Philippines Morning News For March 27

PH consumer confidence at lowest level in Q1 2018 on expected commodity price upticks
The Philippine consumers’ confidence dropped to its lowest level in the first quarter of 2018 on expectations of higher prices of goods.
— Philippine Magazine

Consultative panel head: Duterte can’t serve two terms
Consultative committee head Reynato Puno said Monday that President Rodrigo Duterte cannot run for a second term even if the new Constitution would allow a President to serve for two terms.
— CNN Philippines

Old plants, rising demand threaten PH power supply
The country’s aging power plants put the country’s power supply situation at risk, according to the Energy Department and power retailer Manila Electric Co.
— Manila Standard

Megaworld net income up 13.4% to P13.3 billion in 2017
Andrew Tan-led developer Megaworld Corporation saw its bottom line rise in 2017 on strong residential sales.
— Rappler

Inflation concerns weaken consumer sentiment in Q1 2018
Higher prices of goods in the first few months of the year dampened consumer spirits, according to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).
— Rappler

DOH cautions public on heat stroke, dehydration this Holy Week
In the observance of the Holy Week, the Department of Health has urged the public to keep hydrated especially during, as what experts claim to be, the dry season, particularly those who will do their annual rounds of Visita Iglesia.
— Philippine Canadian Inquirer

BSP releases New Generation Currency coins
THE BSP will start releasing the full set of the New Generation Currency (NGC) coins.
— Sun Star

Oil import bill jumps 30% in 2017
The country’s net oil import rose by nearly a third in 2017 due to higher volume and import cost, Department of Energy (DOE) data showed.
— Philippine Star

Gov’t to rebid P2.4.-B public wifi project in April
The government is rebidding part of the P2.4 billion provincial wifi infrastructure network project in April, after determining the valid bids submitted last week only covered 19 out of the total 82 provinces.
— ABS-CBN (video)

Filipina domestic worker wins $828K in back wages from employers
A live-in Filipina domestic employee has won a wage claim of $827,506 against her former employers who had her care for two of their disabled children in addition to doing housework, errands, and cooking, for what amounted to much less than minimum wage.
— Inquirer.net

8990 targets over 15K rooms by 2020
MASS HOUSING developer 8990 Holdings, Inc. is targeting to deliver more than 15,000 rooms under its residential portfolio by 2020 with the ongoing construction of two huge residential projects.
— The Manila Times

Foregone revenues outstrip FDIs
The amount of revenues lost due to incentives was more than double than the actual foreign direct investments (FDIs) that came in in 2016, a report of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Secretariat shows.
— Malaya

CEB posts 10% revenue gain but profit falls 19% to P8 B
Cebu Pacific (CEB) hauled in P68.029-billion revenues for 2017, up 9.9% from the preceding year and netted P7.908 billion earnings, down 18.9% in the same period, as operating expenses shot up 16.6% to P57.895 billion as fuel prices rose and the airline’s capacity increased as it acquired new aircraft.
— Manila Bulletin

Phinma swung to a net loss of P29-milion last year
Phinma Corp. reported a net loss of P29 million in 2017, a turnaround from a profit of P277 million in 2016, due to lower income from core subsidiaries.
— Manila Standard

Peso up vs. USD; PSEi slips on trade war concerns between US, China
The Philippine peso improved against the US dollar Monday but the Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) slipped for the second day in a row on trade war concerns between the US and China.
— Philippine News Agency

MacroAsia 2017 profit breaches P1-B mark
AVIATION-RELATED support services provider MacroAsia Corporation said its net income breached the P1-billion mark in 2017, increasing by 146 percent to P1.1 billion from the P440 million recorded in 2016, on the back of sustained growth in its core businesses.
— The Manila Times

Travellers earnings drop, sees recovery in fourth quarter
Travellers International Hotel Group, Inc. (TIHGI), owner and operator of Resorts World Manila (RWM), reported lower revenues and earnings for 2017 although it noted that its fourth quarter performance has picked up.
— Manila Bulletin

Finance department asks BSP to aid Overseas Filipino Bank’s digital shift
THE FINANCE department has asked the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to pave the way for the shift to a digital banking system for the Overseas Filipino Bank (OFB).
— BusinessWorld Online

Philippines gets 3 planes from Japan, says China still a worry
The territorial dispute with Beijing over the South China Sea remained a security challenge despite an improvement in bilateral ties, the Philippine defense chief said on Monday as he accepted three maritime surveillance planes from Japan.
— The Asahi Shimbun

Bill seeking to stop privatization of government hospitals endorsed for House plenary okay
The House Committee on Health has recently endorsed for plenary approval a measure that seeks to stop the privatization and corporatization of all public hospitals, health facilities and health services in the country.
— Business Mirror

Philippines to patrol disputed shoal despite China protest
CAVITE, Philippines: The Philippine defence chief says the military will continue its aerial patrols of a Chinese-held shoal near the South China Sea despite protests from Beijing over the flights, especially using Japanese-donated aircraft.
— Bangkok Post

House approves funding for war vets’ quadrupled pension
The House of Representatives’ appropriations committee has approved the funding provisions of the measure seeking to quadruple the monthly pension of Filipino war veterans.
— Philippine Daily Inquirer

Radio network orders drug testing for its workers following arrest of volunteer reporter
Following the arrest of a radio reporter for alleged possession of “shabu” (crystal meth), the management of Radyo Bandera Network (RBN) has ordered all its stations and affiliates to ensure that none of its personnel are involved in illegal drugs or other criminal activities.
— Davao Today

Brick-and-Mortar spaces stay relevant in PH retail
THERE remains a healthy play of traditional and online stores in the Philippines today, amid reports that brick-and-mortar outlets are on the way out in other countries.
— Sun Star

Government partially awards T-bills as rates soar
The Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) made a partial award of the P20-billion Treasury bills (T-bills) offered on auction on Monday, as rates rose across all tenors.
— Business Mirror

PSA survey: One in four women experienced spousal violence
ONE IN FOUR WOMEN who have ever been married has experienced physical, sexual, or emotional violence by their husbands and partners, according to the preliminary findings of the country’s latest demographic survey.
— BusinessWorld Online

Philippines: Crack Down on Contracting
The Philippines Government has been stepping up its efforts to crack down “labor-contracting” to protect workers’ rights, as evidenced by the increase in its monitoring and enforcement actions.
— Lexology

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 March 27 added by Stella-maris Ewudolu on March 27, 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.