Inbound Philippine Foreign Investments Plummet as Industry Roars (video)
In a warning sign for the Philippine economy inbound foreign investment pledges in the first quarter of 2018 plummeted to their lowest level in 31 quarters while exports, which remained in the red for the full period, racked up a 6.8 per cent contraction.
— AEC News Today (video)
PH among 10 worst countries for workers’ rights, study says
The Center for Trade Union and Human Rights (CTUHR) on Monday affirmed the result of a study presented by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), saying that the Philippines, under the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte is among the 10 worst countries for workers’ rights.
— Davao Today
Duterte urged to sign mental health bill into law
In light of the recent suicide cases involving international celebrities, Senator Risa Hontiveros on Wednesday urged President Rodrigo Duterte to sign into law the Mental Health Act which seeks to provide help to Filipinos suffering from depression and other mental health issues up to the community level.
— PTV News
Duterte gives additional P4 B to DTI’s P3 program
To arrest the rising prices of basic food commodities in the market, President Rodrigo Duterte ordered the immediate replenishment of Department of Trade and Industry’s (DTI ) budget for Pondo sa Pagbabago at Pag-asenso (P3) program.
— Manila Bulletin
Gov’t universities sign on to terms of free tuition law
PRESIDENT Rodrigo R. Duterte on Wednesday witnessed the ceremonial signing of the memorandum of agreement (MoA) between the Commission on Higher Education (CHEd) and state and local universities and colleges, thereby launching the implementation of Republic Act 10931, which provides for free tuition at these schools.
— BusinessWorld Online
5 minors posing as OFWs stopped from leaving Philippines
FIVE minors who falsified their documents and posed as adults eligible to work abroad were barred from leaving the country on Tuesday, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) said in a statement.
— Philippines Magazine
Australian man, Filipina co-accused get life sentence for qualified trafficking
A local court in Cagayan de Oro has convicted an Australian national and his accomplice on Wednesday for sexual abuse of minors and for filming his acts and selling them to his clients abroad.
— Philippines Magazine
Taus: PH difficult to sell to foreign investors
On this week’s “Outside Looking In,” we talk about the Philippines’ trade deficit, and how the local manufacturing industry catch up with its ASEAN peers.
— ABS-CBN (video)
Duterte won’t stop TRAIN
Suspending or scrapping the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) law will undermine the delivery of basic services, President Duterte said yesterday as he defended the implementation of the controversial tax measure, widely blamed for soaring prices of commodities.
— Philippine Star
DTI allows 90 days for ease of doing business IRR approval
THE Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said it is fast-tracking the drafting of the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) for the newly signed Ease of Doing Business law and has a 90-day timeline for its approval.
— BusinessWorld Online
The Philippines plans to give its community leaders free handguns to fight drugs and crime
The Philippines’ interior ministry said on Wednesday it plans to acquire pistols for community leaders willing to fight crime and drugs, prompting concern it could fuel even more violence in the country’s notoriously bloody crackdown.
— Business Insider
PH not vulnerable to China military attack, says former SolGen
The Philippines does not have to go to war and it will not be vulnerable to an attack by China even if Filipinos assert their rights in the West Philippine Sea, according to former Solicitor General Florin Hilbay.
— Philippine Daily Inquirer
SEC approves P1-billion preferred shares offering of Now Corp.
THE Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Wednesday approved the P1-billion preferred shares offering of Now Corp., a company that has voiced its intentions of becoming the country’s third telecommunications player.
— Business Mirror
Group challenges PH withdrawal from ICC
A second petition challenging the constitutionality of President Duterte’s notice of withdrawal of the Philippines’ membership in the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court was filed with Supreme Court yesterday.
— Tempo
Study confirms higher risk of dengue in kids who got Sanofi vaccine
An analysis of data on Sanofi’s dengue vaccine, which has been given to more than 800,000 school children in the Philippines, confirms it increases the risk of hospitalization and severe dengue in those who had never previously been infected with the mosquito-borne virus.
— Business Insider
Electronics industry eyes 10% corporate tax – Seipi
THE Semiconductor and Electronics Industries in the Philippines Foundation Inc. (Seipi) is seeking for the sector a corporate income tax (CIT) lower than that proposed under the second package of the government’s Comprehensive Tax Reform Program.
— The Manila Times
Banks ready to fund infrastructure projects—BDO Capital
Banks are ready to come in and finance the Duterte administration’s ambitious “Build, Build, Build’ infrastructure projects should they encounter any “funding delays,” according to a high-ranking official of BDO Capital and Investment Corp., the investment banking unit of BDO Unibank Inc., the largest lender in the country.
— Manilastandard.net
Gov’t to impose SRPs on rice, vegetables, fish next week
To protect consumers from overpricing, Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol said on Wednesday that suggested retail prices (SRPs) will be imposed starting next week on rice, fish, and vegetables.
— Manila Bulletin
Gov’t partially awards seven-year bonds
THE GOVERNMENT made a partial award of reissued seven-year Treasury bonds (T-bonds) on Tuesday even as the rate inched higher as concerns on inflation lingered ahead of the policy meeting of the US central bank.
— BusinessWorld Online
Woman, son yield P163 million shabu in tea bags
Anti-narcotics operatives confiscated at least P163 million worth of high-grade shabu packed in Chinese tea bags from a 61-year-old woman and her son during a drug bust in Manila on Tuesday night.
— Philippine Star
BIR exceeds collection target for January-May 2018
For the first five months of the year, the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) collected PHP827.91 billion. This is PHP24.91 billion more or 3.10 percent higher than the goal of PHP803 billion set for the period.
— Philippine News Agency
Duterte hits priests anew but denies persecuting them
President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday denied persecuting priests, amid the killings of three clergy members in six months.
— CNN Philippines
P300,000 reward for info on journalist’s killers
CASH amounting to P300,000 will be awarded to those who can provide information on the killers of journalist Dennis Wilfredo Denora in Panabo City, Davao de Norte.
— Sun Star
Filipino Fast-Food Chain Jollibee To Open 100 Stores In Canada In Next Five Years
Popular Filipino fast-food chain Jollibee Food Corp. has announced that it will open 100 stores in Canada within the next five years.
— Baystreet.ca
Feature photo Brian Evans
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.
Stella-maris Ewudolu
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.
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