WE TELL IT LIKE IT IS Phil. Copyright 2002 WEATHER FORECAST Vol. 18 No. 157 August 17, 2017 METRO MANILA 26°C to 33°C CEBU 25°C to 32°C The Nation DAVAO 25°C to 33°C s COA rejects DSWD’s Taguiwalo BIR forms special team for Bautista Currency Currency 1 Peso in COUNTRY couple tax violation probe in Peso in US$1 Currency Sunvar Realty to vacate Mile Long US (dollar) 51.2170 1.0000 0.0195 property Duterte wants joint exploration with Japan (yen) 0.4628 0.0090 2.1608 China UK (pound) 65.9214 1.2871 0.0152 Hong Kong (dollar) 6.5466 0.1278 0.1528 The Economy and Business China (yuan) 7.6603 0.1496 0.1305 Canada (dollar) 40.1576 0.7841 0.0249 BSP allays concerns as peso skids to Australia (dollar) 40.0415 0.7818 0.0250 fresh 11-year low ssss New Zealand (dollar) 37.0504 0.7234 0.0270 Stocks stay above 8,000 ahead of GDP results EMU ( eur o) 60.1134 1.1737 0.0166 No TRAIN, no Build Build Build -—- DOF PESO-DOLLAR RATE \ 30 trading days to August 16, 2017 Open: P 51.450 Corporate Briefs Close: P 51.350 AirAsia plans to return to Clark by 51.50 January 51.00 High: P 51.300 MPIC improves offer for MRT-3 rehab 50.50 SPAVI to accelerate PH store expansion 50.00 Low: P 51.600 49.50 49.00 W.A.: P 51.438 48.50 Vol.: $ 824.70 Mn PSE COMPOSITE INDEX Open: 8,015.69 30 trading days to August 16, 2017 s High: 8,082.49 8,400 8,200 Low: 7,996.01 8,000 7,800 Close: 8,046.59 7,600 7,400 Vol.: 1.540 Bn s Val.: P 12.738 Bn Disclaimer: The articles in this Daily News have been culled from various media sources. We cannot, therefore, vouch for the accuracy of what is reported. For more information on the WBF, you can call 810-96-06 to 09,1 or visit our website at www.wallacebusinessforum.com. The Nation COA rejects DSWD’s Taguiwalo Lawmakers of the Commission on Appointments (CA) rejected the appointment of President Rodrigo Duterte’s Social Welfare secretary after more than a year in office, marking the 4th exit from his Cabinet this year and the 3rd on the CA’s watch. Judy Taguiwalo, a left-wing activist who was jailed during the 1970s martial-law era of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos, failed to acquire the 13 votes needed to get approval by the 24-member commission. Ms. Taguiwalo’s appointment had been bypassed 5 times. It was not immediately clear why she was rejected, but speculation had been rife that her future was in doubt after the near-collapse of Pres. Duterte’s peace process with communist rebels, which was one of his top objectives when he took office. Ms. Taguiwalo was nominated to the post by the outlawed Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP). BIR forms special team for Bautista couple tax violation probe Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) Commissioner Caesar Dulay has created a special team to investigate possible violations of the National Internal Revenue Code by Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chair Andres Bautista and his wife Patricia Bautista, along with lawyer Nilo Divina and the Divina Law Firm, and the Luzon Development Bank (LDB). In a letter addressed to Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II, Comm. Dulay said he has assigned Glen Geraldino, director of BIR Revenue Region 8-Makati City, as coordinator of the special team. It was stated in the letter that the coordinator is authorized to call on other revenue officers for any assistance and to secure necessary and pertinent tax documents at the bureau. The investigation is in connection with the allegations of Mrs. Bautista that the Comelec chair has ill-gotten wealth, which are not indicated in his Statement of Assets and Liabilities. Sunvar Realty to vacate Mile Long property Sunvar Realty Development Corp., the property company of the Rufino and Prieto families, would vacate the Mile Long property in Makati City, in compliance with an order of the Makati City regional trial court (RTC). The company received from the RTC last Aug. 15, a notice to vacate the Mile Long property, the mixed-used development along Amorsolo Street. The eviction notice was issued after the Court of Appeals on Aug. 14 directed the RTC to enforce a 2015 decision of the Metropolitan Trial Court (MeTC) of Makati Branch 61, which ordered Sunvar to vacate Mile Long and pay back rentals. “While Sunvar has appealed the MeTC decision, it is committed to abiding by the legal process. In accordance with that commitment, Sunvar will comply and vacate Mile Long,” Sunvar legal representative Alma Mallonga explained. Sunvar and the tenants have 3 days upon receipt of the notice to vacate the property. Duterte wants joint exploration with China President Rodrigo Duterte wants the country to enter into joint exploration with China in both disputed and undisputed areas in the West Philippine Sea, Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano said. Sec. Cayetano also added that the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) is verifying the information of Magdalo Party-list Representative Gary Alejano about Chinese vessels massing near Pag-asa Island off Palawan, which is occupied by Filipino soldiers and civilians. Regarding the joint exploration activities, Sec. Cayetano assured the nation that these would “conform with our national laws, the Constitution and Supreme Court cases and rulings on the matter.” “No national territory or sovereignty will be lost. We will not give even an inch of territory to them,” he explained. Sec. Cayetano stressed that the joint exploration and development projects could be for oil, natural gas, marine life and other natural resources. The Economy & Business BSP allays concerns as peso skids to fresh 11-year low There is no fundamental reason to panic as the peso continued to weaken against the dollar due to the rising tension between the U.S. and North Korea as well as the projected deficit in the country’s current account (CA), the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) or central bank said. The peso lost one centavo to close at 51.35 from Tuesday’s 51.34 to $1. This is the weakest level for the peso since closing at 51.38 to $1 on Aug. 25, 2006. The peso opened weaker at 51.45 before hitting an intraday low of 51.60 to $1. Volume turnover rose to $824.7 million from $659 million last Tuesday. BSP Governor Nestor Espenilla Jr. said the recent depreciation of the peso against the dollar partly reflects market concerns on the expected deficit in the country’s CA balance despite the fact that macroeconomic fundamentals remain sound. Stocks stay above 8,000 ahead of GDP results The stock market managed to stay above the 8,000 level yesterday ahead of the release of 2nd quarter gross domestic product (GDP). The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) stayed above the 8,000 mark but was unable to reach a new high, closing at 8,046.59, down 37.18 points or 0.46% while the broader All 2 Shares gauge gained 21.36 points or 0.45% to finish at 4,751.09. As for the rest of the counters, it was a solid green day with all sectoral indexes closing in positive territory. Among the different counters, the mining and oil index booked the biggest gains, rallying 2.38% as did the industrial counter which rose 1%. No TRAIN, no Build Build Build -—- DOF The government may not be able to fund about half of the budget needed for its massive infrastructure program, dubbed ‘Build Build Build’, if the proposed tax reform bill is not passed into law, the Department of Finance (DOF) said. During a Senate Committee on Appropriation hearing, DOF Secretary Carlos Dominguez said the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion Act (TRAIN) plays a crucial role in generating funds for the government’s infrastructure program which is expected to require up to P9 trillion in investment until 2022. “It’s very important. Without the TRAIN, we will probably not be able to fund half (of the program),” Sec. Dominguez said, adding that the infrastructure program “will not continue as projected. (It will be reduced) by less than half.” Corporate Briefs AirAsia Inc. is planning to return to Clark International Airport by January 2018...The return to Clark comes ahead of the budget carrier’s plan to have 70 planes in 10-15 years... AirAsia president CEO Dexter Comendador said the company is looking to prioritize flights with high utilization in Clark, particularly flights to Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia; Hong Kong; and Singapore...Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) has submitted to the Duterte administration a much improved unsolicited proposal to rehabilitate and improve Metro Rail Transit 3 (MRT-3) which includes a 2-year moratorium on fare increases...MPIC president and CEO Jose Ma. Lim said the revised proposal is way better than the previous one...“There will be no increase for at least 2 years and the investments we committed more than doubled (to P12 billion),” Mr. Lim said...Shakey’s Pizza Asia Ventures Inc. (SPAVI) said it can exceed its full-year target of 20 store openings by the end of 2017, after it opened on Wednesday the 200th store under its portfolio...“The guidance we gave was at least 20 new stores (this year). I think at least it is safe to say now that we would exceed 20, whether we do 25-28 is still up in the air.