Philippines Morning News For September 12

Diesel up by P1.30/liter, gasoline by P0.45
Extreme weather swings in oil-producing jurisdictions took its “spillover effect” on the Philippine oil industry as the cost of diesel increased sharply by P1.30 per liter effective today.
— Manila Bulletin

H1 real estate loans hit P1.37T, up 20%
Real estate lending posted double-digit growth in the second quarter, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas reported on Monday, with commercial developments accounting for the bulk of loans approved by universal and commercial banks.
— The Manila Times

Foreign direct investments nearly triple in June: BSP
Foreign direct investments (FDIs) surged nearly threefold in June, reflecting investors’ confidence in the Philippine economy, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said Monday.
— ABS-CBN

P1.8M collected from anti-smoking violators
THE Davao City Anti-Smoking Task Force (ASTF) collected some P1.8 million fines from apprehended smokers from April to July 2017.
— Sun Star

Cirtek to raise capital stock to P2 billion
Cirtek Holdings said Monday it would increase its authorized capital nearly four-fold to P2 billion pesos, as it expands its radio and semiconductor business.
— ABS-CBN

Bicol farmers, fishermen get P31-M in survival aid
THE Agricultural Credit Policy Council (ACPC) has turned over P31 million worth of credit funds to six Camarines Sur and Catanduanes cooperatives that will serve as lending conduits for the Survival and Recovery (SURE) Assistance Program for farmers and fishermen affected by Typhoon Nina.
— The Manila Times

Smart cities: Manila 148th of 180
Manila ranked 148th in the survey of most livable or “smartest” cities in the world published by Spain-based University of Navarra’s IESE Business School.
— The Philippine Star

PH shares up a third of 1% on thin volume
Philippine shares rose on thin volume amid calamities abroad. The Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) index is expected to be in a holding pattern in the short term.
— ABS-CBN (video)

PH seeks more access to export markets
The Philippines has pushed for better market access for its export products to its key trading partners during bilateral talks held on the sidelines of the 49th Asean Economic Ministers (AEM) Meeting and Related Meetings that ended yesterday.
— Malaya

T-bill rates drop on oversubscription
Government securities fetched lower rates yesterday amid healthy market demand, reflecting the ample liquidity in the market as a result of the central bank’s move to cut the volume for its term deposit facility, the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) said yesterday.
— The Philippine Star

Philippines requests increase in fruit exports to South Korea
The Philippines on Saturday requested improved market access for its fruit exports to South Korea during the meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ (ASEAN) Economic Ministers in Manila.
— Fresh Plaza

Philippines seeks big cut in drug rehab budget, stoking lawmakers’ concern
The Philippines plans a cut of 75 percent in spending next year on drug rehabilitation facilities, while at the same time seeking a massive hike in funding for a war on drugs that has killed thousands, fuelling concerns among lawmakers.
— ChannelNews Asia

Phinma Energy to sue PSALM for IPPA contract termination
Phinma Energy Corp. is taking state-run Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM) to court for suddenly terminating its independent power producer administrator (IPPA) contract for the Unified Leyte geothermal power plants (ULGPP).
— The Philippine Star

Philippine congress postpones village polls
The House of Representatives on Monday postponed village polls, allowing incumbent officials to stay in their posts until May 2018.
— Anadolu Agency

Bislig City mayor, 11 others ordered dismissed over P14.75-M excavator purchase
THE OFFICE of the Ombudsman has ordered the dismissal of Bislig City Mayor Librado C. Navarro for grave misconduct arising from the anomalous purchase in 2012 of a hydraulic excavator worth P14.76 million. In a statement, the Ombudsman said Mr. Navarro has also been slapped with the accessory penalties of cancellation of eligibility, forfeiture of retirement benefits, and perpetual disqualification from government service.
— BusinessWorld Online

Philippines soft drinks industry offers alternatives to sugar tax
The Philippines soft drinks industry has ramped up its opposition to a possible sugar tax as the government sets out to increase the size of its proposed levy.
— Food Navigator Asia

PH manufacturing sector to ease in July — Moody’s Analytics
Manufacturing growth is expected to ease in July even as domestic demand remained robust, the research arm of Moody’s Corp. said.
— Philippine Daily Inquirer

Pag-IBIG sees 200,000 members in southern Mindanao still without homes
More than 200,000 southern Mindanao members of the Home Development Mutual Fund, otherwise known as the Pag-IBIG Fund, do not own homes due to affordability issues and a housing backlog, among others.
— BusinessWorld Online

Senate committee okays CHR budget for 2018
The Senate’s finance committee on Monday, September 11, approved the proposed budget of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) for fiscal year 2018.
— Rappler

No PSE trading Sept.12
There is no trading on the Philippine Stock Exchange trading on its bourse on Tuesday following Malacanang’s work suspension order in greater Metro Manila amid inclement weather.
— Philippine Daily Inquirer

GSIS requires P7-T in add’l capital for military pension
State-run Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) said it will require R7 trillion in additional capital if the national government wants to integrate the military’s pension system.
— Manila Bulletin

BSP seen to hike rates next year
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas is likely to raise interest rates twice next year on rising inflation and weak peso, Deutsche Bank said in a report over the weekend.
— Manilastandard.net

Philippines plans industrial zone around geothermal plants at Leyte
The Philippine Board of Investments (BOI) signed a Memorandum of Cooperation (MOC) for the Development of the Master Plan and Feasibility Study for the Leyte Ecological Industrial Zone (LEIZ) with the Visayas State University (VSU) at the sidelines of the 2017 Investment Priorities Plan (IPP) Regional Roadshow of the agency in late August 2017 in Tacloban City, Leyte.
— Think GeoEnergy

Gov’t to launch by yearend online system for processing import permits
The government will roll out by yearend TradeNet, an integrated online system to process import permits across over 60 agencies, as part of ongoing efforts to further improve the ease of doing business, Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III said Monday.
— Philippine Daily Inquirer

Feature photo Adam Cohn
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 September 12 added by Stella-maris Ewudolu on September 12, 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.