Philippines Morning News For June 23

SEC approves FLI unit’s P6-billion bond offering
THE SECURITIES and Exchange Commission (SEC) has approved the application of Cyberzone Properties, Inc. to float up to P6 billion worth of bonds to finance its ongoing developments.
— BusinessWorld Online

“Philippines should increase share in $20B Asia-Pacific veg market”
The Asia-Pacific region has a $20-billion vegetables market, of which the Philippines only accounts for $240 million. The data from Euromonitor were highlighted at a recent forum organized by East West Seed Company, which is looking to make the Philippines a top exporter of vegetable seeds.
— Fresh Plaza

Gov’t debt as share of GDP falls to 34.6%
GENERAL government (GG) debt as share of the economy continued to decline in end-2016, even though the total rose in absolute terms, the Finance department said yesterday.
— BusinessWorld Online

P300-B Manila-Clark railway project set to start
The construction of the first part of the P300-billion railway project that will link Manila to Clark is expected to start any time soon as the Department of Transportation (DOTr) is scheduled to mark the first four stations of the project on Monday.
— Manila Bulletin

SBMA posted P615.28-million earnings in four months
The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) recorded a total of P615.28 million in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (Ebitda) in just the first four months of this year.
— Business Mirror

Suspected NPA rebels burn ₱40-million equipment in Palawan
Suspected members of the New People’s Army (NPA) set on fire ₱40 million worth of heavy equipment in San Vicente town in Palawan.
— CNN Philippines

Credit Suisse flags PHL growth risks
CREDIT SUISSE tempered its growth forecast for the Philippines due to a “disappointing” pickup in household spending after an election-driven boom last year, coupled with some weakness in employment data.
— BusinessWorld Online

PPA approves 24% rate hike for North Harbor over three years
THE PHILIPPINE Ports Authority (PPA) has allowed Manila North Harbour Port, Inc. (MNHPI) to increase its cargo-handling rates by 24% over the next three years.
— BusinessWorld Online

Marawi after the fighting stops
Philippine government forces have shifted to intense ground combat, in combination with a series of airstrikes, in the fight against the Islamic State-inspired Maute Group. This is after they failed to meet a 12 June Independence Day deadline to ‘liberate’ Marawi City—the Islamic town in Southern Mindanao home to more than 200,000 Muslim Maranaos.
— New Mandala

Duterte to discuss with Widodo about IS presence in the Philippines
Philippine President Redrigo Duterte was expected to discuss over the phone with his Indonesian counterpart, Joko Widodo, on Wednesday about the reported claim of the presence of more than 1,000 IS operatives in the Philippines, according to The Manila Times Online report on Thursday.
— Thai PBS

Ex-PCGG chief gets 20 years for graft
Former Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) chairman Camilo Sabio was sentenced to up to 20 years’ imprisonment as the Sandiganbayan found him guilty of two counts of graft over alleged anomalous car lease deals entered into with the United Coconut Planters Bank (UCPB) in 2007 and 2009.
— The Philippine Star

Terror contagion takes hold in the Philippines
“I hope in the soonest time, you will find a new heart to forgive my soldiers, the government,” lamented Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, visibly distraught by the scale of devastation across the once bustling city of Marawi in his home island of Mindanao.
— Asia Times

Salt tax proposal draws anger from lawmakers and consumer groups
A bill to impose a tax on the salt content of processed foods has been criticised by Filipino politicians and consumer groups, who accuse it of being a stealthy means to raise revenues.
— Food Navigator Asia

Philippine Cardinal Quevedo links conflict to poverty
Stopping violent extremism in the Philippines should begin by fighting social injustice, particularly in the south, war-torn Mindanao’s lone cardinal says.
— UCA News

Australia to send surveillance planes to help PH fight militants
Australia’s defense force said on Friday it will send two military surveillance aircraft to assist Philippine soldiers fighting Islamist militants, as the archipelago nation battles to regain control of its southern city of Marawi.
— ABS-CBN

China to fund 2 new Metro bridges
China has formally entered into an agreement with the Philippines to finance the construction of two state-of-the-art bridges in Metro Manila.
— Philippine Daily Inquirer

Globe offers free calls, text messages for 15 days in Marawi
Ayala-led Globe Telecom, in partnership with the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), is opening up its network to provide free mobile services in crisis-hit Marawi City.
— Rappler

BSP holds rates; cuts inflation forecast
The Philippine central bank’s Monetary Board decided on Thursday to keep its key interest rates steady, with “manageable” price trends prompting a downward revision to its inflation outlook for 2017.
— The Manila Times

DBM allots PHP 50-M for UN confab in PH
POLILLO, Quezon, June 22 — Around PHP 50 million are being used to conduct the UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) conference in Manila, the Department of Tourism (DOT) said Thursday.
— Philippine News Agency

Feature photo Brian Evans
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 June 23 added by Stella-maris Ewudolu on June 23, 2017
View all posts by Stella-maris Ewudolu →

Bio
Latest Posts

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.