Philippines Morning News For March 6

P56B at stake on Boracay closure; PTAA seeks options
Over P56 billion of tourist spending is at stake during the imminent Boracay Island rehabilitation and restoration, the Department of Tourism (DOT) said.
— Malaya

Business Insider ranks PH as best market to invest in
Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said the country’s strong and solid macroeconomic fundamentals and the government’s fiscal reforms enabled the Philippines to top the list of 20 best countries to invest in this year by American financial and business news website Business Insider.
— Manilastandard.net

Poor families receive tax reform subsidy
The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has started releasing P200 in monthly cash subsidy to an initial 1.8 million households to help families cope with rising prices of basic commodities following the implementation of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion or TRAIN Law.
— Philippine Star

Major shakeup looms over DOH for Dengvaxia mess
The looming reshuffle at the Department of Health (DOH) will affect not only those officials linked to ongoing investigations and controversies.
— Philippine Daily Inquirer

Baguio posts 1.7-million tourist arrivals in 2017
The city government officials reported 1.7-million tourist arrivals in 2017, which is 300,000 much higher than the 1.4-million tourist arrivals in 2016, following the implementation of an approved ordinance mandating all tourism-related establishments in the city to submit to the City Tourism Office their periodic report on tourists patronizing their establishments.
— Manila Bulletin

SMC launches P30-billion bond sale
DIVERSIFIED conglomerate San Miguel Corp. (SMC) announced on Monday the start of the offer period for up to P30 billion worth of fixed rate bonds, raising fresh funds to either refinance debt or invest in its existing businesses.
— Business Mirror

Philippine judge rules out South China Sea gas deal unless Beijing recognises Manila’s sovereignty
Any deal between the Philippines and a Chinese firm to jointly explore for gas on Reed Bank in the South China Sea would be illegal unless Beijing recognised Manila’s sovereign rights there, a Philippine judge said on Monday.
— South China Morning Post

PEZA fears pullout of investors
The removal of incentives could lead to pullout of companies from the Philippines, according to Charito Plaza, director-general of the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA).
— Malaya

Senate adopts resolution expressing its concurrence to ratification of free trade pact
The Senate today adopted a resolution expressing the Upper Chamber’s concurrence to the ratification of the free trade agreement (FTA) between the Philippines and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) states.
— Manila Bulletin

Philippines raises threshold for M&A review
The Philippine antitrust watchdog on Monday doubled the threshold to trigger a review of mergers and acquisitions, in a move seen partly as appeasing big businesses who have complained about how the country’s new competition policy is enforced.
— Nikkei Asian Review

TF seizes P8.2B fake goods in 2017
The inter-agency National Committee on Intellectual Property Rights (NCIPR) has seized P8.2 billion worth of counterfeit and pirated goods in 2017, up nearly 26 percent than the previous year’s record of P6.5 billion, the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) said in a statement.
— Malaya

PH shares slump to 2018 new low ahead of inflation report
The Philippine Stock Exchange Index kicked off the new trading week in negative territory, falling to a fresh low for 2018. Aside from regional political developments, local investors were bracing for Tuesday’s inflation data.
— ABS-CBN (video)

How Marvel illustrator’s Filipino roots influenced ‘Black Panther’ costumes
A Filipino-American Marvel artist made the undaunted female warriors of Wakanda look good while they go at lengths to protect fictional superhero Black Panther.
— CNN Philippines

Philippines government moves to oust Supreme Court’s chief justice
The Philippine government’s legal counsel has asked the Supreme Court to expel the chief justice for allegedly not declaring her assets, in a new attempt to remove the nation’s judicial leader.
— BT

Oil prices rise on second straight week
Local oil retailers implemented a hike in petroleum prices for the second consecutive week as the global market feared a possible trade war after US President Donald Trump said he would impose hefty tariffs to protect US producers.
— Malaya

Top PH conglomerates to invest in data science
Some of the country’s biggest conglomerates have found something in common – they are investing millions of pesos in data science.
— ABS-CBN (video)

RCBC upsizes MTN program to $2 billion to raise more capital
RIZAL COMMERCIAL Banking Corp. (RCBC) upsized its medium-term note program to raise additional capital.
— BusinessWorld Online

Megaworld enters education business
TOWNSHIP developer Megaworld Corp. is venturing into the education business with the launch of a P240-million school in its mixed-use development in Cebu.
— The Manila Times

Feature photo Adam Cohn

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 6 added by Stella-maris Ewudolu on March 6, 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.