Philippines Morning News For September 20

Ompong death toll anticipated to be over 100; US sends aid
THE DEATH toll in the Philippines from typhoon Ompong (international name: Mangkhut) has climbed to 81 and could hit triple digits as searchers dig through a landslide where dozens are presumed dead, authorities said Wednesday.
— BusinessWorld Online

PH traffic may worsen, to cost ₱5.4 billion daily – JICA
The economic cost of traffic congestion may rise.
— CNN Philippines

ADB approves USD 300 mln loan to expand financial services in Philippines
The Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) Board of Directors has approved a $300 million loan to support the Philippine government’s effort to expand financial services across the country, especially among entrepreneurs, small businesses, farmers, workers, and individuals, including women and vulnerable households.
— Devdiscourse

Duterte signs EO reverting NFA back to Agriculture Dept.
The National Food Authority (NFA) is now back under the supervision of the Department of Agriculture (DA) .
— CNN Philippines

Typhoon Mangkhut: Embassy offers financial aid for some Filipino expats in Oman
Overseas Filipino Workers based in Oman who were stranded because of Typhoon Mangkhut will receive a compensation of $100, the Philippines Embassy in Muscat announced.
— Times of Oman

PHL posts $1.27-billion BOP surplus, its first for 2018
THE country’s dollar transactions with the rest of the world made a turnaround in August from its consistent deficit this year, as the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported a surplus in the country’s balance of payments (BOP) position.
— Business Mirror

Gov’t to gain P5.3-B for hiking processed meat tariff
An industry group said the government will gain some PHP5.3 billion in revenues if it will increase the tariff on mechanically deboned meat (MDM), or the raw materials used for processed meat products, to 40 percent from the current 5-percent rate.
— Philippine News Agency

World Bank emergency loan facility for PHL to expire end-September
THE Philippines has less than two weeks to tap a $500-million loan facility from the World Bank that it can use for the rehabilitation of areas devastated by Typhoon Ompong (international code name Mangkhut).
— Business Mirror

CoA: Less than 1 percent of ODA loans used in 2017
The Commission on Audit said only P299.7 million of the P74.8 billion net loan commitments for the 10 ODA loans contracted in 2017 were used by the government, leaving an undrawn amount of P74.55 billion.
— The Manila Times

PSA: Farmgate palay price soars to P23/kg
THE farmgate price of palay (unmilled rice) rose to P23.04 per kilogram last week, a 1.32-percent increase from the P22.98 posted in the first week of September and a 17.43-percent surge from the amount a year ago, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said.
— The Manila Times

Banks crowd week-long term deposits ahead of rate hike
BANKS SWARMED the week-long deposits offered by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) yesterday and shied away from longer tenors under the facility ahead of an expected rate hike next week.
— BusinessWorld Online

N. Vizcaya reports P25.3m worth of damages to roads and bridges
Typhoon ‘Ompong’ has left at least P25.3 million worth of damages to provincial roads and bridges in the province, officials here said.
— Manilastandard.net

DBM earmarks ‘flexible’ loan facility for farmers
The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) has allocated a fund that will provide flexible non-collateralized production loans to farmers.
— Manila Bulletin

Chelsea proposes P49-billion spending for Davao airport
Dennis Uy’s Chelsea Logistics Corp. and Mega7 Construction Corp. have committed to invest some P49 billion and P12 billion, respectively, under their revised unsolicited proposals to operate, maintain, and expand provincial airports in Visayas and Mindanao which are currently under evaluation by the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP).
— The Philippine Star

Security Bank raises $300 M
Security Bank Corporation has raised $300 million from the issuance of 4.50 percent Senior Unsecured Fixed Rate Notes due September 2023 as a drawdown of its $1-billion Medium-Term Note Program.
— Manila Bulletin

Neda: PHL could gain P42 million from trade war
THE Philippine economy stands to gain $42.2 million annually from the ongoing trade war between the United States and China between 2018 and 2022, according to the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda).
— Business Mirror

DBP sets P2-billion credit line for uniformed personnel
State-owned Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) has granted a P2-billion credit line to one of the largest cooperatives in the country for relending to its members composed mainly of members of the military, a top official said.
— The Philippine Star

Landslide hits village in Naga City
A landslide struck Sitio Sindulan, Barangay Tinaan in this city early Thursday, police said.
— ABS-CBN

Gov’t aid to college students cut by P3.2B
Most of the more than 350,000 tertiary students receiving stipends from government are expected to lose the lifeline next year as the budget for the “Tulong Dunong” program has been drastically cut to P1.1 billion from P4.1 billion.
— Philippine Daily Inquirer

Philippines’ Cal-Comp delays $125 million IPO due to market conditions
The Philippine unit of Taiwan’s New Kinpo Group said on Wednesday it postponed an initial public offering (IPO) valued at up to 6.77 billion pesos ($125.2 million), the latest firm to delay its debut on Southeast Asia’s worst performing bourse.
— Reuters

Sister Patricia Fox testifies vs Duterte gov’t before int’l tribunal
Australian nun Patricia Fox testified against the Duterte government before an international tribunal on Tuesday, narrating the political persecution she experienced.
— Philippines Magazine

Philippine officer says villagers refused his advice to flee Mangkhut
A Philippine police officer who tried to persuade residents of a mining camp to move to safety as a powerful typhoon approached said Tuesday they refused to leave, and a day later the storm triggered a huge landslide that buried dozens of people.
— The Star

Philippines vegetable prices skyrocket after typhoon ‘Ompong’
Benguet Provincial Agriculturist, Lolita Bentres, and Benguet Farmers Marketing Cooperative general manager, Augusta Balanoy, said the very high price of vegetables is due to the impassable roads, but assured there is an ample supply of highland vegetables.
— Fresh Plaza

Philippines posts dollar inflow surplus in August
Dollar inflows outnumbered outflows in the Philippines for the first time this year in August, helping boost the country’s declining foreign reserves being used to stop the peso from plummeting.
— The Philippine Star

Makati court orders TV network to authenticate Trillanes amnesty report
A Makati court ordered TV station GMA Network News TV to authenticate its report on Senator Antonio Trillanes IV having availed of amnesty and admitting to “breaking rules” when he staged a mutiny.
— CNN Philippines

DOE pushes oil, gas exploration in PH with new contracting round
The Department of Energy (DOE) is set to conduct a series of roadshows to help boost the exploration of oil and gas resources in the Philippines under the DOE’s Philippine Conventional Energy Contracting Program (PCECP).
— Philippine Information Agency

Government to push for investment in mini-power grids in 3-day forum
THE Department of Energy and the Alliance for Rural Electrification with the support of the European Union and the Philippine National Electrification Administration, will continue to strongly promote opportunities for investment in renewable-energy mini-grids.
— Business Mirror

Online hiring remains robust in July 2018
Online hiring activity in the Philippines continued to soar in July amid a decline in recruitment activity in the business process outsourcing (BPO) sector, according to employment website Monster.com.
— The Philippine Star

ABS-CBN sites hacked; customer data stolen
NEWS and entertainment giant ABS-CBN took down two of its online shopping sites on Wednesday, confirming reports they were hacked and that customer payment data might have been breached.
— The Manila Times

Paolo Duterte files second libel complaint vs Trillanes
Former Davao City vice mayor Paolo Duterte filed his second libel complaint against Senator Antonio Trillanes IV on Wednesday, September 19, with the Office of the City Prosecutor in Davao City.
— Rappler

Missing mayors amid ‘Ompong’ face dismissal
The Interior department on Wednesday threatened to impose the maximum penalty—dismissal from office—on mayors who were absent from their posts during the critical stages of Typhoon “Ompong.”
— Manilastandard.net

Gov’t bond sale eases 8-month dollar outflows from PH
The Philippine economy continued to spend foreign currency faster than it could earn it in the first eight months of the year, but this balance of payments deficit narrowed due to inflows in the month of August, the central bank said on Wednesday.
— Philippine Daily Inquirer

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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 September 20 added by Stella-maris Ewudolu on September 20, 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.