Inflation seen easing to 2.3% in July – economist »Story on B1 HH
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PCSO ‘cheated’ govt – Palace BY RALPH U. VILLANUEVA
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HE Philippine government was “cheated” of its rightful share by the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) and that prompted President Rodrigo Duterte to stop the lottery and other games being operated by the charity agency, Malacañang said on Sunday.
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So Duterte’s not a populist after all, huh?
HE political opposition most likely rejoiced over President Duterte’s veto last week of Congress’ purported “anti-endo” bill, as it gave them ammunition in their propaganda that he is “anti-people,” the communists’ formulaic allegation against him. äTiglaoA4
RIGOBERTO D. TIGLAO
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NDRRMC sees ‘long operations’ in Batanes
IRST, i t amaze s me how Congress can act so lawlessly, because we are in fact under a treaty obligation not to impose the death penalty. We acceded to the Second Optional Protocol to the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights that prohibits us from imposing the death penalty. äAquinoA5
FR. RANHILIO CALLANGAN AQUINO
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Tolentino PH Olympic Committee president
HEARTBREAK
This was the scene that greeted President Rodrigo Duterte when he flew to Batanes on Sunday — damaged houses and structures that crumbled from the strong quakes. This photo was shared by Sen. Christopher Lawrence ‘Bong’ Go to the media.
Why I am against the death penalty...
Palace spokesman Salvador Panelo said the agency did not fully remit to the government its “rightful share” from PCSO-sanctioned games such as lotto, small town lottery (STL), Peryahan ng Bayan and Keno, among others.
THE National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) sees “long operations” in Batanes, which was rocked by a series of earthquakes and aftershocks on Saturday. NDRRMC spokesman Mark Timbal on Sunday said search and rescue operations would shift to providing assistance to affected residents and restoration
PHILCYC L I N G president Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino was elected the new Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) president on n PhilCycling Sunday, best- president Abraham ing Philip- ‘Bambol’ Tolentino. pine Amateur CONTRIBUTED T r a c k a n d PHOTO Field Association president Philip Ella Juico in a close battle at the Century Park Hotel in Manila. Tolentino, also the congressman of
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What’s inside CAYETANO SEES ‘HEALTHY’ DEBATE ON DEATH BILL
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THE KILLING MACHINE IN NEGROS ORIENTAL
Duterte pledges P40M for new Batanes hospital PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte on Sunday vowed to allot P40 million to build a new hospital in Batanes. The President and Sen. Christopher
Lawrence “Bong” Go, along with local government officials and heads of concerned national agencies,
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SMB COACH AUSTRIA EXPECTS EXPLOSIVE GAME 2 VS ROS
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WILCON DEPOT OPENS 2ND OUTLET IN ANTIPOLO CITY
YASSI WANTS OUT OF COCO-JULIA ISSUE
EntertainmentD1
Wilcon Depot, the Philippines’ leading home improvement and construction supply retailer, recently opened its second store in Antipolo City. The store’s launch was attended by (from left) Pacific Paints Philippines President Willy Ongsue; Evergreen Manufacturing Corp. President Jerry Tiu; Wilcon Depot founder and Chairman Emeritus William Belo; Wilcon Depot President and Chief Executive Officer Lorraine Belo Cincochan; Antipolo City Second District Rep. Resureccion Acop; Antipolo City First District Rep. Roberto Puno; Nina Ynares, representing Rizal Gov. Rebecca Ynares; Rizal Vice Gov. Reynaldo San Juan Jr.; Mariwasa Siam Ceramics President Jakkrit Suwansilp; Matimco Inc. President Charlie Liu; San Isidro, Antipolo Vice Mayor Josefina Gatlabayan; San Isidro, Antipolo City counsel Susan Say; and Philippine Basketball Association player for team Rain or Shine Maverick Ahanmisi.
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What’s inside AUTHOR OF RICE TARIFF LAW GETS FARMERS’ IRE
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JOLLIBEE SHARES DIP AFTER COFFEE BEAN PURCHASE Stock WatchB3
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RFM EYES DOUBLE-DIGIT PROFIT GROWTH THIS YEAR Corporate NewsB4
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BELLE CORP.’S H1 PROFIT DOWN 11%
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MONDAY JULY 29, 2019
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Inflation seen easing to 2.3% in July – economist BY ANNA LEAH E. GONZALES
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NFLATION likely decelerated further to 2.3 percent in July from 2.7 percent the month before on the back of lower food and oil prices, according to an economist.
In a report over the weekend, Security Bank Corp. chief economist Robert Dan Roces said “[d]omestic prices of basic goods and services are expected to have felt the benefits of a strong peso throughout
the month, which made imported raw materials cheaper to buy.” Prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages were also lower last month, he added, noting that the “restrictions and
resulting supply pressures in pork imports from African swine flu (ASF) high-risk countries might not have affected the index as much when these were offset by lower prices in other major foodstuffs, notably rice.” Electricity prices also went down in July as the Manila Electric Co. slashed rates by P0.107 per kilowatt hour in July — a downward adjustment from May’s P0.57/ kWh — on the back of lower transmission charges for residential consumers. “Moreover, pump prices of gasoline went
down with falling global prices due to fears of weakening demand and supply surplus,” Roces said, adding that the “price of Brent [was] already at [the] $63-per-barrel level from June’s $66.55 per barrel.” The report comes after the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said early this month that consumer price growth in June eased from 3.2 percent in May, and was the lowest posted since August 2017’s 2.6 percent. Earlier, members of the interagency
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SHARES OUTLOOK FOR THE WEEK MJIC should name DoF foreign ‘group’ hopeful PSEi to seek path from Fed meet M for more ‘sin’ taxes THE Department of Finance (DoF) is hopeful that the 18th Congress would continue to approve additional “sin” taxes after the signing into law of Republic Act 11346 that imposes higher taxes on cigarettes and a new tax on electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) and other alternative devices for smoking. In a statement on Sunday, the department quoted Secretary
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THE stock market is expected to seek direction this week from a series of macroeconomic events, including the US central bank’s monetary policy meeting and the release of more first-half earnings results. Online brokerage firm 2tradeasia.com said in a market comment over the weekend that market players would look out for cues on the US Federal Reserve’s Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting on July 30 and 31, where a quarter-point rate cut is expected. “Decisions that might defer a
rate cut could douse off market expectations,” it added. This meeting coincides with the resumption of trade talks between Washington and Beijing in the Chinese city of Shanghai, with US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer leading the American delegation. On the local front, companies that are scheduled to announce January-to-June earnings results are Manila Electric Co., Aboitiz Equity Ventures Inc., AboitizPower Corp., Metro Pacific Investments Corp. and Ayala Corp.
“These firms [make up] 23.2 percent of the PSEi (Philippine Stock Exchange index) basket, and any indicative trend of stronger quarter-on-quarter results would support the case for improved valuations on target prices,” 2tradeasia.com said. Also this week, the PSEi is expected to hover above the 8,200 level, especially on monthend window-dressing. “For now, some might be prompted to go on ‘hiatus mode’ with the onset of…Ghost [Month, to last from] August 1 to 29,” 2tradeasia said.
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JC Investments Corp. (MJIC) has authorized capital stock (ACS) consisting of 5 billion common shares with par value of P1 per share. It has 432 stockholders who own 3,174,405,821 common shares. Of these stockholders, 396 Filipinos hold 3,173,286,319 MJIC common shares as of July 2019, according to the company’s general information statement (GIS). Of MJIC’s 432 stockholders, 36 are foreigners who hold 1,119,502 common shares. Of these aliens, 12 are American, 12 are Chinese, one is British, and six are Swiss. Five stockholders are classified under “others”, who own 1,080,449 MJIC
common shares. Manila Jockey Club Inc. is MJC’s top stockholder with 708,160,137 common shares, or 22.308 percent. Its holdings include common shares lodged with PCD Nominee Corp., which holds for beneficial owners 438,106,901 common shares, or 13.801 percent.
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