External debt hits $80B in Q1
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•• 4 SECTIONS PAGES • VOL. 120 NO. 247 24
MONDAY, JUNE 17, 2019
NBI frees WellMed owner THE owner of the Metro Manila clinic at the center of a “ghost dialysis� scam has been freed by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) ahead of the EXPECTED kLING OF FORMAL CHARGES WellMed Dialysis and Laboratory Center’s Dr. Bryan Christopher Sy “was released by the NBI around 10:45 a.m.,� WellMed chief legal counsel Rowell Ilagan said on Sunday. Ilagan said he personally fetched Sy and would now be focusing on his court defense. g7E EXPECT THE CHARGES TO BE kLED IN court by Monday,� he added. Sy, who was detained by the NBI last
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Palace: Cabinet execs to discuss boat sinking Duterte still mum, won’t attend cluster meeting
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WO Cabinet clusters will meet this afternoon to DISCUSS THE SINKING OF A &ILIPINO kSHING BOAT IN disputed waters, Malacaùang said on Sunday in the wake of criticism over President Rodrigo Duterte’s continued silence on the matter.
Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles CLARIkED INITIAL REPORTS THAT $UTERTE had called an emergency Cabinet meeting, telling a radio station that discussions would be limited to the security, justice and peace cluster led BY $EFENSE 3ECRETARY $ELkN ,ORENZANA
and the economic development cluster headed by Finance Secretary Carlos $OMINGUEZ RD !T LEAST TWO #ABINET OFkCIALS INCLUDING ,ORENZANA AND %NERGY 3ECRETARY Alfonso Cusi, were reported earlier in
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Nope, Duterte won’t lose Recto Bank the way Aquino and Del Rosario lost Panatag
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HY? Because he isn’t following the Yellow playbook in dealing with foreign-affairs crises, especially as it involves China. The gall of former foreign affairs secretary Albert del Rosario to tell President Duterte how to deal with the foreign affairs crisis involving the sinkING IN 2ECTO "ANK OF A &ILIPINO kSHING boat by a Chinese vessel, which to him would be for Duterte to hold “China accountable.â€? ÂłTiglaoA4
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FR. RANHILIO CALLANGAN AQUINO
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Tens of thousands of people again rallied in central Hong Kong on Sunday, June 16, as public anger seethed following unprecedented clashes between protesters and police over an extradition law.  AFP PHOTO
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What’s inside HOUSE PROCESSED 2,505 BILLS UNDER ARROYO’S LEADERSHIP NewsA2 THE PRIVATIZATION OF US INDOPACIFIC VISION
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ANGAT LEVEL STILL DROPPING THE water level at Angat Dam has continued to drop despite the onset of the rainy season, the state-run weather bureau said on Sunday. The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said Angat — the primary source of water for Metro Manila — was at 162.82 meters, near the critical mark of 160 meters. Pagasa hydrologist Danny Flores said recent thunderstorms were not enough to replenish the reservoir. “Galing tayo sa dry spell, galing tayo
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DAVIS HEADING TO LAKERS IN BLOCKBUSTER TRADE
PHOTO BY RENE H. DILAN
‘Romeo and Juliet’ director Franco Zeffirelli dies at 96
A PLEA FROM MISS UNIVERSE Entertainment E t t i tD D11
WALLED CITY IMPRESSION
An artist does his entry for the The Manila Times ‘Intramuros on Canvas’ on-the-spot live painting event,which will run from June 12 to June 30 of this year.
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Q Franco Zeffirelli AFP PHOTO
ROME: The world of cinema was in mourning Saturday after Italian film and opera legend Franco Zeffirelli, feted for his lavish productions, died at home in Rome aged 96. The Oscar-nominated director of movies and operas “died serenely after a long illness, which had worsened these last months,� Italian media said, citing family members. “I never wanted this day to come. Fran-
co Zeffirelli departed this morning. One of the greatest men in the world of culture. We join in the grief of his loved ones. Goodbye, dear Master, Florence will never forget you,� tweeted Dario Nardella, mayor of the Tuscan city where Zeffirelli was born. “Deep emotion over the death of the master Franco Zeffirelli,� tweeted Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte after Zeffirelli died
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MONDAY JUNE 17, 2019
Business Times www.manilatimes.net
External debt hits $80B in Q1 BY MAYVELIN U. CARABALLO
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HE country’s outstanding external debt reached $80.431 BILLION IN THE kRST QUARTER OF UP FROM kGURES POSTED THREE MONTHS AND A YEAR EARLIER DATA RELEASED BY THE "ANGKO 3ENTRAL NG 0ILIPINAS "30 SHOWED In a statement, the central bank said the AMOUNT WAS BILLION HIGHER THAN THE $78.960 billion recorded in the last quarter of 2018, largely due to net availments totaling $1.8 billion, “as the national government raised $1.5 billion from the issuance of global BONDS TO FUND ;ITS= GENERAL kNANCING REQUIREMENTS AND POSITIVE AUDIT ADJUSTMENTS u
It is also $7.235 billion higher than BILLION IN THE kRST THREE MONTHS OF last year. The increase was partially offset by the increase in residents’ investments in Philippine debt papers, including government bonds issued offshore.
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BSP sees higher GIR this year THE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) expects an increase in gross international reserves (GIR) this year on the back of its positive OUTLOOK ON FOREIGN PORTlIO INVESTMENT lOWS “In the case of gross international reserves, the projection for this year has been revised upward to $83 billion from $77 billion back in .OVEMBER 4HAT LARGELY RElECTS THE CONTINUED INlOWS THROUGH THE CURRENT ACCOUNT AS WELL AS THE RECOVERY IN PORTFOLIO lOWS u "30 $EPARTMENT OF %CONOMIC 2ESEARCH $IRECTOR $ENNIS ,APID SAID IN A BRIEkNG LAST &RIDAY GIR are foreign assets that are readily available to and controlled by the central bank for
DIRECT kNANCING OF PAYMENTS IMBALANCES AND for managing the magnitude of such imbalances. It consists of holdings of gold, special drawing rights, foreign investments and foreign exchange, including reserve position in the fund. The BSP revised its 2019 projection for foreign PORTlIO INVESTMENTS ALSO CALLED gHOT MONEYu ‡ called as such because of the ease by which these CAN BE TAKEN IN AND OUT OF AN ECONOMY ‡ TO A NET INlOW OF BILLION REVERSING ITS PREVIOUS FORECAST OF A MILLION NET OUTlOW Latest data show that the country’s dollar reserves
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GOCC subsidies up 32% in April GOVERNMENT subsidies received by state-run companies rose to P5.115 billion in April, latest data from the Bureau of the Treasury showed. A total of 21 government-owned and -controlled corporations (GOCCs) received that AMOUNT A PERCENT INCREASE FROM 0 billion a year earlier. The National Irrigation Administration (NIA), which is responsible for irrigation development and management in the country, accounted for the bulk with P3.797 billion. The Philippine Crop Insurance Corp. (PCIC) folLOWED NEXT WITH 0 MILLION 0HILIPPINE 2ICE 2ESEARCH )NSTITUTE WITH 0 MILLION AND THE
.ATIONAL $AIRY !UTHORITY WITH 0 MILLION Others that also received assistance in the month were the Light Rail Transit Authority, !URORA 0ACIkC %CONOMIC :ONE AND &REEPORT Authority, Cultural Center of the Philippines, Credit Information Corp., Center for InterNATIONAL 4RADE %XPOSITIONS AND -ISSIONS $Evelopment Academy of the Philippines, Lung Center of the Philippines, National Kidney and Transplant Institute, Philippine Coconut Authority, Philippine Center for Economic $EVELOPMENT 0HILIPPINE #HILDREN S -EDIcal Center, Philippine Heart Center, Philip-
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SHARES OUTLOOK FOR THE WEEK
Better fundamentals seen to propel trading THE stock market is expected to trade higher this week amid hopes of economic growth supported by improved fundamentals, according to analysts. In a market comment over the weekend, Eagle Equities Inc. research head Christopher Mangun said he expected the market to pick up on hopes of economic growth supported by LISTED kRMS SECOND QUARTER EARNINGS IMPROVED economic fundamentals and higher government spending after the delayed passage of the 2019 budget. “The last two weeks may have been boring,
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but the next two weeks are going to be interesting and I will not be surprised if we see this MARKET EXPLODE TO THE UPSIDE u HE ADDED In the spotlight this week is the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ Monetary Board meeting, but Mangun said he did not expect a reduction in interest rates, given that the policymaking board just reduced key rates by 25 basis points (bps) in their last meeting in May, and reserve requirement ratios had just been cut by 100 bps. “However, if they do reduce rates again…
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Smart health communities DELOITTE W ON THE DOT
HEN w e talk about MARITES health LANDICHO care, we usually associate it with the care and management we receive at hospitals or clinics. We think about doctors and nurses, or having to queue up at the emergency room or even check in for a spell. A significant body of research, however, shows about 80 percent of health outcomes are caused by factors unrelated to the medical system. People’s eating and exercise habits, their socioeconomic status and where they live have a greater impact on health outcomes than health care. If
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