THE MANILA TIMES | AUGUST 26, 2019

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Govt debt payments up to P83.81B in June »Story on B1 HH

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MONDAY, AUGUST 26, 2019

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G7 to help nations hit by Amazon fires BIARRITZ, France: World leaders at the G7 summit have agreed to help the countries affected by the huge wildfires ravaging the Amazon rainforest as soon as possible, French President Emmanuel Macron said Sunday. “We are all agreed on helping

those countries, which have been hit by the fires as fast as possible,” he told journalists at the summit in the southwestern French resort of Biarritz. Ahead of the gathering, Macron called on world leaders to hold urgent talks on the wildfires ripping

n Façade and lobby of topnotch and expensive law firm she hired. PHOTO FROM THE FIRM’S WEBSITE.

Ressa’s perfidy toward PH exposed

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HE exposé by US broadcast netw o r k CNBC August 19 that Rappler head Maria Ressa had hired a “lobbying juggernaut to take on Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte” has revealed the depths of this woman’s betrayal of her mother county.

RIGOBERTO D. TIGLAO

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Do not blame a lawyer

(From left) European Council President Donald Tusk, Italy’s Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, US President Donald Trump, Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, France’s President Emmanuel Macron and Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel attend a working session on ‘International Economy and Trade, and International Security Agenda’ in Biarritz, southwest France on on the second day of the annual G7 Summit. AFP PHOTO

through the world’s largest rainforest, pledging “concrete measures” to tackle it. Although about 60 percent of the Amazon is in Brazil, the vast forest also

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Chinese ships steer clear of Sibutu Strait BY DEMPSEY REYES

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HINESE warships have stopped passing through Sibutu Strait, the military said on Sunday, days after Malacañang announced that foreign ships must seek permission before entering Philippine waters.

O matter how unpopular a client might be, it is one of the blessings of a system that goes by the rule of law that such a person is entitled to the competent assistance of counsel.

FR. RANHILIO CALLANGAN AQUINO

The military’s Western Mindanao Command (WestMinCom) said no Chinese warship or vessel had been spotted in the strait since August 5. Lt. Gen. Cirilito Sobejana, WestMinCom chief, said the last time a Chinese warship was spotted in the area was on August 4, or two weeks before the Palace announced the new policy on the passage of foreign vessels. In July, two Chinese warships were seen in the strait, Sobejana said. This month, three Chinese warships were

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WINNER World

Boxing Organization interim bantamweight champion Johnriel Casimero (left) throws a left jab at Cesar Ramirez during their world title bout on Saturday night at the San Andres Sports Complex in Manila.

What’s inside GROUP QUESTIONS BFAR’S NewsA2 P520-M ‘AQUA’ BUDGET ANGAT DAM SEEN TO REACH NORMAL LEVEL THIS MONTH NewsA8

WILLIAMS BAN FOR US OPEN UMPIRE AFTER SERENASportsC1 OSAKA

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THE MYSTERIES OF AFRICAN SWINE FEVER OUTBREAKS

EntertainmentD1

BY JOSEF T. RAMOS JOHNRIEL Casimero put up a dazzling show in front of a raucous crowd, which included fellow world champion Sen. Emmanuel “Manny” Pacquiao, before knocking out cold Mexican challenger Cesar Ramirez on Saturday night at the San Andres Sports Complex in Malate, Manila. Casimero, showing some signs of fatigue in the middle and later rounds, went for a left straight before finishing Ramirez with a crisp right hook to the temple to retain his World Boxing Organization (WBO) interim bantamweight title with two minutes and 23 seconds left in penultimate 10th round. In the early rounds, the Ormoc City native aggressively attacked the Mexican challenger with strong jabs and combinations. But the 31-year-old Ramirez refused to engage in the first two rounds, hoping Casimero would get tired first. “Nakapaghanda talaga si Ramirez at hindi siya easy na kalaban kaya dinahan-dahan ko para hindi ako mahirapan (Ramirez was really prepared for the fight and he was not an easy opponent. So, I took it gradually to make it less hard for me to defeat him),” Casimero, 30, told The Manila Times after the fight. Ramirez started to engage in the third and fourth rounds. He was knocked down by Casimero in the third, but immediately got up and tried to convince referee Ramon Pena he suffered a slip, not a knockdown. Casimero tried to end the fight in the fourth round with various combinations, but Ramirez proved to be a tough nut to crack. In the fifth round, Casimero looked a little bit drained and fading, but continued hitting Ramirez.

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DoJ to review implementation of good conduct time allowance

NewsA2 Dan SteinbockA4

APL.DE.AP TO BRING BLACK EYED PEAS TOGETHER FOR SEA GAMES

Casimero knocks out Mexican foe in Manila

REACH US AT: E-mail: newsdesk@ manilatimes.net Tel. Nos.: 524-5664 to 67 Address: 2/F Sitio Grande, 409 A. Soriano Avenue, Intramuros, Manila 1002

THE Department of Justice (DoJ) has created a task force to review the guidelines on the implementation of the good conduct time allowance (GCTA) by the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor). Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said the task force would scrutinize the guidelines on the release of inmates based on Republic Act (RA) 10592 or the GCTA Law. The Justice department moved

to suspend the implementation of the policy because of the furor raised over reports that former Calauan, Laguna mayor Antonio Sanchez could be one of thousands of inmates who would regain their freedom under the GCTA Law. Guevarra said his department would raise the issue before the Supreme Court. “We will surely inform the Supreme Court about the need to temporarily suspend the

processing of GCTAs until the BuCor guidelines have been carefully reviewed by a DoJ task force to be constituted for the purpose. We expect the processing to pick up greater speed once the guidelines have been reviewed and firmed up,” he said on Sunday. “We will fix a definite period, within which to complete the review upon consultation with the BuCoR and other relevant

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What’s inside DMCI SHARES DOWN ON POGO BAN CALL

»Stock WatchB2

4 FIRMS BAG P1.2-B GOVT POWER DEALS

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PHOENIX SEEKS SEC NOD FOR SHARES SALE

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Corporate NewsB4

USAGE OF SMARTPHONES, LTE SIMS UP – SMART

»Corporate NewsB4

3% PH inflation seen in 2019 THE country’s inflation rate is projected to hit 3.0 percent this year, an analyst from Security Bank Corporation said. “For year-end, our projection is 3.0 percent because we operate in ranges. That’s how we do the modelling,” said Security Bank chief economist Dan Roces in an interview. “Our range is actually 2.6 to 3.0 percent but we are calling on the high side, in anticipation of some other (factors). We will never

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DELOITTE ON THE DOT

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MONDAY AUGUST 26, 2019

Business Times

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Govt debt payments up to P83.81B in June BY MAYVELIN U. CARABALLO

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EBT servicing by the national government rose to P83.81 billion in June on the back of higher amortization and interest payments, data released by the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) over the weekend showed.

The June amount was a 172.5-percent increase from P30.75 billion in the same month last year. Amortization expenses, which accounted for 65.2 percent of the total, surged by 717.7 percent to P54.71 billion from P6.69 billion a year ago. No domestic amortization were recorded during the month. Foreign amortization jumped by 740.3 percent to P54.71 billion.

Interest payments, meanwhile, grew by 20.7 percent to P29.06 billion from P24.06 billion a year ago. Domestic interest payments rose to P23.45 billion, while foreign ones surged to P5.64 billion. Year-to-date, debt payments dropped by 7.3 percent to P385.25 billion from P415.89 billion in the same period in 2018.

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SHARES OUTLOOK FOR THE WEEK:

Will CEU allow foreigners Foreign outflow to drag PH bourse in its 9-person board? C TRADING is seen to be weaker this week due to foreign investors possibly selling off their positions and the probable higher tension on the trade spat between the United States and China. While the benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) was slightly up on Friday, AAA Equities head of research Christopher Mangun maintained a bleak outlook this week. “Several factors like ... massive foreign outflows are already holding this market back and with an increase in tensions in this trade war, we will see more investors flee to safe haven assets like bonds and gold,” he explained. Over the weekend, Federal

Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said during the annual conference in Jackson Hole, Wyoming that easing monetary policies were not enough to undo the impact of the trade war in the US economy. Powell, ahead of his key speech, pledged to act to ensure that the US economic expansion continues and made a case for further stimulus in the absence of inflation, but he avoided specific promises, including US President Donald Trump’s call for deep interest rate cuts. Meanwhile, foreign investors fled the market on Friday, ending in a net foreign selling of P539.13 million. “We see investors continue to

look at second-liners and speculative issues as the performance of the recent IPO (initial public offering) has given some optimism that there is money to be made in this market,” Mangun said. He was referring to the market debut of Kepwealth Property Philippines earlier this month. Kepwealth’s stocks climb by P2.28 or nearly 39 percent to close at 8.15 apiece from the opening price of P5.87. For his part, Regina Capital Development Corp. head of sales Luis Limlingan said the stock market might still be “choppy” this week, tracking the outcome of President Duterte and his Chinese

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ENTRO Escolar University Inc. (CEU) has 1,023 Filipinos and eight foreigners as stockholders for a total of 1,031 holders of 372,414,400 common shares out of 800 million authorized capital stock with par value of P1 per common share. In a general information sheet (GIS) for 2019, CEU said it has 1,023 Filipino stockholders who own 371,373,057 common shares. Their ownership represents 99.72 percent of 372,414,400 outstanding CEU common shares. Foreigners account for ownership of 1,041,343 CEU common shares, or 0.28 percent. A Singaporean holds 21,509 CEU common shares, or 0.01 percent, while six Americans own 662,263 CEU common shares. One

stockholder was classified under “others” with 357,571 CEU common shares. The same GIS listed two stockholders — USAUTOCO Inc. with 126,620,891 CEU common shares, or 34 percent, and U.S. Automotive Co. Inc. with 55,963,803 CEU common shares, or 15.02 percent. PCD Nominee Corp. is record stockholder of 89,125,828 CEU

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