News Report 29 April 2019 Local
1. Xi-Duterte meeting frank, substantive, productive - Esperon Manila Bulletin, 29 April 2019, p. 1, continued on p. 4
The meeting here between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte was the best among all bilateral talks between the two leaders for being “very frank, substantive, and productive,” according to National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon Jr. He further said that President Duterte was “very firm in taking care of our national interest” when he tackled the West Philippine Sea (WPS) concerns.
Esperon declined to comment about Xi’s response to Dutete’s statement about the arbitral ruling, saying he was not authorized to speak for the Chinese leader. He then said that even as the country continues to assert its rights over the territory, he maintains that the Philippines’
relations with China “do not start and end” with the South China Sea issue.
2. Phl has hidden quake faults
The Philippine Star, 29 April 2019, p. 1, continued on p. 8
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) warned yesterday there are still many undetected active faults in the country that could trigger deadly earthquakes like the one that hit Central Luzon last week. Science Undersecretary and Phivolcs director Renato Solidum Jr. issued the warning as he reiterated the agency’s call for Filipinos to always be prepared for earthquakes.
3. PH readies new rules for foreign workers Philippine Daily Inquirer, 29 April 2019, p. A4
A high-level inter-agency government committee — created two weeks ago to address illegal foreign labor in the Philippines — had mapped out a new framework for the issuance of special working permits (SWPs) and alien employment permit (AEPs), according to Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III.
The new rules will require foreign workers to obtain a tax identification number (TIN) before they can get the AEP from the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), Bello said. This is to ensure that they would pay the appropriate taxes, addressing concerns on tax leakage raised by Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III.
Korea
4. Zero duty for Korean cars likely under planned bilateral FTA Manila Bulletin, 29 April 2019, p. B3
Trade and Industry Undersecretary Ceferino S. Rodolfo told reporters they are closely studying South Korea’s request for zero duty for its cars and auto parts exported from Korea to entice Korean car companies to choose the Philippines as location for their electric vehicle assembly, and production hub for e-motors and batteries.
Aside from e-vehicles, Rodolfo said the DTI is pushing for additional market access for bananas by removing the 30 percent tariff on the country’s banana exports under the bilateral FTA regime.
Economic
5. Ayala to put up 1st Phl-Sino industrial park The Philippine Star, 29 April 2019, p. B4
The Ayala Group is pioneering the first ever industrial park for Chinese manufacturers that want to set up shop in the country according to chairman Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala. The planned Philippines-Sino industrial park is envisioned to be a sprawling 200-hectare estate for Chinese manufacturing giants, to be developed within the next few years in Central Luzon, possibly in Pampanga.
