Philippines Morning News For October 4

UnionBank has lock-card feature to secure client accounts
Card fraud remains one of the biggest concerns faced by cardholders and banking institutions today. As Filipinos become more dependent on banking for many of their financial needs—cash safety, shopping transactions, bill payments and the like—scammers are presented with more opportunities to carry out malicious activities targeting cards.
— Business Mirror

Philippines’ AirAsia seeks to raise $250m via IPO in mid-2018
The Philippines unit of AirAsia Bhd is seeking to raise up to $250 million via an initial public offering (IPO) in mid-2018 to fund its expansion programme, its chief executive said on Tuesday.
— Deal Street Asia

Coal industry sees 15% consumption growth amid infrastructure push
COAL CONSUMPTION is expected to grow an average of 15% each year until the end of the government’s term, driven by robust infrastructure spending, an industry official said.
— BusinessWorld Online

Air traffic up 6.8%
The Philippines’ international air passenger traffic grew 6.8 percent in the first half of the year to 25.2 million from 23.6 million in the same period last year, according to data from Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB).
— Malaya

WB urges countries to uplift urban poor
Philippine cities are among those in East Asia and the Pacific that are rapidly developing but not delivering on infrastructure, jobs and services, the World Bank said.
— The Manila Times

Cebu provincial government allocates P40M to help towns in solid waste management
CEBU GOVERNOR Hilario P. Davide III has given the green light for the use of a P40-million fund to help municipal and city governments set up garbage disposal programs.
— BusinessWorld Online

Philippine stocks close above 8,300, track Wall Street gains
Philippine stocks hit a new milestone again, closing above the 8,300 mark as record closes on Wall Street and upbeat US economic data lifted investor sentiment here.
— Rappler

Peso rebounds on profit taking
THE PESO posted a slight recovery versus the dollar yesterday, with the sideways move driven by profit taking that lent some support to the local currency despite stronger bets of a rate hike in the United States.
— BusinessWorld Online

Reissued T-bonds fetch lower rates
Reissued five-year Treasury-bonds fetched lower rates yesterday amid strong demand and ample liquidity in the domestic market, according to the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr).
— The Philippine Star

PH cities need better infrastructure, services—World Bank
The World Bank said Tuesday cities in the Philippines and other Asian countries need better infrastructure, jobs and services.
— Manilastandard.net

Retail liberalization to hurt MSMEs
The move to liberalize retail trade in favor of foreign investors would harm local micro, small- and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), reversing “the gains of the past years” at a time when the government promised to put MSMEs at the forefront of development, an industry group said.
— Philippine Daily Inquirer

Despite growth, poverty still high
Despite the dynamic growth of the Philippine economy, efforts to reduce poverty have been slow and have not kept pace with such growth, the World Bank said.
— Malaya

Davao Region’s employment rate at 94.1%
DAVAO Region recorded an employment rate of 94.1 percent as of January 2017 based on the recent Labor Force Survey (LFS) that was released by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
— Sun Star

DA to build P300 M biotech center
The Department of Agriculture (DA) is building a P300-million biotechnology center to generate improved technologies for the local farm sector.
— The Philippine Star

LTO to roll out solar jeepneys in Metro Manila
The Land Transportation Office (LTO) on Tuesday inspected electric solar jeepney units that will be deployed in Metro Manila in compliance with the government’s public utility vehicle (PUV) modernization program.
— Philippine News Agency

Senate TRAIN version to provide tax relief to 99% of taxpayers – Angara
Senator Juan Edgardo Angara yesterday debunked the Executive department’s claim that the Senate’s version of the tax reform bill would be detrimental to the country’s economic development, saying the Department of Finance (DOF) should be upfront with their revenue estimates which he noted keeps on changing.
— Manila Bulletin

GMA Network claims lead in key urban areas, ABS-CBN in national audience share
GMA Network Inc. continued to maintain its television ratings lead in key urban areas while main rival ABS-CBN Corp. said it was ahead in national audience share in September.
— Philippine Daily Inquirer

Giving sanctuary to EJK witnesses done in pursuit of truth: CBCP
An official of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines-Public Affairs Committee (CBCP-PAC) on Tuesday clarified that their efforts to provide sanctuary to those who want to reveal information about extra judicial killings (EJKs) seek truth and does not intend to put the government in a bad light.
— Northbound Philippines

City health office promotes breast self-exam to treat cancer
Women, have you done breast self-examination today? If not, then today is the day.
— Davao Today

How Filipino farmers can compete in Southeast Asia
Filipino farmers need mentors, access to capital and markets, as well as millennials to compete with the rest of Southeast Asia, a businessman and entrepreneurship advocate said Tuesday.
— ABS-CBN

Graft probe on Dutertes part of smear job: Palace
Malacañang on Tuesday said the probe initiated by the Office of the Ombudsman on the alleged wealth of the family of President Rodrigo Duterte is part of a deliberate effort to discredit the President.
— Philippine Canadian Inquirer

SSS wants to increase members’ contributions
Thirty-five million members of the Social Security System may start the new year shelling out more.
— CNN Philippines

Warship Spotlights Malaysia-Philippines Naval Exercise
The departure of a Philippine warship, which is off to visit Brunei and then on to Malaysia, has spotlighted the next iteration of a maritime training activity between Manila and Kuala Lumpur that will kick off in mid-October.
— The Diplomat

Feature photo Ronald Tagra
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 October 4 added by Stella-maris Ewudolu on October 4, 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.