Philippines

The Court of Appeals (CA) has directed the Philippine government to proceed with the payment of P3.9 billion in pension benefits to retired members of the defunct Integrated National Police (INP), The Philippine Star reported. In an eight-page decision issued last Dec. 12, the Special 14th Division of the appellate court ordered the full implementation of a 2016 CA decision for the release of benefits to the INP retirees by the Philippine National Police (PNP) and Department of Budget and Management (DBM).

Rodrigo Duterte was sworn in as Philippine president more than two years ago on a promise to be different from his predecessors. Like them, however, he is proving vulnerable on inflation and that will prove a challenge for his legislative agenda, the Financial Times reported. FTCR’s Economic Sentiment Index for the Philippines dropped to 48.9 in the second quarter, marking the first time consumers have turned pessimistic since the fourth quarter of 2015, and since Mr Duterte took office in June 2016.

The Philippine economy grew less than expected in the second quarter amid rising inflation, according to figures released on Thursday. The Philippines’ gross domestic product rose 6 per cent year on year in the three months through June, well short of the 6.7 per cent median forecast from a Reuters poll of economists and down from revised first-quarter GDP growth of 6.6 per cent, the Financial Times reported.

Listed Philippine Telegraph & Telephone Corp. (PT&T) is poised to implement a capital restructuring plan that would settle long-running obligations ahead of the entry of a foreign strategic partner, Inquirer.net reported. A key feature of the plan, according to PT&T chief operating officer Miguel Bitanga, is the conversion of its creditors into preferred shareholders, which was outlined under the company’s court-mandated rehabilitation. This was linked to a series of steps, including increasing PT&T’s authorized capital.

The central bank has placed the New Rural Bank of Binalbagan (Negros Occidental) Inc. under receivership of the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. (PDIC). Under Monetary Board (MB) Resolution No. 1002.A dated June 9,2016, the PDIC was named receiver, effectively taking over the bank on June 10. The office address of the bank was registered at National Highway, Barangay Progreso, Binalbagan, Negros Occidental. This comes after the MB decided to prohibit the rural bank from doing business and to place its assets and affairs under receivership.

The Philippines’ new finance secretary appointed by the hard-nosed incoming president, Rodrigo Duterte, has vowed that the new government won’t destroy the economic gains of the outgoing Aquino administration, but will work to spread them to ordinary Filipinos, The Wall Street Journal reported. “We are here to build on, not destroy, those gains,” said Carlos Dominguez, who last served as minister two decades ago. He currently owns the Marco Polo Hotel in Davao City on southern Mindanao island, where his childhood friend, Mr. Duterte, is the longtime mayor. Mr.

The Monetary Board last week ordered the closure of two rural banks—one in Camarines Sur and the other in La Union, Inquirer.net reported. In a Dec. 10 circular, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Deputy Governor Nestor A. Espenilla Jr. said the Monetary Board had decided to prohibit Peñafrancia Rural Bank of Calabanga (Camarines Sur) Inc. from doing business in the country. Also, the rural bank’s assets and affairs were placed under receivership pursuant to Section 30 of Republic Act No. (RA) 7653 or The New Central Bank Act, Espenilla said.

The Monetary Board placed the Surigaonon Rural Banking Corporation under the receivership of the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation (PDIC) by virtue of an MB resolution dated April 23, Minda News reported. As receiver, PDIC took over the bank the following day. Surigaonon Rural Banking Corporation is a 10-unit rural bank with head offices located at the junction of Rizal and Gemina Streets in this city. It has another branch in the city, and in the cities of Tacloban, Cagayan de Oro, Davao and Butuan.

International Monetary Fund Chief Christine Lagarde lamented last week that the world has “too little economic risk taking, and too much financial risk taking.” In the Philippines, there might be both, Bloomberg News reported. Companies in the Southeast Asian nation eager to make acquisitions and capital investments are piling on foreign debt, in the process leaving the economy vulnerable should emerging-market currencies get roiled again.