BUSINESS NEWS
12
PHILIPPINE ASIAN NEWS TODAY March 1 - 15, 2019
El Niño damage to agriculture
now tops P460 million
The agriculture sector already
incurred as much as P464.2 million
worth of damages and losses due to
drought being experienced in some
parts of the country.
The Department of Agriculture’s
(DA) Field Programs Operational
Planning Division report showed
that the weak El Niño the country
is experiencing right now has so far
damaged as much as P464.27 million
worth of agriculture products.
Right now, production loss
stands at 22,918 metric tons (MT),
while affected area is around 13,679
hectares, affecting 16,034 farmers
and fisherfolks.
Affected regions are MIMAROPA,
Zamboanga Peninsula, Zamboanga
del
Sur,
Northern
Mindanao,
Davao Region, Soccsksargen, and
Maguindanao.
The Philippine, Atmospheric,
Geophysical
and
Astronomical
PNT Foreign Exchange
$1.00 Cdn = P 39.41 Php
$1.00 US = P 51.79
€1.00 EUR = P 58.92
D1.00 BHD= P 137.39
R1.00 SAR = P 13.81
Services Administration (PAGASA)
has released an advisory last week
which indicated a weak El Niño and
below normal rainfall in the coming
months.
Bureau of Soils and Water
Management (BSWM) and Philippine
Air Force in Regions II, MIMAROPA,
VII, and XII already conducted Joint
Area Assessment for pre-cloud
seeding operations. The conduct
of cloud seeding operations was
¥1.00 JPY= P 0.47
recommended in Regions II and XII,
which are scheduled between March
14 to May 21, 2019.
Right now, DA is currently
monitoring water quantity and quality
(fisheries) in vulnerable areas, while it
already prepositioned seed reserves
for rice and corn.
The agency’s Philippine Crop
insurance Corp. (PCIC) was likewise
instructed to immediately release
crop insurance payments to insured
farmlands that will cover up to 100
percent of damage. (M.B. Miraflor,
mb.com)
GOOD NEWS! PAL IS EXTENDING ITS ANNIVERSARY SEAT SALE!
Philippine Airlines wants you to
‘fly the flag’
Due to insistent public demand,
the Philippine flag carrier Philippine
Airlines has extended its 78th
anniversary seat sale for seven more
days—from March 11 to 17—with
an additional one million seats up for
grabs.
PAL’s biggest seat sale, with
an initial offer of two million seats,
started last March and was slated to
end March 10.
With the additional 1 million seats,
the seat sale will enable more travel
aficionados to avail of the best buys
as low as P78 for domestic and as low
as $78 for international routes.
Passengers can book until March
17 for a flying period that covers the
rest, from March 16 all the way to
Dec. 31.
The record sale campaign signals
the determination of the four-star-
rated flag carrier to woo more first-
time travelers as well as seasoned
ones to “fly the flag” and enjoy
PAL’s full-service travel experience,
which offers free inflight meals, free
checked-in baggage, and free inflight
entertainment.
“PAL, the Philippines’ only four-
star full service airline, encourages
Filipinos to fly the way they deserve
and discover all the perks of flying
with a world-class legacy carrier at
surprisingly affordable fares,” said PAL
marketing VP Ria C. Domingo. “We
invite them to take advantage of the
special offers in our 78th anniversary
sale, our biggest sale for the year,
where we offer deep discounts across
our Economy, Premium Economy,
and Business Class cabins, on
flights to domestic and international
destinations. Passengers can book
these fares online, in any PAL ticket
office, PAL contact center or any PAL
accredited travel agency.”
For the 78th anniversary sale,
PAL has provided more than two
million seats to fill up the flights
across its growing network of over 30
domestic and over 40 international
destinations. The airline has recently
announced opening more non-
stop flights in the ASEAN region.
w w w. phi l i ppi ne a i r l i ne s . c o m /e n/
promotions/78thAnniversarySale
(mb.com.ph)
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RCBC hits back at Bangladesh Bank over heist claim
Rizal Commercial Banking Corp.
(RCBC) has filed a lawsuit accusing
Bangladesh’s central bank of
defamation, hitting back at what it says
are baseless claims of its complicity in
the world’s biggest cyber heist.
In February 2016, criminals used
fraudulent orders on the SWIFT
payments system to steal $81 million
from the Bangladesh central bank’s
account at the Federal Reserve Bank
of New York.
The money was sent to accounts
at RCBC and then vanished into the
casino industry in the Philippines.
RCBC said its reputation had
come under a sustained “vicious and
public attack” by Bangladesh Bank.
It is seeking at least P100 million in
damages.
“Bangladesh Bank has embarked
on a massive ploy and scheme to
extort money from plaintiff RCBC
by resorting to public defamation,
harassment and threats geared
towards destroying RCBC’s good
name, reputation, and image,” it said
in a statement yesterday, citing the
civil court filing on March 6.
It said the motive was to get
RCBC to return money it neither had,
nor owed.
Bangladesh Bank declined to
comment.
The lawsuit is the latest in a slew
of barbs and blame-trading between
the two banks.
Last month, the Federal Reserve
said it had agreed to help Bangladesh
as it sues to recoup losses from the
heist, offering “technical assistance”.
SWIFT also agreed to help the bank
rebuild its infrastructure after the
breach.
Bangladesh Bank filed a lawsuit
in the US District Court in Manhattan
earlier this year, accusing RCBC of
involvement in a massive conspiracy
to steal its money.
A hunt for the culprits has made
WWW.PHILIPPINEASIANNEWSTODAY.COM
little progress and Bangladesh Bank
has managed to get back roughly $15
million, mostly from a Manila gaming
junket operator.
In the first conviction in the case,
a Philippine court in January found a
former RCBC bank branch manager,
Maia Deguito, guilty on eight counts
of money laundering.
Deguito was sentenced to between
32 years and 56 years in jail, and was
ordered to pay a total fine of about
$109 million, although she remains
free on bail pending appeal. ( Reuters,
Malaya)
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