Philippines Morning News For July 25

Duterte seeks laws to curb Philippine inflation, spread wealth
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has asked lawmakers to pass legislation that will help restrain inflation and spread wealth and power beyond the capital region.
— Bangkok Post

CEZA to open 20,000 fintech jobs
The Cagayan Economic Zone Authority (CEZA) said about 20,000 jobs in financial technology (fintech) will open up as soon as it awards the initial 25 principal licenses to be made available to qualified fintech companies.
— Philippine News Agency

Record 207 environmental activists killed last year
More than 200 environmental activists were murdered last year as government-sponsored killings linked to lucrative projects by vast agriculture multinationals soared, a global rights watchdog warned on Tuesday.
— ABS-CBN News

Philippines’ DOE sets Q4 domestic ethanol allocations 10% lower than Q3 at 103,613 cu m
The Philippines’ Department of Energy has set local monthly allocations, or LMAs, for domestic ethanol production at 103,613 cu m for the fourth quarter of this year, a source with a major Philippine oil company told S&P Global Platts Monday.
— S&P Global Platts

Joint Foreign Chambers pushes easing of restrictions for foreign investors
Foreign business groups are pushing for a further easing of restrictions for foreign investors through amendments to the Constitution, and release of the Foreign Investment Negative List (FINL) every three years instead of two, to allow the country to attract more foreign direct investments (FDIs).
— The Philippine Star

Philippines’ Department of Science and Technology to strengthen science, technology and innovation for Industry 4.0
The forum aims to inform and educate participants on significance of STI and highlights importantance of various sectors in society in creating and sustaining innovation ecosystems.
— Open Gov

DPWH to give original proponent status to MPT South for P22.43-billion CTBEx
THE public works department has scheduled for Thursday the award of the original proponent status to Metro Pacific Tollways South Corp. (MPT South) of the P22.43-billion Cavite-Tagaytay-Batangas Expressway (CTBEx) unsolicited proposal.
— Business Mirror

Duterte stab at human rights triggers uproar
Caloocan Bishop Pablo Virgilio David has criticized President Rodrigo Duterte for pitting human rights against human lives in his third State of the Nation Address as he promised to continue a “chilling” anti-drug campaign.
— Manilastandard.net

$3.7-B subway project ready for Swiss challenge
A $3.7-billion Makati subway system proposed by IRC Properties Inc. under a joint venture with the Makati city government will be up for a Swiss challenge or price competition soon.
— Philippine Daily Inquirer

PSBank starts P15-billion LTNCD offer
Philippine Savings Bank (PSBank) is initially raising at least P3 billion in the first tranche of its fund raising activity after getting the approval of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) for its P15-billion long-term negotiable certificates of time deposits (LTNCDs) offering.
— The Philippine Star

NEA: P1.3B extended to co-ops in H1
THE National Electrification Administration (NEA) granted loans worth P1.294 billion to at least 46 electric cooperatives in the first half of 2018 for their electrification and rehabilitation projects.
— The Manila Times

Demand for HR roles strongest in The Philippines
Across Southeast Asia, The Philippines has shown the strongest growth in online hiring for HR and Admin professionals for the months of April and May 2018.
— HRM Asia

Agriculture group says rice tariffication law will increase rice prices
In his third State of the Nation Address, President Rodrigo Duterte issued a warning against unscrupulous businessmen who manipulate rice prices.
— ABS-CBN News (video)

SC: No P1.5 trillion IRA arrears to LGUs
The national government does not have to shell out around P1.5 trillion to comply with a Supreme Court (SC) ruling increasing the internal revenue allotment (IRA) of local government units (LGUs).
— The Philippine Star

Labor Market Trends in the Philippines
The Philippines is among Asia’s premier labor markets. The country houses a large and growing young population with a median age of 23, a vital demographic advantage that can be leveraged with proper investments in education and infrastructure.
— Asean Briefing

An island in the Philippines hopes for peace but braces for war
After years of bloodshed, the southern Philippine island of Mindanao is on the verge of a hard-won peace deal granting greater autonomy to minority Muslims.
— Irin News (multi-media)

Rodrigo Duterte commits to war on illegal drugs in Philippines State of the Union address
Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte says he will not be stopping the war on drugs that has resulted in thousands of extrajudicial killings, saying while his critics’ “concern is human rights, mine is human lives”.
— ABC News

Coast Guard Auxiliary donates 31K cc of blood
The Philippine Coast Guard Auxilliary NCR-CL headed by its District Auxilliary Director Commodore Manny Idquival recently held its second mobile bloodletting activity conducted by the Philippine Red Cross Pasay City Chapter at the Asian Institute of Maritime Studies campus in Pasay City.
— Manilastandard.net

Fiscal incentives biased for big companies–DOF
A COST-benefit analysis by the Department of Finance (DOF) revealed that micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) are at a disadvantage as they have to compete for fiscal incentives with bigger firms that, ironically, enjoy various tax holidays, among others.
— Business Mirror

Gloria as speaker long overdue – lawmakers
SPEAKER Gloria Macapagal Arroyo basked in her successful bid to take the leadership of the House of Representatives on Tuesday, with her allies saying they had waited long enough for her to replace Davao del Norte Rep. Pantaleon Alvarez.
— The Manila Times

Inflation to peak at 5.3% in July; peso rate to persist at mid-P53
Inflation rate would likely hit 5.3 percent in July – the probable peak this year – while the peso is seen staying at P53-level for awhile and triggering another central bank rates’ increase, economists said.
— Manila Bulletin

DICT Chief: 5 telco firms showed interest in being 3rd PH player
The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) said around five firms have shown interest in entering the duopoly of the Philippine telecommunications market.
— CNN Philippines

Philippines to push Islamic finance in Muslim province
The development agency of the Philippine’s southernmost province of Mindanao is eager to use Islamic finance vehicles to fund infrastructure projects in the region where about one fifth of the 25.5mn-population identifies itself as Muslim.
— Gulf Times

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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 July 25 added by Stella-maris Ewudolu on July 25, 2018
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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.