Philippines Morning News For March 30

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.

Duterte promotes martial law as cure to PH ills
Three turbulent decades after the Philippines shed dictatorship, President Rodrigo Duterte is offering a return to authoritarian rule as a solution to all the problems that democracy has failed to fix.
— Inquirer.Net

Duterte hints at amnesty for Reds
President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday floated the idea of giving amnesty to communist rebels, days before the expected resumption of peace talks with the National Democratic Front.
— ABS-CBN

PHL rating affirmed, GDP forecast hiked
THE PHILIPPINES yesterday got a shot in the arm amid nagging political noise, as Fitch Ratings, Inc. affirmed the country’s credit standing and S&P Global Ratings raised its growth forecast anew.
— Business World Online

PAL approves equity restructuring
The board of directors of the parent firm of Philippine Airlines (PAL) has approved an equity restructuring to remove both existing and additional deficit to be incurred after the acquisition of Zuma Holdings and Management Corp. and subsidiary Air Philippines.
— Phil Star

Manpower crunch crimps construction sector
CONSTRUCTION companies are experiencing an unprecedented “tightness” in the supply of skilled workers that threatens to derail the real estate sector’s growth momentum and the government’s ambitious infrastructure program.
— Business World Online

Philippines ‘Not Afraid to Show Interest’ in Russian Weapons
Victor Kladov, director of international cooperation and regional policy at Rostec State Corporation, spoke with Sputnik in an interview saying that Russia is gaining popularity among the countries that it has never cooperated with before but are now “literally knocking on [their] door.” One such country is the Philippines.
— Sputnik International

MPTDC raises stake in TMC to 67%
The toll road unit of Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) is increasing its stake in Tollways Management Corp. (TMC) to 67 percent from 60 percent through the acquisition of shares worth over P400 million.
— Phil Star

DoF seeks reconsideration of SC wage ruling
According to Finance Assistant Secretary Mark Dennis Y.C. Joven, the DoF has not drafted rules for the tax refunds to minimum wage earners (MWEs), as it is still waiting for the SC to act upon its motion following its receipt of the decision last month.
— Business World Online

Duterte confronts US over SChina Sea
President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday hit the United States anew, this time for failing to stop Beijing’s island-building activities in the disputed West Philippine Sea (South China Sea).
— The Manila Times

Local shares end flat amid lack of strong leads
THE MAIN INDEX traded flat on Wednesday, failing to follow the rebound of US markets due to strong data coupled with an affirmation of two more Federal Reserve rate hikes this year.
— Business World Online

DILG Usec. Hinlo appeals for lot donors for additional jail facilities
Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Undersecretary for Public Safety Jesus Hinlo Jr. appealed before local government units (LGUs) to donate lands for the construction of jail facilities and consequently address jail congestion.
— Manila Bulletin

DFA twice denied China’s bid to explore Benham Rise
THE Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Wednesday bared it had rejected China’s request to conduct scientific research at Benham Rise twice and that the reported activity of Chinese survey ships in the area last year may not have had permission from the agency.
— The Manila Times

Creation of new department urged to handle PH’s maritime assets
National Security Council (NSC) Director-General Hermogenes Esperon Jr. asked Congress on Thursday, March 30 to create a Department of Maritime Resources and Ocean Affairs (DRMOA) that will deal with various problems and strategies to protect and harness the potentials of the countries’ maritime assets, including the 24-million hectare undersea Benham Rise in the Pacific ocean and West Philippine Sea territories.
— Manila Bulletin

Deployment of Filipino HSWs on the rise
The deployment of newly-hired Filipino household service workers (HSW) abroad continues to increase even after the country lost one of its major markets in the Middle East.
— Manila Bulletin

Dengue cases dip 67.9 % in Caraga
Dengue fever, the dreaded mosquito-borne disease, has dipped in the region to almost 70 percent according to the recent data released by the Department of Health (DOH) Regional Office 13.
— Manila Bulletin

Rights violations involving police officers on the rise
After declining in the last two years, the number of policemen accused of human rights violations rose in the first quarter of 2017, according to data from the Philippine National Police-Human Rights Affairs Office (PNP-HRAO).
— Inquirer.Net

‘Chinese research in Benham still a mystery’
What a Chinese research vessel did during its three-month expedition at Benham Rise last year remains a mystery to the Philippine government, even as security officials have maintained the incident did not pose any threat to the country’s sovereignty.
— Phil Star

Gov’t to borrow P180 B, seeks longer tenor bonds
The government is set to borrow P180 billion from the domestic market through the sale of T-bonds and T-bills in the second quarter, the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) said yesterday.
— Phil Star

Philippines to raise China reclamation in talks
The Philippines on Thursday, March 30, said it will raise China’s reclamation activities in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) when the two countries begin one-on-one talks in May.
— Rappler

‘Gina Lopez may have violated Mining Act’
Embattled Environment Secretary Gina Lopez has ordered suspended mining companies to put up non-government organizations (NGOs) for the rehabilitation of affected areas – an apparent violation of the 1995 Mining Act.
— Phil Star

Philippines: Rabies outbreak declared in Negros Occidental town
Two people have died from rabies in the town of Cauayan, Negros Occidental province prompting the declaration of an outbreak, according to a Philippines media account.
— Outbreak News Today

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Philippines morning news roundup is published M-F by AEC News Today: Governance, not government; policies not politics.

Philippines Morning News For March 30 added by Stella-maris Ewudolu on March 30, 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.