Philippines Morning News Roundup For March 6

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.

Phl factory revival on its way, says BOI
The Philippines’ manufacturing revival will be in full swing this year as the Board of Investments (BOI) expects the share of manufacturing projects in the agency’s total approved investments to double.
— Philippine Star

Moody’s expects January factory data to reflect demand recovery
FACTORY OUTPUT likely remained robust in January, riding on strong global demand that helped keep manufacturing growth at double-digit pace, Moody’s Analytics said in a report.
— BusinessWorld

Plot to oust Duterte during SONA brewing
GROUPS plotting against President Rodrigo Duterte are busy recruiting officials in government to join a planned mass resignation as part of a bigger scheme to destabilize the administration, Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano claimed on Sunday.
— Manila Times

US tags PHL as ‘major’ dirty money site
THE PHILIPPINES remained a “major” site for money laundering in 2016, the US State Department said in a report, citing last year’s $81-million cyber heist, an ongoing drug problem and a number of businesses that have been kept out of regulatory scrutiny.
— BusinessWorld

Banks prepare for higher interest rates
Investment banks are anticipating a shift in monetary policy by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) with the impending rate hike in the US this month.
— Philippine Star

Customs moves to put a lid on fuel smuggling
President Duterte made it clear from the very start: he is going to eradicate corruption, crime and criminality in his six years in office.
— Philippine Star

Chinese tourists boost visitor arrivals in Philippines
CHINESE tourists helped power the 16.5-percent increase in visitor arrivals in the first month of 2017.
— BusinessMirror

Moderate aftershock in Philippines kills one, hurts 25
A moderate earthquake of magnitude 5.9 hit the Philippines on Sunday, killing a woman and hurting 25 people, the Philippine seismic agency and a provincial governor said.
— Reuters

Philippine military plans acquisition of missile system
In 2015, the Armed Forces of the Philippines and Department of National Defense prioritized the procurement of force protection equipment, radios, marksman rifles, and night fighting systems for the Philippine Army shelving the proposed acquisition of the PhP6.5 billion worth missile system.
— Update Philippines

Concession fee prepayment costs TransCo P26 B
State-run National Transmission Corporation (TransCo) suffered gigantic losses of P26.07 billion in revenues on the P57.883 billion concession fees (CF) prepayment made by concessionaire National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) back in 2013.
— Manila Bulletin

Gina L. charged with P1-b graft
ENVIRONMENT Secretary Regina Lopez is facing criminal and administrative charges before the Office of the Ombudsman for allegedly covering up past wrongdoings of her trusted lieutenants who favored a supplier involving a questionable project worth P1 billion.
— Manila Standard

Philippines’ President Duterte set to visit UAE in May
The Philippines’ President Rodrigo Duterte is set to visit the UAE sometime around May.
— Khaleej Times

Feature photo: Asian Development Bank

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