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By Luis Leoncio The patience of the Bangladesh government over the recovery of the $81 million stolen from its central bank, Bangladesh Bank, is wearing thin. 

By Riza Lozada  The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has reiterated that corporations are absolutely banned from providing political campaign donations after queries were again raised about top corporations funding the campaigns of candidates in the May 9 elections. 

By Jerry Maglunog  The Bangladeshi government may be in for a big disappointment over the amount the Philippines will surrender from what has so far been recovered of the $81 million that hackers stole from the Bangladesh Bank’s deposits in New York and laundered in the country’s casinos through the Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC). 

By Luis Leoncio The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), raising alarm over the wide-scale hacking of the voters’ database of the Commission on Elections (Comelec), has issued a memorandum to all local banks to strengthen their know-your-customer (KYC) practices and strictly apply these in every transaction they make to prevent the misuse of the stolen information for spurious financial transactions.

The World Bank (WB) has called attention to the reluctance of Philippines government leaders to effect a wide range of reforms in the country’s taxation system, which was evident in President Aquino’s rejection of Congress’s initiative to overhaul the income-tax schedule. 

By Riza Lozada Government indifference is slowly killing the local fishing industry, according to Panagat, an informal network of more than 20 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) advocating policy reforms in the fisheries sector. 

By Riza Lozada The operator of the country’s electricity network, the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP), will undergo an “operation audit” to ensure greater supply of electricity and a rational pricing of the power supply. 

By Lito U. Gagni  Cybersecurity firm FireEye, which has been hired to investigate the $81-million heist against the Bangladesh Bank, has expressed fears that Philippine firms are “twice as likely to face advanced cyberattacks than the worldwide average,” due to its outmoded cybersecurity platforms. The company said an analysis of the Philippines’s capability showed that it was 30 percent likely …

Moved by the devastation wreaked by the October 2013 earthquake in Bohol province, Bangladeshi Ambassador to the Philippines John Gomes has donated P100,000 of his own money for the rehabilitation of the Loboc Church. 

By Luis Leoncio  A light fine or the equivalent of a slap on the wrist.