00:01The Philippine Peso falls to a record low of 63 pesos and 36 centavos against the U.S. dollar.
00:08House lawmakers want Chinese Ambassador Jing Chuan recalled by Beijing or declared persona non grata.
00:14The Supreme Court declares the 2024 and 2025 budgets unconstitutional.
00:19Military troops will reinforce France's police as more protests are planned for the weekend.
00:24And Elon Musk reportedly orders a slowdown of Starlink satellite services used in Ukraine's battlefield operations.
00:39The Philippine Peso again falls to a new all-time closing low of 63 pesos and 36 centavos against the
00:47U.S. dollar on Wednesday, October 21.
00:49This is weaker by 27 centavos from its previous close of 63 pesos and 9 centavos on Tuesday.
00:57The local currency reached as low as 63 pesos and 37 centavos during intraday trading.
01:03This comes a day before the Banco Central ng Pilipinas is set to announce its latest interest rate decision.
01:09Economists expect a hike of at least 25 basis points to help keep inflation in check.
01:15The peso faces pressure from elevated global oil prices and a stronger U.S. dollar,
01:20with expectations of further monetary tightening by the U.S. Federal Reserve.
01:25The continued weakness of the peso could make imported fuel and other dollar-priced goods even more expensive.
01:33Ten House lawmakers file a proposed resolution urging President Fernand Marcos Jr.
01:38to either declare Chinese Ambassador Jing Chuan persona non grata or ask Beijing to recall him.
01:43House Senior Deputy Minority Leader Laila de Lima and House Assistant Minority Leader Chell Jokno
01:49join eight other lawmakers in authoring the resolution.
01:52These are the other lawmakers who signed the House resolution.
01:59The move comes after Senators Erwin Tulfo and Risa Hontiveros filed similar resolutions.
02:05The lawmakers cite a number of incidents that led to the filing of the resolution.
02:09This includes Jing's October 15 statement saying that if China wants to use force,
02:14quote,
02:15we may easily win.
02:16The Chinese Embassy also dared the Senate and the House to just declare Jing as persona non grata
02:21and stop bluffing.
02:24The Supreme Court declares the 2024 and 2025 General Appropriations Acts or Budget Laws unconstitutional.
02:32In the ruling announced Tuesday, October 20,
02:35the SCNBank grants the petition of the late former lawmaker Ed Selagman.
02:40It also partly grants the legal action of former Senator Coco Pimentel challenging the increase
02:45in unprogrammed appropriations made by Congress in the 2024 budget.
02:50Unprogrammed funds are standby appropriations that may only be used once specific conditions are met,
02:56such as when government revenues exceed targets or when foreign grants and loans are on the table.
03:00As to the petition questioning the constitutionality or legality of unprogrammed funds itself,
03:06the High Court explains,
03:08unprogrammed appropriations are not unconstitutional per se,
03:11but they need clear limits and safeguards to ensure fiscal discipline, transparency, and accountability.
03:17Senator Ping Lakson meantime says,
03:20the SC ruling came at an opportune time as the Senate scrutinizes the House-approved version
03:24of the proposed 2027 budget.
03:26Senate Finance Committee Chairperson J.V. Ejercito earlier flagged billions of pesos in reductions
03:32to preventive health programs and infrastructure projects in next year's budget bill.
03:38France will reinforce police with troops and mount a huge security operation for more protests planned on Saturday.
03:45This as the country acknowledges the failures in its response to last weekend's violence.
03:50Prime Minister Sébastien Lacourneau says the immediate priority was to restore order
03:55after rioting and looting swept Paris, Marseille, Lyon, and other cities on October 17.
04:01The unrest was attributed to far-left groups.
04:04The government faces criticism for underestimating public anger,
04:07over-living costs, and declining services.
04:10Targeted curfews helped restore calm, but the situation has impacted the economy.
04:16Elon Musk reportedly ordered the slowdown of a Starlink satellite service that Ukraine relies on.
04:22It's a military-grade version of SpaceX's Starlink satellite service.
04:26The Wall Street Journal first reported on the story, citing U.S. officials and people familiar with the matter.
04:32Ukraine uses Starlink for battlefield communications and drone operations.
04:37Musk's move hampers the country's attack and air defense drone missions against Russia.
04:41Musk, SpaceX, and the White House did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment.
04:47U.S. President Donald Trump said last week he did not think either he or Musk was responsible for Ukraine
04:53losing Starlink access.
04:55Musk, meantime, said any limits on speed, Starship, or Starship use were decided by the U.S. military or the
05:01president.
05:02Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky's relations with Washington have sunk to new lows
05:07after Trump announced a deal to buy Russian diesel and waived new sanctions on Moscow.
05:12Trump also told Kiev to stop attacking Russian refineries and urged Ukrainians to replace Zelensky.
05:20And that's today's wrap. I'm Gina Rabaya. Thank you for watching.
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