Cabinet Reshuffle Seen as Last Chance for Aquino as Confidence Wanes

10 September 1987  Reuters News  English  (c) 1987 Reuters Limited  MANILA, Sept 10 – Philippine President Corazon Aquino has been given a final chance to cobble together a cohesive government thanks to the resignation of all 26 of her cabinet ministers, bankers, businessmen and stockbrokers said.  They said the turmoil of the past two weeks,…

Manila Shake-up Will Restore Investor Confidence Minister

18 September 1987  Reuters News  English  (c) 1987 Reuters Limited  MANILA, Sept 18, Reuter – President Corazon Aquino’s shake-up of top posts in her government will restore waning investor confidence in the Philippines, Trade and Industry Secretary Jose Concepcion said on Friday.  “The new team will be a rallying force. It will bring investments in,” Concepcion…

Human Rights a Thorny issue in Asia Despite Official Silence

 30 September 1987  Reuters News  English  (c) 1987 Reuters Limited  MANILA, Sept 30, Reuter – Charges of widespread human rights violations in Asia met silence or official denials on Wednesday but a Reuter poll showed personal liberty is still a prized possession across much of the sprawling continent.  The charges were made by the London-based…

Anti-strike Force Planned, Labour Minister says

14 October 1987  Reuters News  English  (c) 1987 Reuters Limited  MANILA, Oct 14, Reuter – The Philippine government is considering setting up a special police force to enforce return-to-work orders at strike-hit companies, Secretary of Labour Franklin Drilon said.  Labour unrest had declined this year but was still simmering because workers were testing their new-found…

U.S. Diplomat’s recall marks new low in ties with Philippines

28 October 1987  Reuters News  English  (c) 1987 Reuters Limited  MANILA, Oct 28, Reuter – The recall of a U.S. military diplomat from the Philippines underlines the love-hate ties between the two countries but also points to a new direction in Manila’s foreign policy, analysts said on Wednesday.  The U.S. Embassy’s announcement that Assistant Army…

US Defuses meddling row by pulling out attache from Manila

28 October 1987  Reuters News  English  (c) 1987 Reuters Limited  MANILA, Oct 28, Reuter – The United States said on Wednesday it was withdrawing a military attache from the Philippines following accusations that he interfered in a failed coup attempt in August.  A U.S. embassy statement said assistant army attache Lieutenant-Colonel Victor Raphael would depart…

Philippine hit-squad killings signal new communist offensive

29 October 1987  Reuters News  English  (c) 1987 Reuters Limited  MANILA, Oct 29, Reuter – Philippine Communist guerrillas appear to have launched a major offensive with the killings of 14 people in two days, political analysts said on Thursday.  For the first time in the 18-year-old Communist insurgency, the victims included U.S. servicemen, two serving…

Manila Resolves row over planters products INC’s debt ahead of deadline

30 October 1987  Reuters News  English  (c) 1987 Reuters Limited  MANILA, Oct 30 – The Philippine government and creditors of a private fertiliser firm have reached agreement on a 56.5 million dollar debt that has held up the country’s recent debt rescheduling agreement, bankers and officials said.  A senior foreign banker told Reuters that lawyers…

Philippines Worried About Commodity Prices

9 November 1987  Reuters News  English  (c) 1987 Reuters Limited  MANILA, Nov 9 – Any fall in commodity prices resulting from the crash in world stock markets could badly affect the Philippines, Central Bank governor Jose Fernandez said.  “Probably far more important than exchange rates and interest rates are commodity prices,” he told reporters. ‘Because then…

Philippines to Borrow Sugar From Thailand to meet sudden rise in Demand

20 November 1987  Reuters News  English  (c) 1987 Reuters Limited    MANILA, Nov 20 – The Philippines will borrow between 30,000 and 100,000 tonnes of raw sugar from Thailand to meet a sudden increase in demand after a shortfall caused by a severe drought, a government official said.  Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) chairman Arsenio Yulo…

Manila to push ahead with fiscal reforms

11 December 1987  Reuters News  English  (c) 1987 Reuters Limited  MANILA, Dec 11 – The Philippine government intends to boost tax collection, reorder its expenditures, and rationalise state-owned corporations to remedy Its dismal fiscal situation, Finance Secretary Vicente Jayme said  He told a meeting of the Philippine Economic Society that the country’s tax revenues as…