Philippines Morning News For November 17

PH grows 6.9%, 2nd fastest in Asia
The economy’s growth in the third quarter of the year surpassed market expectations, expanding 6.9 percent and making the Philippines the second best performing economy so far in Asia for the quarter.
— Malaya

Philippines is 12th country most affected by terrorism
The Philippines ranked 12th globally in terms of terrorism’s impact due to an increase in the number of fatalities and terrorist activity, according to a global terrorism index.
— Philstar

Philippines moves ahead with family planning law
The Roman Catholic-majority Philippines will reallow the use of contraceptive implants after certifying 51 drugs and devices safe and not the cause of abortions, the Health Department announced on Thursday.
— The Hindu

Uphill battle for Philippine mango exporters
The Philippines has always been a strong player in Asia as a nation that exports mangoes. It is quite famous for its fresh and dried mangoes. Unfortunately, the country has been hit with some misfortunes that have raised some production issues for the country.
— Fresh Plaza

Philippine population hits nearly 101 million in 2015
The Philippines added 8.6 million people from 2010 to 2015, bringing the country’s total population as of August 1, 2015 to 100,981,585, according to the latest data released by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
— Rappler

Crowning diplomatic moment for Duterte
As global leaders depart the Philippines after the just concluded Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), there was one clear diplomatic winner: Philippine leader and event host Rodrigo Duterte.
— Asia Times

Singapore, Philippines enter into fintech collaboration deal
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) signed a FinTech Cooperation Agreement (CA) at the sidelines of Singapore’s Fintech Festival currently being held on November 13 to 17.
— Singapore Business Review

Philippines: ‘Battle of Marawi’ leaves trail of death and destruction
Civilians on the island of Mindanao paid a high price with dozens killed and widespread destruction of homes and property amid the ‘battle of Marawi’ that pitted the Philippine military against militants allied to the armed group calling itself Islamic State (IS) between May and October this year, Amnesty International said in a report today.
— Amnesty International

2 bridges to be completed by ’21
The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) is set to start construction next year of the Binondo-Intramuros and Estrella-Pantaleon bridges with a combined cost of P5.974 billion after an implementation agreement was signed between the Philippine and China government recently.
— Malaya

Rody made PH prime destination, says ally
PRESIDENT Duterte’s hosting of the 31st Asean Summit and Related Meetings lifted the Philippines’ value to the Asean and to the world, administration ally Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Raymond Villafuerte said yesterday.
— Malaya

How many drug users in PH? DDB gets P15-M budget to find out
There have been debates on the number of drug users in the Philippines since President Rodrigo Duterte launched his controversial war on drugs in 2016.
— Rappler

Philippines overtakes China in economic growth again
The Philippines pulled ahead of China in the 3rd quarter of 2017 as the Southeast Asian economy reported growth of 6.9%, slightly faster than the Asian superpower’s 6.8%. (READ: Philippine GDP grows faster than expected by 6.9% in Q3 2017)
— Rappler

Gov’t to sell P30-B retail bonds next week
The Duterte administration will sell its third retail bonds targeted at local small investors next week, the Bureau of the Treasury announced yesterday.
— Manila Bulletin

LOOK: Philippines receives 3 high speed boats from Japan
The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) today, November 16 received the three of the ten high speed Rigid Hull Inflatable Boats (RHIB) donated by the Japanese government through Japan International Cooperation (JICA).
— Update Philippines

House invites Sereno to impeachment hearing
The committee on justice of the House of Representatives has invited Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno to its hearing on the impeachment case against her on Nov. 22.
— Philstar

DOH to purchase P200 M worth of contraceptives
The Department of Health (DOH) is now preparing to purchase P200 million worth of contraceptives following the lifting of the temporary restraining order (TRO) against the Reproductive Health Law.
— Philstar

US provided $65M, $85M for PH maritime, counterterrorism capabilities
During their bilateral meeting on November 12, President Rodrigo Duterte and United States President Donald Trump have acknowledged that the United States has provided approximately $65 million to enhance the Philippines’ maritime security capabilities.
— Update Philippines

Trump gives $2 million for Duterte’s campaign against drugs
The White House on November 14 said in a statement that United States President Donald Trump announced $2 million to support illegal drug demand reduction programs in the Philippines, President Rodrigo Duterte’s major advocacy.
— Update Philippines

Maids protest over suspension of overseas work certificates
A group of 20 Filipino domestic workers protested outside the Philippine Consulate-General in Admiralty on Hong Kong Island on Wednesday, demanding that their government lift its suspension on the processing of applications to work overseas.
— Asia Times

Duterte calls for legally binding code on SCS
President Duterte will push for a legally binding Code of Conduct on the South China Sea, Malacañang said yesterday as leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) welcomed the adoption of a framework that would pave the way for negotiations on a “substantive and effective” COC with China.
— Philstar

Make low-carbon innovations more affordable — Legarda
The government needs to foster a policy environment that will raise the participation of the financial sector in low-carbon investments, Sen. Loren Legarda said yesterday.
— Philstar

Justin Trudeau praised for publicly criticizing human rights abuses in Philippines
An international rights group praised Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Thursday for publicly expressing concerns about the Philippine president’s deadly crackdown on illegal drugs, saying the “quiet diplomacy” adopted by U.S. President Donald Trump and other world leaders won’t stop the drug killings.
— Global News

TIMELINE: Canada garbage shipped to the Philippines
While people swooned over Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during his visit, many still called him out for his government’s inaction on his country’s garbage illegally shipped to the Philippines starting 2013.
— Rappler

No one condemned DU30, will he now end the killings?
TO many’s eternal dismay, President Rodrigo Duterte won unquestionably big for hosting the just concluded 31st Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), East Asian, and 13 other Asean bilateral (Asean-US, Asean-China, Asean-Japan, Asean-Korea, Asean-India, etc.) summits, even though it set back the Filipino taxpayers by at least P15.5 billion, according to initial reports.
— The Manila Times

Apple prices iPhone X in Philippines, on sale Dec. 1
Apple officially priced its iPhone X in the Philippines ahead of its Dec. 1 release, as the 8 and 8 Plus models went on sale on Friday.
— ABS-CBN

Feature photo Andy Maluche
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 November 17 added by Leakhena Khat on November 17, 2017
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Leakhena Khat

Leakhena is a junior journalist at AEC News Today who is also currently studying International Relations, which she finds adds perspective to her work reporting on the Asean Community.

“I love what I am doing so much as it gives me a lot of great experience and provides challenges to my mind.