News Report
04 September 2019 Local
1. House budget row over; Palace certification expected Manila Bulletin, 04 September 2019, p. 1, continued on p. 8
After the row over the change in the committee referral of the 2002 General Appropriations Bill (GAB) was settled, Rep. Isidro Ungab of Davao City is counting on Malacañang to certify the spending measure urgent to ensure its timely and immediate passage.
Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano assured the public “that budget will be scrutinized but will not be delayed and will be transparent.”
2. Locsin: Rody did not apologize to China’s Xi
The Philippine Star, 04 September 2019, p. 1, continued on p. 6
President Duterte did not apologize when he raised with Chinese President Xi Jinping the 2016 arbitral ruling at a meeting in Beijing last week, according to Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin.
He then said the Chinese side did not reject Duterte when he raised the ruling invalidating China’s excessive and expansive claims in the South China Sea. This contradicted presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo’s statement that the President was “apologetic” in raising the ruling in favor of the Philippines.
Korea - Economic
3. Cavite LGU struggling to build ₱500-B airport Manila Bulletin, 04 September 2019, p. B6
The Cavite provincial government is still struggling to comply with the state’s requirements for its proposal to build the P500-billion Sangley International Airport. The proposal of the Cavite
provincial government was still pending at the National Economic and Development Authority because of alleged incomplete documents, funding source issue and unclear implementing arrangement.
Aside from the Cavite provincial government, Solar Group’s All-Asia Resources and Reclamation Corp. submitted a similar unsolicited proposal to develop Sangley into an international airport in 2016.
4. Foreign business groups back calls for Peza exemption from Citira Philippine Daily Inquirer, 04 September 2019, p. B4
The Joint Foreign Chambers of the Philippines (JFC)) is asking lawmakers to exempt the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (Peza) from a move to rationalize tax incentives. In a statement, the JFC said it was supporting calls to exempt Peza from House Bill 4157, also known as the Comprehensive Income Tax and Incentive Rationalization Act (Citira).
The Peza is specifically opposing the bill’s provision that will remove the 5-percent gross income earned (GIE) tax that companies in ecozones pay in lieu of local and national taxes.
