Philippines Morning News For June 26

Alibaba Offshoot Trials First Blockchain Remittance to Philippines, Plans Global Expansion
Alibaba subsidiary Ant Financial has trialled its first blockchain remittances, sending a transaction in three seconds, Bloomberg reports June 25.
— Cointelegraph

IFC to Issue Green Bonds Worth $90 Million in Philippines
International Financial Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank group, has issued its first internationally rated triple-A peso-denominated green bond which is equivalent to $90 million.
— Mercom India

Cash remittance of Filipino seafarers may exceed $6B this year – lawmaker
The cash sent home by overseas Filipino seafarers through banks was projected to breach the $6-billion mark this year amid mounting deployment, ACTS-OFW Representative Aniceto ‘John’ Bertiz III said on Monday, June 25, which was also the International Day of the Seafarer.
— Rappler

Structural forex inflows seen rising by 7.2% to $61.3 M
The central bank expects a higher structural foreign exchange (forex) inflows’ growth this year of 7.2 percent or a total of $61.3 billion from $57.2 billion last year.
— Manila Bulletin

Bank’s UITF breaks P1B mark as of April
The BPI Philippine Consumer Equity Index Fund, a unit investment trust fund (UITF) established and managed by BPI Asset Management and Trust Corp. (BPI AMTC), has surpassed the P1 billion level, posting P1.25 billion in total assets as of April 2018.
— Malaya

Oil firms slash P1 per liter off fuel prices
Oil companies slashed pump prices by an average of P1 per liter as oil-producing countries started to increase output.
— Philippine Daily Inquirer

Budget gap eases below target in 5 months
The national government incurred a fiscal deficit of P138.7 billion in the first five months, 32 percent lower than the programmed shortfall of P205 billion, the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) reported yesterday.
— The Philippine Star

Businessmen wary of shift to federalism
Business leaders express their reservations over the Philippines’ proposed shift to a federal type of government.
— ABS-CBN (video)

P4-billion MRT mess leads to graft raps vs Abaya
The Office of the Ombudsman has indicted former Transportation secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya for graft over the anomalous P4.2-billion maintenance contract of the Metro Rail Transit Line 3.
— Manilastandard.net

Piñol signs order setting SRPs on 8 basic food items
Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol signed on Monday an administrative circular setting suggested retail prices (SRPs) on eight basic food items in Metro Manila.
— Manila Bulletin

Unicorns of ASEAN: Revolution Precrafted
A unicorn has finally arrived in the Philippines. In October last year, Philippine-based startup Revolution Precrafted, a company that develops and designs prefabricated homes and hotels among others, raised its series B round of funding co-led by Singaporean venture capital firm K2 Global.
— The Asean Post

Philippine soldiers accidentally kill six police in jungle clash
Philippine soldiers mistakenly killed six police officers and wounded nine on Monday during an operation against Maoist guerillas in thick jungle, an army general said.
— South China Morning Post

AFP: Focused-military ops vs. NPA ‘successful’
The ongoing focused-military operations are proving to be successful against the New People’s Army (NPA) guerillas, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) spokesperson Col. Edgard Arevalo said Monday.
— Update Philippines

Megaworld to open P5-B Savoy Hotel
Top urban township developer Megaworld Corporation is opening its second Savoy Hotel in the 25-hectare Newport City in Pasay City on June 28.
— Manila Bulletin

GSIS to lift waiver on penalties
The Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) starting October 1 will start collecting penalties and surcharges on past due loan accounts of members still in active service.
— Malaya

Research group: More than 5,000 drug-related deaths recorded in first 16 months of Duterte administration
More than 5,000 drug-related deaths had been recorded from May 2016 to September 2017, the first 16 months of the Duterte administration.
— CNN Philippines

Philippines’ Duterte in hot water after calling God ‘stupid’
The Philippine president, notorious for having cursed the pope and world leaders like former U.S. President Barack Obama, has sparked new outrage by calling God “stupid” in Asia’s largest Catholic country.
— Daily Sabah

Karapatan calls for removal of Philippines from UN rights body
The United Nations Human Rights Council should remove the Philippines from its ranks and probe the country for alleged human rights violations, rights group Karapatan said Monday.
— The Philippine Star

Philippines Department of Energy to study geothermal potential on three sites in Benguet Province
As reported this morning, the Philippines’ Department of Energy is set to conduct a study on the geothermal energy potential in three communities in the region of Buguias in Benguet Province.
— Think GeoEnergy

Philippines: 2 Media Workers Shot Dead
Unidentified gunmen shot dead two media workers in separate incidents in the Philippines over the weekend, including one who might have been targeted by sympathizers of the Islamic State (IS), police investigators and a journalists’ union said Monday.
— Benar News

Taiwan may extend no-visa entry for Pinoys
The Taiwanese government eyes to extend the visa-free entry privilege to Filipinos visiting Taiwan, according to Alfred Wang, director of the economic division of the Taipei & Cultural Office in the Philippines.
— Malaya

Globe, partner to help OFWs in HK remit to families in PHL
GLOBE Telecom Inc. has taken its partnership with Ant Financial Services Group to higher heights with the introduction of the “world’s first” digital remittance innovation that allows overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Hong Kong to send money to their families in the Philippines via their mobile phones.
— Business Mirror

Rediscount rates raised after fresh tightening move by BSP
RATES CHARGED on rediscount loans availed by banks have risen beyond the four percent level starting this week, reflecting higher benchmark yields set by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).
— BusinessWorld Online

How PH can rival Vietnam for foreign investments
The Philippines should focus on “rapidly growing” its manufacturing sector to attract foreign investors just like Vietnam, an adviser to the American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines said Monday.
— ABS-CBN

PH to host 26th Pacific Regional Scout Conference
The Philippines will host the 26th Asia-Pacific Regional Scout Conference (APRSC) on October 15 to 20, 2018 at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) in Pasay City.
— The Manila Times

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.

Philippines Morning News For June 26 added by Stella-maris Ewudolu on June 26, 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.