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By Riza Lozada  Trade groups and civic organizations are clashing head-on over the order of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to cancel nearly one quarter of the nation’s mining operations.

Despite the human-rights issues repeatedly raised against President Duterte, the Philippines has advanced 12 notches in the 2017 Index of Economic Freedom of the conservative US think tank Heritage Foundation.

State gaming operator Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) said it will not stop its Small Town Lottery (STL) operations despite the allegation of Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez that it is illegal, stressing that only an order from President Duterte will halt the popular numbers game. 

By Riza Lozada  Maintenance work on the Malampaya natural gas facility was completed without a hitch, Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi said. 

Flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) will resume flights between Kuala Lumpur and Manila beginning June 8. 

Top oficials of the Philippines and Mexico have agreed to explore free trade and currency agreements to further strengthen bilateral ties and facilitate economic transactions between the two countries. 

The peso closed last week at 50 per $1, its weakest level since November 2006 due to the lower-than-expected initial jobless claims in the US along with sustained rise of US Treasury rates. 

The need for instant access to information using smartphones and other mobile devices spurred state-owned health maintenance agency Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) to create its own application called PhilHealth ACR (All Case Rates) Search mobile application. 

In a joint position paper, the country’s economic man­agers have recommended a fund called the Unified Student Financial Assistance System for Tertiary Education (UniFAST) as an alternative to moves in Congress to grant free tuition for all undergradu­ate students in state universi­ties and colleges (SUCs).

By Luis Leoncio The congestion in Metro Manila is now considered an urban nightmare and it has finally instigated the form­ing of a panel at the House of Representatives to look into the possibility of relocating the seat of nation­al government to help decongest the capital metropolis.