Philippines Morning News For July 5

Philippines, ADB sign MoU on 7.1 bln USD lending pipeline for 2019 to 2021
The Philippines and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) covering an indicative 7.1 billion US dollars sovereign lending program to the Philippines from 2019 to 2021, the Manila-based bank said on Wednesday.
— Global Times

Franchising to hit $24B in revenues by ’20
The Philippine franchising is set to become a $24-billion industry by 2020, a 32 percent jump from $18.1 billion from 2017.
— Malaya

Philippines pushes for “pragmatic direction” in RCEP deal
The Philippines is pushing for “pragmatic direction” in negotiating the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) deal, urging RCEP members to be more “realistic than idealistic,” said a press release by the Department of Trade and Industry of the Philippines on Wednesday.
— Xinhua

At a glance: Taxes in the Philippines
The Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) law has, since January this year, jacked up or introduced excise taxes on fuels, cigarettes, sugary drinks, automotive vehicles, and other goods.
— The Business Times

Government spending P56-billion monthly in ‘Build, Build, Build’ —Dominguez
Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said Wednesday the economy is expected to grow 7 percent or faster over the medium term as the government increases spending for the ‘Build, Build, Build’ infrastructure program.
— Manilastandard.net

PCW receives P2M check from PCSO’s GBP program
Under PCSO’s 2018 Annual Gender and Development Plan and Budget (GPB), agency officials led by Chairman Anselmo Simeon Pinili turned over two checks for a total amount of P2 million to the Philippine Commission on Women (PCW) on June 20 at the 4th Floor, Sun Plaza Building, Mandaluyong City.
— The Manila Times

Philippine mayors seek return of police powers
An organization of town mayors on Wednesday sought a dialogue with President Rodrigo Duterte following a series of killings of town mayors, including one who he had stripped of police powers for alleged links to the illegal drug trade.
— Anadolu Agency

GSIS hikes overseas investments to USD1.1-B
State pension fund Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) has committed to increasing its investments abroad to USD1.1 billion (over PHP58.3 billion) to diversify its portfolio and generate greater income.
— Philippines News Agency

Nueva Ecija gov’t offers P1-M reward for intel on mayor’s killing
The Provincial Government of Nueva Ecija on Wednesday offered a P1-million reward to whoever can provide information that would lead to the arrest of the suspects in the killing of Mayor Ferdinand Bote.
— CNN Philippines

Firm to track SMEs’ credit standing
Credit reporting firm TransUnion is keen on establishing the first directory for credit standings for small and medium enterprises in the Philippines.
— Malaya

House bill proposes stiffer fine, penalty on plastics use, improper waste disposal
AS the Philippines, along with China, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam, earned its uncomplimentary tag as a major plastic waste polluter, a lawmaker has filed a bill imposing a Plastic Bags Deterrence Fee of at least P20, and a heavy fine of up to P500,000 for every single day of violation.
— Business Mirror

Demand for term deposits soars
DEMAND SOARED for term deposits offered by the central bank this week, accompanied by a surge in yields to hover close to four percent.
— BusinessWorld Online

BPI postpones peso cash deposit, withdrawal fees to January 2019
The Bank of the Philippines Islands (BPI) announced on Wednesday, July 4, that it would move the implementation of peso cash deposit and withdrawal fees from September 2018 to January 2019.
— Rappler

AlloyMTD of Malaysia investing P1.5-billion in Palayan IT park
Malaysian conglomerate AlloyMTD and the city government of Palayan agreed to develop a P1.5-billion information technology park in the capital of Nueva Ecija province.
— Manilastandard.net

SC affirms withholding tax on gov’t workers’ bonuses, fringe benefits
The Supreme Court (SC) affirmed the regulations issued by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) stating that fringe and small value benefits received by government workers are subject to withholding tax.
— Northbound Philippines

Product selling generates P753,000 in sales; Capitol eyes daily agri fair
PARTICIPATING upland and coastal farmers associations in Negros Occidental have generated P753,828 in total sales through People’s Organization (PO) Product Selling held at the Provincial Capitol grounds in Bacolod City until Saturday, June 30.
— Sun Star

DBCC tasks BIR, Customs to raise P3 trillion in 2019 to fund infra program
The inter-agency Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) expects the collections of the government’s two main tax agencies would breach the P3-trillion mark next year to support the country’s ambitious infrastructure plan.
— Manila Bulletin

FAO: Importation a boost to food security in PH
The Philippines and Indonesia are expected to report the largest improvement in food security in the whole Asean region over the next decade, according to the latest outlook from the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO).
— Philippine Daily Inquirer

Starting a business under the new Ease of Doing Business Law
Know how the process of starting a business works under the new Ease of Doing Business law which was passed in May.
— ABS-CBN (video)

More power cooperatives hike performance ratings
More electric cooperatives (ECs) under the supervision of the National Electrification Administration (NEA) have improved their performance and are fully compliant with key performance standards (KPS) in 2017.
— The Philippine Star

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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 5 added by Stella-maris Ewudolu on July 5, 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.