THE MANILA TIMES | AUGUST 14, 2019

House probe on ATM fee hike eyed

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WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 14, 2019

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Israel deports Filipinos Not just ROTC, but mandatory military service to strengthen the nation

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ERUSALEM: Israel had started expelling overstaying Filipino workers, a children’s rights group and authorities said on Tuesday, hours Rosemarie Perez and her Israeli-born teenaged son were deported when 11th hour legal appeals failed.

Some 600 workers from the Philippines face deportation over a loss of residency status, activists say.

They include those who breached the conditions of their residency by starting families in the country.

Perez was arrested by immigration officials along with

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FIND it astonishing that commentators with doctorates in political science who oppose the revival of mandatory college-based military training (Reserve Officers’ Training Corps or ROTC), miss one of the most important reasons why this is necessary. äTiglaoA5

THE Philippines has the highest death rate from dengue among countries in Southeast Asia, the Department of Health (DoH) said on Tuesday as it warned that the number of victims of the mosquito-borne disease had grown exponentially in the past few weeks.

Health Secretary Francisco Duque 3rd said dengue cases increased 300 percent in Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore and Lao People’s Democratic Republic. Cases in the Philippines and Malaysia grew by 100 percent.

But the case fatality rate (CFR) or deaths was highest in the Philippines, which reported 720 deaths as

Marcos asks SC to admit evidence on poll fraud

äEvidenceA2

PH could win 30th SEA Games crown – sports exec

BY JOSEF T. RAMOS THE executive director of the Philippine Southeast Asian Games Organizing Committee (Phisgoc) on Tuesday said he believes that the Philippines, the host country, could win the overall championship of the 30th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games set from November 30 to December 11.

äDeportsA2

DENGUE DEATHS IN PH HIGHEST IN ASIA – DUQUE

RIGOBERTO D. TIGLAO

THE Supreme Court (SC) on Tuesday was asked by former senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to set his case for immediate hearing and present his evidence on alleged election fraud committed by the camp of Vice President Maria Leonor Robredo in the May 2016 elections.

her 13-year-old son Rohan last week for remaining in the country illegally.

They were taken to Ben-Gurion airport near Tel Aviv on Sunday night after an appeals court upheld their deportation, Beth Franco of the United Children of Israel (UCI) association said.

SWAMPED

A doctor attends to a young dengue patient confined at the Dasmariñas public hospital in Cavite. Health officials expect the number of dengue cases to soar further in October.

PHOTO BY RENE H. DILAN

äHighestA2

What’s inside HOUSE PANEL OKS BILL RAISING ALCOHOL EXCISE TAX NewsA2 US SETS NEW VISA RULES FOR POOR MIGRANTS WorldC3

THE POOR MAN AND THE SEA Marlen RonquilloA4

Malacañang warns vs travel to Hong Kong MALACAÑANG on Tuesday urged Filipinos to avoid visiting Hong Kong for now amid ongoing unrest there.

Palace spokesman Salvador Panelo issued the advice, as hundreds of flights were canceled on Tuesday while airport

protests continued.

“This is not the right time to go there kasi ‘yung flight mo biglang naka-cancel (because your flight will be canceled),” Panelo said. “Avoid muna

äWarnsA8

äSEA GamesA2

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MAYWEATHER BEGINS TRAINING FOR POSSIBLE PACQUIAO REMATCH

SportsD1

DISCOVERING ‘JOHN DENVER’ EntertainmentE4

NO GO

A traveller shouts while holding her luggage as she tries to enter the departures gate area at Hong Kong’s international airport on Tuesday.

AFP PHOTO

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House probe on ATM fee hike eyed

BY GLEE JALEA

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EMBERS of the House of Representatives are considering to investigate the looming increase in automated teller machine (ATM) fees after monetary authorities lifted last month the moratorium on such a hike that had been in place since September 2013.

Rediscount availments up ninefold in Jan-July AVAILMENTS of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) peso rediscount facility increased to P116.57 billion in the first seven months of the year, according to data released on Tuesday.

The amount was nine times more than the P10.614 billion borrowed in the same period a year ago.

The bulk of it — 64.93 percent

— were classified as other credits by the central bank. The loans were used for capital asset expenditures (40.27 percent), loans to other services (20.56 percent), permanent working capital (4.05 percent) and housing loans (0.05 percent).

The rest — 35.06 percent — were classified as commercial credits, with loans for importation

äAvailments B5

POGO hubs secure Finance dept’s support THE country’s offshore gaming industry has secured the support of the Department of Finance (DoF) for the creation of information technology (IT) hubs that would act as one-stop shops for workers and regulators in the sector.

According to state-owned Philippine Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor), these hubs are intended to host service

providers that cater to Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs) with the ultimate goal of enhancing the government’s monitoring capabilities and the industry’s regulatory compliance.

In a recent interview, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez 3rd said he welcomed the move, adding that it would “easier to collect

äSecure B4

Bourse dips on tensions in Hong Kong, Argentina THE stock market closed in the red territory on Tuesday as political tensions in Hong Kong and Argentina soured investor sentiment.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index dipped by 0.84 percent or 65.94 points to finish at 7,788.45, while the wider All Shares slid by 0.88 percent or 41.89 points to 4,742.22.

“Riots in Hong Kong have escalated, with protesters flooding the [Hong

Kong International Airport], causing a major shutdown,” AAA Equities Head of Research Christopher Mangun said.

The ongoing protests in the former British colony and regional economic hub prompted airport authorities there to cancel all flights on Monday afternoon.

The protests, which began in March from residents’ disapproval of a contro-

äTensions B2

Will AC Energy Philippines stay listed?

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HINMA Energy Corp. common shares hit a 30-day high of P2.85 each on July 24, 2019 and a month’s low of P2.20 on July 5, 2019. On Aug. 9, 2019, the stock opened at P2.66, peaked at a high of P2.70, fell to a low of P2.61 and closed the day’s session at P2.67.

The market prices quoted above are for insider executives who either buy or sell common shares.

For instance, Fernando Miranda Zobel de Ayala is the chairman of PHEN’s 11-person board.

In a filing posted on the website

äPerez B4

What’s inside LEADERSHIP IS NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART – FROM WHERE WE SIT

»BusinessB2

RUSH PENDING TNVS LICENSES, LTFRB TOLD BETTER PERMIT SYSTEM FOR ENERGY PROJECTS SOUGHT

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»Corporate NewsB3

SEMIRARA MINING EARNINGS DOWN 26%

»Corporate NewsB4

These fees could be raised to as much as P15 to P30 for every interbank withdrawal from the current P10 to P15 once implemented.

According to Surigao del Sur Rep. Johnny Pimentel, there is no justification for banks to impose these increased charges on depositors.

“We must remind banks that

the cash being withdrawn from their [ATMs] is money that they borrowed from depositors. This is why banks are paying interest on deposits,” Pimentel said in a statement on Tuesday.

“Offhand, we see no justification for banks to impose ATM charges in excess of the P10 to P15 that they are currently collecting

per single interbank withdrawal transaction, considering that depositors are merely taking money that they lent to the bank,” he added.

The P10 to P15 “convenience fee” for every withdrawal may be “minimal and acceptable,” but this might be followed by other fees, according to the lawmaker.

“Besides, banks are already extracting way too many superfluous fees from depositors, including the P300 to P500 monthly charge slapped on accounts falling below the P10,000 to P25,000 minimum monthly average daily balance, not to mention the dormancy levies on inactive accounts,” Pimentel said.

äATM B5

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