Philippines Morning News For June 19

Goodbye Panatag Shoal, Hello Huangyan Dao? (HD video)
A ground-swell of discontent is gaining momentum in the Philippines to President Rodrego Duterte’s apparent preparedness to surrender control of Scarborough Shoal (Panatag Shoal or Bajo de Masinloc) to China (who call it Huangyan Dao), with calls for Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) vessels to be sent to protect fishermen.
— AEC News Today (video)

Government loses P51-billion ill-gotten wealth case vs Marcos, cronies
THE Supreme Court (SC) has junked the government bid to collect P51 billion in damages against the estate of the late strongman former President Ferdinand E. Marcos Sr. and his cronies for allegedly conniving to acquire ill-gotten wealth through behest loans.
— Business Mirror

OFW remittances hit $2.35 billion in April 2018
Cash of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) sent through banks stood at $2.35 billion in April 2018, according to Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) data released on Monday, June 18.
— Rappler

P8.1-billion barangay health station project scam uncovered
Alleged irregularities in a project of the Department of Health (DOH) involving the construction of 5,700 barangay health stations in public schools across the country have been uncovered.
— Philippine Star

QC dads approve P12-million for elders’ pneumonia shots
The Quezon City Council has approved a P12-million allocation to fund free anti-pneumonia shots for the city’s 375,000 registered senior citizens.
— Manilastandard.net

PLDT to raise $400M for 2019 obligations
TELCO giant PLDT Inc. is looking to raise $400 million to finance obligations that are maturing next year.
— The Manila Times

Moral Politics in the Philippines: Inequality, Democracy and the Urban Poor
Moral conflicts are the core of divisions in Philippine politics. This is the argument Wataru Kusaka offers in his latest book, Moral Politics in the Philippines: Inequality, Democracy and the Urban Poor.
— New Mandala

Philippines strikes down order expelling Australian nun
The Philippine justice department on Monday struck down an order for the deportation of an Australian nun after she joined a political rally, sparking celebrations among her supporters.
— Bangkok Post

PH building Batanes shelter for fishers
Before any dispute erupts over an uninhabited island in northern Philippines, the government is building a shelter for fishermen on Mavulis Island — the northernmost of the Batanes Islands — to assert the country’s sovereignty, a military official said on Monday.
— Philippine Daily Inquirer

Clashes in southern Philippines displace over 700 families: military
Government troops clashed with pro-Islamic State militants in Lanao del Sur province in southern Philippines, forcing more than 700 families to flee home, a military officer said on Monday.
— Xinhua

MSME loans under CSF program reach P5 billion
Total loans approved by banks to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) under a credit enhancement scheme has reached P5 billion a decade after it was launched, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said.
— Philippine Star

Duterte: ‘No outright seizure” in Chinese coast guard getting catch of Filipino fishermen
For the first time, President Rodrigo Duterte talked about reports of Chinese coast guard personnel allegedly stealing the catch of Filipino fishermen in Scarborough Shoal.
— CNN Philippines

Duterte wants China out of West Philippine Sea, but no war
President Duterte wants China out of the Philippine-claimed areas in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea), but yesterday reiterated he would not declare war over the maritime row as Beijing is not a pushover that can be scared easily.
— Philippine Star

Overseas firms in PH seek exemption from US-China trade war
Philippine manufacturers affected by the US-China trade war are seeking exemption from the imposition of higher tariffs, according to Trade and Industry Secretary Ramon M. Lopez.
— Manila Bulletin

2 Filipina housemaids found dead
Two Filipina housemaids were found dead in Lebanon and in Saudi Arabia last week, according to the Philippines’ Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).
— Gulf News

SC to hear arguments on same-sex marriage
The Supreme Court (SC) will hear oral arguments on Tuesday on a petition that seeks to allow same-sex marriage in the Philippines.
— ABS-CBN

T-bill rates end mixed, 91-day papers swamped
Short-dated securities during yesterday’s auction fetched mixed results as investors asked for higher rates ahead of the Monetary Board’s policy meeting this week, the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) said.
— Philippine Star

Piñol seeks nearly P2-B budget for SAAD in 2019
After being cited by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) as one of the successful programs of the Department of Agriculture (DA), Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol now wants to inject more funds into the Special Area for Agricultural Development (SAAD) program, or even double it for the succeeding years.
— Manila Bulletin

[OPINION] Why is the Philippine peso the weakest in ASEAN?
On June 14 the Philippine peso reached a new record low: trading closed at P53.3 per US dollar, the weakest it has been in 12 years.
— Rappler

Gov’t sets P10 minimum fare for modernized jeepneys
THE Department of Transportation (DoTr) has issued the fare structure for the modernized public utility jeepneys (PUJs), setting a P10 charge for the first four kilometers and P2 for every kilometer thereafter.
— BusinessWorld Online

Manila North Harbour to become an international port
Tycoon Ramon “RSA” Ang is excited about his partnership with fellow billionaire and ports tycoon Enrique Razon to redevelop the country’s biggest domestic port, the Manila North Harbour Port Inc.
— Philippine Star

NBI nabs 2 suspects in killing of US Marine
The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) on Monday presented two persons implicated in the 2012 killing of United States Marine George Anikow in Makati City.
— Philippine News Agency

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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.

Philippines Morning News For June 19 added by Stella-maris Ewudolu on June 19, 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.