own livelihood.
— Manilastandard.net

Combined bank profits rise 3.29% in Q2 to P79.19 B
The banking sector reported a higher combined second quarter net income which rose by 3.29 percent to P81.8 billion compared to the same period last year of P79.19 billion, data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) show.
— Manila Bulletin

BDO partners with Japan’s payment brand for high-end credit card
JCB International Co. Ltd. the international operations subsidiary of JCB Co. Ltd., announced the launch of the new JCB Platinum Credit Card in the Philippines. It is exclusively issued by BDO Unibank Inc. the largest bank in the country.
— The Philippine Star

Free irrigation budget hiked to P5 B
The government is increasing the budget allocation for the free irrigation scheme to P5 billion next year to allow expansion in covered areas.
— The Philippine Star

Airports across the country getting P10.1 B worth of upgrades
“Clark is getting P2.74 billion to enable it to cope with more flights, especially at night,” Makati City Representative Luis Campos Jr. said. “The target is to have Clark’s two 3,200-meter long runways operating at night, and eventually extend both runways, possibly to 5,000 meters, to accommodate bigger aircraft.”
— Update Philippines

Tax court voids P65.93-million assessment of MyPhone’s liabilities
LOCAL MOBILE phone brand MyPhone won in its bid to cancel the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR)’s assessment of tax liabilities worth almost P66 million.
—BusinessWorld Online

Phl economy showing signs of overheating — DBS
DBS Bank Ltd of Singapore said the Philippines is displaying signs of overheating as credit growth has accelerated over the past two years.
— The Philippine Star

Q2 GDP growth seen at 5.8-6.8%
Mixed views on factors such as exports and consumption have led to a wide range of forecasts regarding second quarter economic growth, results for which will be released by the government later this week.
— The Manila Times

House panel sets aside P6.5B for Mindanao railway line
The House appropriations committee has earmarked an initial amount of P6.58 billion to jumpstart the Mindanao Railway Project (MRP).
— The Manila Times

P57-B worth of projects up for NEDA Board OK
Economic managers have endorsed six big-ticket projects, worth a combined P57.5 billion, that include new bridges to alleviate Metro Manila’s traffic problems and initiatives to develop Mindanao.
— The Manila Times

DMCI bags P11.7B construction projects
The construction arm of DMCI Holdings bagged P11.7 billion worth of new contracts to construct infrastructure, energy, buildings, utilities and plants in the first semester, 169 percent higher than the value of projects signed in the same period last year.
— Philippine Daily Inquirer

Ayala Corp net income up 9.1% to P15.1 billion in 1st half of 2017
Ayala Corporation (AC), the holding firm of the Ayala Group of Companies, posted a 9.1% growth in net income for the 1st half of 2017 on strong contributions from its property and energy divisions.
— Rappler

PHL, U.S. to explore free trade pact in Asean meet
Philippine trade officials are seeking a bilateral meeting with their counterparts in the United States during the 31st Asean Summit and Related Meetings in November to discuss the possibility of forging a free- trade agreement (FTA).
— Business Mirror

Low-cost housing buyers seen cancelling purchases
The lifting of the value-added tax (VAT) exemption on low-cost housing as proposed by the tax reform bill could result in the cancellation of housing unit purchases, a property analyst said.
— The Philippine Star

Boracay earns P34B tourism receipts in 7 months
The island of Boracay generated a total of P34,518,669,078.30 in tourism receipts from January to July 2017.
— Philippine Information Agency

Hundreds benefit from DOLE medical mission
At least 313 sugarcane workers, including their dependents, benefited in the medical and dental mission initiated by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).
— Philippine Information Agency

Davao Oriental changes ordinance to widen smoking ban coverage
Gov. Nelson Dayanghirang had signed the revised Provincial Anti-Smoking Ordinance, imposing a smoking ban in all public places in the province.
— Philippine Daily Inquirer

Philippines: VC firm Original Pitch bullish on financial services, health & education
Philippines’ venture capital firm Original Pitch VC aims to forge new partnerships, and enable more consolidation in the local market.
— Deal Street Asia

Comelec chief to face impeach rap over website hack
The lawyer of an anti-crime watchdog group on Sunday said he would file an impeachment complaint against Commission on Elections Chairman Andres Bautista.
— ABS-CBN (video)

Feature photo Stephanie Azarias & Alexander Olpindo
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 August 14 added by Stella-maris Ewudolu on August 14, 2017
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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.