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.

Another rural bank has been shuttered by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, ABS-CBN News reported. The Monetary Board (MB) placed the Rural Bank of Padre Burgos (Southern Leyte), Inc. under the receivership of the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation (PDIC) last September 12. The PDIC took over the bank on September 15. The rural bank's head office is located in Poblacion, Padre Burgos, Southern Leyte. As of June 30, 2014, records showed the bank has 6,120 accounts with total deposit liabilities of P32.6 million.

The biggest political crisis that President Benigno S. Aquino III of the Philippines has faced in four years in power could damage his image as a crusader against corruption and undermine his ability to deliver on overhauls to sustain strong economic growth, the International New York Times reported. The Supreme Court has declared partly illegal a 145 billion peso, or $3.34 billion, economic stimulus fund that Mr. Aquino created in 2011 from budget savings.

The Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) has extended the deadline for its housing loan restructuring program by another six months or until June this year, The Philippine Star reported. In a statement, the state pension fund said member-borrowers with current accounts have until June 30 to avail of the program. Under the program, the GSIS will condone all unpaid penalties and surcharges and grant extended payment terms to qualified applicants.