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Banks’ FCDU loans drop in Q2

By Melissa Luz T. Lopez
Senior Reporter
FOREIGN CURRENCY loans granted by banks slid during the second quarter as more businesses settled their dues, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said.
Loans granted under banks’ foreign currency deposit units (FCDUs) amounted to $15.669 billion as of end-June, 4.2% lower than the $16.359 billion in outstanding credit lines as of the first quarter.
However, the amount grew by 11.9% year-on-year coming from the $14.001 billion loans expressed in other currencies, according to latest central bank data.
FCDUs are bank units authorized by the central bank to conduct transactions involving foreign currencies, mainly by accepting deposits and handing out loans.
The marked decline from the first quarter came as principal repayments exceeded disbursements, BSP officer-in-charge Deputy Governor Chuchi G. Fonacier said in a statement over the weekend.
Borrowers settled $676 million worth of credit, which is 4.9% higher than the previous quarter. On the other hand, gross loan releases during the second quarter went down by six percent to $14.6 billion.
Firms engaged in towing, tanker, trucking and forwarding businesses took a fourth of the loan lines, followed by merchandise and service exporters which accounted for 20% of the FCDU borrowings. Public utility firms got hold of a tenth, while producers/manufacturers, including oil companies received four percent of the sum.
Two-thirds of the loans were secured by Philippine residents at $10.312 billion, which come from privately owned companies. Non-resident borrowers also secured $5.357 billion worth of credit.
By source, local banks provided $13.669 of the loan amounts while foreign lenders extended $2 billion.
Meanwhile, foreign currency deposits maintained by banks amounted to $37.942 billion, more than enough to support loan demand and serves as an additional buffer together with the central bank’s dollar reserves.
The central bank has been relaxing restrictions on foreign exchange as they seek to improve the ease of doing business in the Philippines. Such changes are also meant to encourage the public to transact with banks rather than the informal market.
Since 2016, dollars acquired through Philippine lenders may likewise be kept as dollar deposits at the banks and may be used to settle person-to-person transactions.

Drought seen driving EU farmers to sow more wheat, less rapeseed

PARIS — Parched soils have hampered late-summer rapeseed sowing in Europe, raising the prospect that farmers will shift toward attractively priced wheat for next year’s harvest, analysts said.
Barley, which like wheat has seen a price rally amid tightening global supplies, could gain extra area too as farmers turn to cereals and cut back on both rapeseed and sugar beet, with the latter affected by a sugar market downturn.
Rainfall in northern Europe this month should also give an advantage to cereal sowing after a torrid summer that hit harvesting and then rapeseed drilling.
In its first sowing outlook for the 2019/20 harvest, the International Grains Council on Thursday said it expects the global wheat area to rise for the first time in four seasons, encouraged by higher prices.
The shift toward wheat in the European Union could be reinforced by loss of rapeseed area and a return to normal winter cereal sowing in northern Europe after torrential rain disrupted last year’s campaign, according to analysts.
“All these factors go in favor of an increase in the area of winter wheat and barley,” said Laurine Simon, analyst with Strategie Grains, said, adding however that more moisture was needed.
In France, drought has worsened in some regions during a dry, warm September, and a sharp drop in rapeseed area was widely expected.
Oilseed producers group Terres Univia estimates sowings will decline by 150,000-250,000 hectares compared with just over 1.5 million harvested this year.
Analysts say more rapeseed area could be lost as some crops fail to survive. Persistent dryness could also hinder initial wheat and barley sowing but it was seen as too early for concern.
In Germany, winter wheat sowings are expected to increase to around 3.1-3.2 million hectares from some 2.9 million harvested in summer 2018, one grains analyst said, adding that the winter barley area could be stable.
“Dry weather during the rapeseed planting period meant rapeseed sowings in Germany were probably cut by at least 200,000 hectares to under 1 million hectares,” the analyst said.
“Germany had more rain in the past couple of weeks so sowing is progressing reasonably, dryness is causing local difficulties but the national picture is satisfactory.”
In Poland, an increase in wheat plantings is also expected, encouraged by an early maize harvest as well as higher prices, said Wojtek Sabaranski of analysts Sparks Polska.
“Sowing conditions have somewhat improved due to the recent rainfalls, but soil moisture is still not sufficient in many regions, especially in the west and north-west,” he added.
In Britain, improved prices and favorable weather could boost winter wheat plantings, but problems with weed control have raised uncertainty about farmers’ crop choices.
“Farmers are holding off from rushing into planting so that they can get the best possible weed control,” said Jack Watts, chief combinable crops advisor to the National Farmers Union.
Rapeseed could lose area given difficulties with cabbage stem flea beetles, he added. — Reuters

Ayala Corp. (AC)

By Christine Joyce S. Castañeda
Senior Researcher
AYALA Corp.’s (AC) growth prospects, coupled with macroeconomic concerns led foreign investors to sell their shares in the stock while local investors took positions, making it one of the most actively traded stocks last week.
AC was the fourth most traded stock last week in terms of value turnover, totaling P1.233 billion from Sept. 24 to 28, data from the Philippine Stock Exchange showed.
Shares closed at P928 apiece on Friday, down P22 or 2.32% from the previous day, but gained 3.34% week on week. For the year, it is down 10.77%.
Philstocks Financial, Inc. Research Associate Piper Chaucer E. Tan attributed the stock’s performance last week to the depreciating peso and the widening of the country’s current account deficit that led to foreign investors unloading their shares. At the same time, he said local investors positioned themselves on the stock as growth prospects were “intact with AC moving forward.”
For IB Gimenez Securities, Inc. Head of Research Joylin F. Telagen: “Basically, this is because of AC’s robust long-term growth trajectory.”
The country’s current account deficit stood at $2.9 billion in the second quarter, a reversal from the $157 million surplus posted a year ago. For the first half, current account deficit was at $3.1 billion from $133 million in the same period last year.
The current account provides a snapshot of the country’s overall economic interaction with the rest of the world covering trade in goods and services; remittances from overseas Filipino workers (OFW); profit from Philippine investments abroad; interest payments to foreign creditors; as well as gifts, grants and donations to and from abroad.
Meanwhile, the conglomerate announced last week that Aboitiz Power Corp. (AboitizPower) entered into a share purchase agreement with AC Energy, Inc. affiliate Arlington Mariveles Netherlands Holding BV and a shareholders’ agreement with AC’s energy investment arm. The proposed acquisition will give AboitizPower a 49% voting stake and 60% economic stake in AA Thermal, Inc., AC Energy’s thermal platform in the country.
The transaction comes about four months after AC Energy first announced it was selling as much as half of its thermal energy platform.
AC’s consolidated net income rose 13.16% to P14.75 billion in the second quarter from P13.03 billion in 2017. For the first half, the company saw its net income grow by 12.35% to P27.64 billion.
The company has a five-year target, which is to double its net income to P50 billion by 2020.
“In terms of its 2020 goals, we think that the company is on track given that net income growth and EPS (earnings per share) growth is averaging at 25.6% for the past five years,” Philstocks’ Mr. Tan said.
“Headwinds for AC would be the rising interest rates of which may affect sale reservations for ALI (Ayala Land, Inc.),” he added.
For this year, Mr. Tan said the company could take in P32.2 billion in net income for the year driven by holiday spending in AC’s hotel segment and ALI’s sales coming from OFWs in the second half.
For her part, IB Gimenez’s Ms. Telagen expects AC to bag P34.5 billion in net income driven by robust growth in its real estate business and power, and stable performance in its telecom and water segments.
“We also see sustainable future growth of its ventures to Mynt’s, Wave Computing and Zalora. However, despite higher interest income (due to higher interest rates), we think that its banking segment will drag AC income because of lower non-interest income (e.g. trading and investment) and higher funding costs and AC Industrials will continue to be affected by higher excise tax on automotive,” she added.
Mr. Tan placed primary and secondary support at P885 and P867, respectively, and primary and secondary resistance levels at P1000 and P1030.
For Ms. Telagen: “We see strong support at around P916,” noting that anything closer or lower than that price is a good opportunity to buy and hold AC shares.
“Resistance is seen at P1,100 or around 20 times its 2018 earnings based on our estimates,” she added.

SM celebrates Mickey Mouse at 90

As a child, one is introduced to the happy-looking character with huge round ears who wears white gloves, a pair of red shorts, and yellow shoes (that seemed too big for him) through television shows, toys we played with, or wearing shirts with a print of his face on them.
It was in 1927 that Walt Disney first sketched a rabbit, Oswald, who was then redesigned as a mouse called Mortimer. After a few more modifications, on Nov. 18, 1928, the character of Mickey Mouse became the image of the Walt Disney Company.
SM Supermalls, in partnership with Walt Disney Company Philippines, celebrates the 90th anniversary of Mickey Mouse through the Share-A-Smile retail campaign featuring Mickey-inspired merchandise — from shirts and bags, to toys, home accessories and stationery.
Mickey “brings so much joy and laughter and smiles to fans all over the world,” Veronica Cabalinan, Country Head of the Walt Disney Company Philippines said of the campaign title to members of the press during the launch on Sept. 26 at SM North EDSA.
As SM is also celebrating its 60th anniversary, part of the Share-A-Smile campaign is the “60 Tees for 60 Years” — 60 exclusively designed Mickey-inspired shirts which are available in the SM Youth departments of 10 SM Supermalls in Metro Manila — SM North EDSA, SM Megamall, SM Mall of Asia, SM Aura, SM Southmall, SM Fairview, SM Manila, SM San Lazaro, SM East Ortigas, and SM Marikina — until Oct. 31.
SM and Disney are also releasing special-edition Mickey and Minnie plush toys which will be available in Toy Kingdom stores.
“We came together with a collaboration to be able to see how we can have something really special for our customers going into the Christmas season,” Jonjon San Agustin, SM Supermalls senior vice-president for marketing, told the press.
Customers who spend at least P1,000 on Mickey Share-A-Smile/SM 60th merchandise or Mickey Classic products will receive a limited edition Mickey Tote Bag with a choice of four designs.
For more information, visit www.smsupermalls.com. — MAP Soliman

How PSEi member stocks performed — September 28, 2018

Here’s a quick glance at how PSEi stocks fared on Friday, September 28, 2018
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Philippine Stock Exchange’s most active stocks by value turnover — September 28, 2018
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US, ASEAN tackle China

By Arjay L. Balinbin
Reporter
THE UNITED STATES and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) want international law to be followed, “not the unilateral actions by China,” in resolving the maritime disputes in the South China Sea, Deputy Secretary of State John J. Sullivan said.
“[O]ur opposition to what the Chinese Government has done in the South China Sea is not because we think we’re making a determination that China does or does not have a claim to a particular feature of the South China Sea. We want international law to be followed and for there to be a peaceful process, not a unilateral decision by one country, to resolve those claims, which involve a number of different countries — [the] Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, et cetera,” Mr. Sullivan said in a special briefing on the ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Sept. 27.
In a statement, Spokesperson Heather Ann Nauert of the US Department of State said Mr. Sullivan “met on Sep. 27 with Foreign Ministers and other senior representatives from the ten member-countries of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) on the margins of the UN General Assembly in New York.” She also said “the Deputy Secretary co-chaired the meeting with Foreign Minister Saleumxay Kommasith of Laos, the ASEAN country coordinator for the United States.”
In a mobile message to BusinessWorld on Sunday, Sept. 30, Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Undersecretary Ernesto C. Abella said Undersecretary for Policy of the DFA Enrique A. Manalo represented the Philippines in the said meeting.
Mr. Sullivan said during the press briefing: “I was met with representatives from all of the 10 ASEAN member-countries. We reaffirmed the US-ASEAN strategic partnership and discussed…the US commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific region with ASEAN at its center, in which independent nations with diverse cultures and aspirations can prosper side by side in freedom and peace. During our meeting, I highlighted the U.S. commitment to upholding international law, including the freedom of navigation in the South China Sea. We also discussed ASEAN’s efforts to fully implement UN Security Council resolutions on North Korea.”
He added: “We have enjoyed many successes during the past 41 years of U.S.-ASEAN partnership, and we’re fully committed to building upon this relationship at the upcoming U.S.-ASEAN Summit and East Asia Leaders Summit in Singapore on November 15th.”
Mr. Sullivan also said: “I’ve met with a number of — bilaterally — with a number of ASEAN countries during my week here at UNGA (United Nations General Assembly). I would say that there is (a) consensus, a commitment by ASEAN and the United States to the rule of law, the Law of the Sea treaty, that should govern these claims, disputed claims to the South China Sea, and not unilateral actions by one country to develop features in the South China Sea and, even worse, to militarize them.”

170 illegal online gaming operators nabbed

By Elijah Joseph C. Tubayan
Reporter
THE PHILIPPINE Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) has intensified the crackdown against illegal online gaming operators, saying it has raided some 170 establishments operating without licenses as of the first semester.
In a statement over the weekend, PAGCOR warned illegal offshore gaming operators to shape up or face charges.
“Word of advice, therefore, legalize your operations or face dire consequences,” said PAGCOR Chairperson Andrea D. Domingo.
“The campaign was stepped up in June 2018, after…(a) coordination meeting (between) PAGCOR, NBI (National Bureau of Investigation), PNP (Philippine National Police), BI (Bureau of Immigration), and the Office of the President,” said PAGCOR Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO) Vice-President Jose S. Tria, Jr. in a mobile phone message yesterday.
PAGCOR said the agencies signed a mutual cooperation agreement “exchange intelligence information to ultimately carry out intelligence operations, surveillances, raids, arrests, or any other action deemed appropriate, and thereby put a stop to the proliferation of illegal online gambling activities.”
“Personalities apprehended for operating without a gaming license will either face charges in court or deported,” it added.
President Rodrigo R. Duterte issued Executive Order No. 13 in 2017 to “intensify the fight against illegal gambling,” both online and land-based.
Through its Compliance Monitoring and Enforcement Department, PAGCOR ensures that POGO licensees operate within the bounds and limits of their offshore gaming licenses, comply with labor and immigration laws, and remit to government the proper taxes.
“The current regulatory framework provides administrative penalties and sanctions against POGO licensees found to be performing prohibited acts, including violations of any conditions attached to the grant of said license,” the gaming operator-regulator said.
Philippine offshore gaming firms are based here and cater primarily to non-Filipino foreigners based abroad, largely Chinese, through the internet.
POGOs accounted for about P4 billion, or 7%, of PAGCOR’s P57.34-billion 2017 gross gaming revenue.
Ms. Domingo said PAGCOR’s third-party audit platform will soon be fully functional and will “strengthen revenue collection and ensure fairness in the operations of its POGO licensees.”
“Furthermore, regulation includes protection of the bets of the player, and we do this as a matter of course,” she said.
CYBER-FRAUD SUSPECTS NABBED
In another development, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) has arrested 46 Chinese nationals involved in cyber fraud operations in call centers and who are wanted in Beijing for economic crimes.
BI Commissioner Jaime H. Morente said the fugitives WERE arrested in two separate operations conducted by THE BI Fugitive Search Unit in Makati City and Muntinlupa City, following a request from the Chinese Embassy.
“We received information from the Chinese authorities that these fugitives are hiding in the Philippines,” Mr. Morente said. “We immediately conducted our investigation upon receipt of information, and discovered that there were more fugitives involved conducting their illegal activities.”
BI intelligence officer and FSU Chief Bobby R. Raquepo said many of the arrested Chinese were undocumented as their passports were already cancelled by the Chinese government.
Thirty (30) Chinese fugitives were arrested on Sept. 14 in three different condominium buildings in Makati, and 16 others were nabbed in a follow-up operation in Muntinlupa City.
Mr. Raquepo said they were in their computer workstations when the BI arrested them.
“Further coordination with the Chinese embassy in Manila later revealed that the arrested nationals are all wanted fugitives in China for involvement in economic crimes. It seems like they attempted to transfer their operations in the country,” Mr. Raquepo said.
Mr. Morente said the arrested fugitives will undergo deportation proceedings. They will also be blacklisted and banned from re-entering the country. — with a report by V. Marlo M. Villegas

Cayetano to UN: Philippines ‘on track’ in antidrug campaign

By Camille A. Aguinaldo
Reporter
THE PHILIPPINES is “on track” in providing reforms to prevent the country from becoming a “narco-state” while remaining committed to the rule of law and human rights, Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter S. Cayetano told world leaders at the 73rd United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York last Saturday.
“The Philippines, under the leadership of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte, is one with the United Nations in being uncompromising on the issues of rule of law, just and equitable peace that leads to order, development and prosperity, and the protection of each and every human beings’ rights,” he said in his speech.
“As a sovereign and democratic country led by a duly elected President, we are on track in salvaging our deteriorating country from becoming a narco-state or a state held hostage by the rich and powerful who ignored the plight of the poor, powerless and marginalized. Or worse both,” he added.
It was the second time Mr. Cayetano addressed the UN General Assembly on the Philippine campaign against illegal drugs, as the international community has been critical of the country’s human rights situation in connection with the drug war.
Mr. Cayetano said the Philippines will always choose to protect the rights of law-abiding citizens and law enforcers over the rights of drug lords and criminals who, he said, seek to kill and destroy.
“Wouldn’t you do the same? Which country, which leader wouldn’t do the same and protect your citizens and protect your law enforcers?” he said.
He also clarified that the Philippine government’s statements should not be interpreted as disregarding its international human rights obligations.
“We may somehow and sometimes differ in how we express ourselves yet this should not be interpreted as turning our backs on the universal declaration on human rights,” Mr. Cayetano said.
“On the contrary, the Philippines and President Duterte are instituting all these reforms to be able to protect the rights of every single Filipino and every single human being living in the Philippines,” he added.
Mr. Cayetano also called on the UN member-states to put the interests of the global community above their national interests.
Aside from the issue on the war on drugs, Mr. Cayetano also raised the issue on migration and regarded the international agreement called the Global Compact on Migration “a huge step in the right direction” for the protection and better treatment of migrants, including the 10 million Filipinos living overseas.
Here at home, Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador S. Panelo said on Sunday: “The President will not stop at continuing his war against illegal drugs, a duty imposed on him by the Constitution. Extra-judicial killings are the result of members of the drug syndicates killing each other due to fraud in their dealings as well as a means of protecting and avenging themselves from whistle blowers. The fact that policemen are killed in anti-drug operations shows that the drug lords and pushers use violence in resisting arrest as well as putting the lives of the arresting officers in peril, hence their application of lawful self defense.” — with Arjay L. Balinbin

PHL ‘to extend assistance’ to Indonesia

MALACAÑANG in a statement on Sunday said,“We join the people of Indonesia in offering our prayers to the hundreds who died after a powerful 7.4 earthquake and tsunami hit Central Sulawesi last Friday.”
Presidential Spokesperson Harry L. Roque, Jr. also said “the only Filipino in the area is safe,” and the Philippine government is “ready to respond and extend assistance to Indonesia.”
DFA identified the Filipino survivor as “a detainee serving his sentence at the Lapas Penitentiary.”
For his part, Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter S. Cayetano said in a statement: “We grieve with our Indonesian brothers and sisters and stand hand in hand with them in praying for all of those who lost their lives in this tragedy.”
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said, citing Ambassador to Indonesia Leehiong T. Wee, that “the earthquake and tsunami struck the provincial capital of Palu and the neighboring city of Donggala” last Friday, Sept. 28.
“The Indonesian Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) placed the initial death toll at 384 people with more than 500 injured. At least 29 are still missing,” the DFA added.
The Catholic Relief Services (CRS) in the United States (US) said in a statement it is extending help through its local partners in Indonesia, the Caritas Makassar and the Muhammadiyah Disaster Management Center (MDMC).
“Responders and local aid groups are having to drive overland 10-12 hours. That means a bottleneck for relief supplies in coming days. Those long hours on the road are going to mean hours lost getting assistance to people who need it in the next few days. Another option in coming days will be sea routes. The Ministry of Transportation is sending in relief by ship from North Sulawesi,” Yenni Suryani, CRS’ country manager in Indonesia, was quoted as saying.
The European Union (EU), for its part, said it “has already activated its emergency Copernicus satellite mapping service to assist the [Indonesian] authorities.”
“We continue to closely monitor the situation, and we are ready to mobilise more assistance,” the EU also said. — Arjay L. Balinbin

DILG backs task force vs Reds

THE DEPARTMENT of Interior and Local Government (DILG) has expressed support for the proposal of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to have a multi-agency task force that would address the communist insurgency.
“The government is cognizant that effectively ending insurgency requires not only police and military response but necessitates a triad of development, governance and security efforts,” DILG Officer-in-Charge Eduardo M. Año, a former AFP chief, said in a statement last week.
AFP Chief General Carlito G. Galvez, Jr., in a television interview last week, said the military has requested President Rodrigo R. Duterte to issue an executive order creating a national body that will draw up plans and implement the strategy against communist fighters, particularly members of the New People’s Army.
Mr. Galvez said the military needs the support of the government and other stakeholders to counter the 50-year old communist rebellion, which is not just an armed struggle but a political matter.
Mr. Año agreed, saying the problem needs a “whole-of-government” approach as rebels are stirring anti-government sentiments by exploiting issues on corruption, price hikes, and indigenous peoples’ concerns.
“Insurgency is rooted in poverty, inequality, and grievances that could be addressed by respective mandates of various government institutions. We have all the mechanisms to face these issues but all government agencies have to perform our roles in a concerted manner,” Mr. Año said.
Mr. Año also claimed that the government is winning the battle as more rebels surrender.
“In fact we are winning the battle in the mountains. There are so many surrendered now. It’s in the propaganda war and parliamentary battle that we are loosing,” he said.
Meanwhile, Rey C. Casambre, consultant of the National Democratic Font of the Philippines, the umbrella group of the communist movement, said the proposed anti-insurgency body will not succeed as in previous attempts by the government.
Communist Party of the Philippines founder Jose Maria C. Sison, for his part, said the proposal is just an excuse for the military to get additional budget. — Vince Angelo C. Ferreras

Iloilo City council to seek participation in House hearing on power supply franchise

By Louine Hope U. Conserva
Correspondent
THE ILOILO City council wants the voice of stakeholders heard in the ongoing deliberations in the House of Representatives for the license of the city’s power supply distributor.
Councilor R. Leoni N. Gerochi, chair of the committee on transportation, energy and public utilities, said he will file a resolution On Oct. 2 calling on the city government to intervene in the hearings.
The resolution states that the city should push “for terms and conditions that should be included in the franchise to ensure that the welfare of the consumers are upheld and protected, and likewise to participate in all the processes related to the application and approval of the franchise.”
Mr. Gerochi said the House committee on legislative franchises has already approved the application of More Minerals Corp. (MMC) without hearing the sentiment of locals.
The existing distributor, Panay Electric Company, Inc. (PECO), has a pending application for the renewal of its license that is expiring in 2019.
“Supposedly we should have a representative in Congress to check, intervene and ensure that we are protected,” Mr. Gerochi said.
He added that the franchise committee may not be privy to the power situation in the city and will not suffer the impact of their decision.
Iloilo City Representative Jerry P. Treñas, who is not a member of the House committee, is inhibiting himself from all related deliberations because his law office under retainer by PECO.
“For me, there is a conflict of interest. So after the committee level, it will have to be approved in plenary. My position is still the same. I will have to inhibit,” Mr. Treñas said.
He added that he will give his “120%” support to whoever gets the franchise.
Mayor Jose S. Espinosa III also said he leaves it to Congress to decide on what firm should distribute electricity in Iloilo City.
“Whatever will be the decision, and then if all is in order, we will abide by the decision of the Congress,” Mr. Espinosa said.
PECO, which has been facing complaints for its service, has opposed MMC’s franchise application, pointing out in a statement that the company “has no experience in the business of power distribution.”
PECO also said that MMC has “no track record to show since they are a mining company as stated in their articles of incorporation.”
Earlier, the Private Electric Power Operators Association (PEPOA) also warned of a looming power crisis in Iloilo City if the franchise is given to a company that has no infrastructure for distribution.

Storm Kong-Rey expected to strengthen while in PHL area this week

TROPICAL STORM Kong-Rey, which was still 1,445 kilometers east of the Visayas on Sunday morning, is expected to enter the Philippine area between Monday evening and Tuesday morning, according to weather bureau PAGASA’s 11 a.m. update on Sept. 30. The storm will be locally named Queenie and is seen to intensify into a typhoon once in the country. It’s track is moving west-northwest and predicted to be 1,250 km east of Tuguegarao City, Cagayan by morning of Oct. 2. Kong-Rey is packing winds of 100 km per hour (/h) near the center with gustiness of up to 120 km/hr. It will be closest to land by Friday morning, with a forecasted position of 535 km northeast of Basco, Batanes.

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