Philippines Morning News Roundup For February 24

Welcome to the Philippines morning news roundup by AEC News Today, your one stop for Philippines news on matters of governance and policies affecting Asean business communities.

Senator Leila de Lima arrested in the Philippines
A Philippines senator and staunch critic of President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs has been arrested by law enforcement agents after charges were filed in court alleging she received money from drug dealers inside the country’s prisons.
— Aljazeera

Businesses start 2017 a bit less bullish
BUSINESSES opened the year slightly less optimistic than in December and a year ago, faced with a seasonal slack in demand and expectations of tighter financial conditions, according to a recent survey conducted by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).
— BusinessWorld

2016 joblessness steadies after Q4 spike
THE NUMBER of jobless Filipinos hardly changed last year from 2015, according to a Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey that bared a fourth-quarter reading that was the worst in two years.
— BusinessWorld

Chinese commerce minister abruptly postpones Philippines trip: sources
China’s commerce minister decided at the last minute to postpone an official trip to the Philippines on Thursday to sign about 40 joint projects worth billions of dollars, sources at the Philippines trade and finance ministries said.
— Reuters

China promised Philippines not to build in disputed shoal: Philippines’ FM
Chinese President Xi Jinping promised Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte that Beijing would not build structures on a rocky outcrop in the South China Sea, Foreign Minister Perfecto Yasay said on Thursday.
— Reuters

ADB commits $100 M loan to Phl
The Asian Development Bank has committed to extend to the government this year a soft loan of around $100 million to finance feasibility studies on infrastructure projects, in the Philippines, economic managers said yesterday.
— Philippine Star

Philippines to crack down on spectrum hoarding
The Philippines’ Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) plans to crack down on spectrum hoarders, threatening to recall unused frequencies and potentially auction them to a third or even fourth local player.
– Telecom Asia

Shoppers in Philippines and Thailand are feeling good: Nielsen
Consumers in Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam are feeling confident, but Singaporeans and Malaysians not so much, according to the Nielsen Global Survey of Consumer Confidence and Spending Intentions.
— Campaign

Free tuition pledge under fire in Philippines
Economists have hit out against a new policy that would scrap tuition fees at state universities in the Philippines.
— Times Higher Education

Citi unveils PH’s first digital credit card program
American banking giant Citi has rolled out the Philippines’ first fully digital credit card application and approval program, harnessing technology to scale up its consumer banking business and encourage the shift to digital banking.
— Philippine Daily Inquirer

Peppermint puts foot on the gas in Philippines
Perth financial technology company Peppermint Innovation may have discovered a lucrative new route to market for their interesting mobile bill payment technology.
— The West Australian

Light Reaction launches in Philippines
Light Reaction, the performance advertising business that is part of Xaxis, has launched in Philippines.
— campaign

Feature photo: Maynard Rabanal

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