Monthly Archives: January 2009

WASHINGTON – The World Bank said on Wednesday it had uncovered a major cartel involving local and international firms bidding on a Philippine road project and it had barred seven companies – three from the Philippines and four from China – from bidding on its projects due to alleged corruption.

There will be no increase in water rates in the greater Metro Manila area this year, the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) announced yesterday.

Remittances from overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) reached $15 billion during the first 11 months of 2008, up 15 percent from the same period in 2007, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported yesterday.

If there was anything that had stuck out like a sore thumb with regards the health sector last year, it was the hollow victory that marked the passage of the long delayed Universally Accessible, Cheaper and Quality Medicines Act of 2008.

BEIJING (AFP) — China revised upwards its 2007 growth figures Wednesday, indicating the Asian giant overtook Germany as the world’s third largest economy, analysts said. China’s economy expanded by 13.0 percent in 2007, up from a previous calculation of 11.9 percent, the National Bureau of Statistics said. “At market exchange rates, China in 2007 was…

WASHINGTON (AFP) — The US economic slump worsened since early December, with a slowdown hitting a wide range of industries, the Federal Reserve said in its Beige Book report Wednesday.

THE travel industry is still hiring despite the global economic slowdown, with an official saying yesterday that 3,000 jobs awaited tourism graduates at the Philippines’ hotels and resorts.

TRAPPED in the web of the global financial crisis, at least 168 retrenched overseas Filipino workers (OFW) in Taiwan have yet to receive full payment of their salaries for the remaining months of their contract, a migrant group reported.

Although Singaporeans are “tightening their belts” because of the global economic crisis, there are plenty of opportunities for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) on the island-state, its ambassador said Thursday.

Maynilad Water Services Inc. is mulling legal remedies in order to push through with its botched rate hike this year.

The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) on Thursday cautioned the government that the random drug testing of the youth recently ordered by President Gloria Arroyo may violate the human rights of a child.

HEIGHTENED risk aversion led to net outflows of foreign investments in Philippine listed shares and other financial assets last year, according to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).

Dear Editor: This is with reference to Ambassador Ernesto Maceda’s column article “Creating accounting,” which was published in the Daily Tribune on Jan.14.

The World Bank has agreed to purchase carbon emission reduction credits worth $3.2 million from the bioethanol project of Roxas Holdings Inc. in Negros Occidental over the next four years.

National Grid Corp. of the Philippines will start operating the country’s transmission highway starting today after signing the final transaction agreements with Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp.

Lapuz says education can prove to be most effective in achieving peace and development in areas of conflict.

Most Filipinos are interested and likely to participate in the May 2010 elections, results of a Pulse Asia survey revealed on Wednesday.

A reader recounts her harrowing account of date rape:

The conflict erupted after a group led by former Senator Franklin Drilon drew up a list of the party’s senatorial candidates for the 2010 elections.

MOST of the rich Filipinos evade taxes, and many are members of civil society groups preaching compassion and demanding the rule of law, an official said yesterday.

Fertilizer prices have dipped further after the Christmas season, with retail sales of these commonly used inorganic inputs now as much as 53 percent lower than their September 2008 levels as an offshoot of the continued decline in the cost of crude oil in the world market, the Department of Agriculture (DA) has reported.

Universal access to healthcare is a challenge that both developed and developing countries face today. For developing countries with ballooning populations, changing demographics and decreasing resources allocated for health services, this challenge has become increasingly daunting.

No new investments investments are expected in the local electronics industry as a result of a sharp cut in demand due to the global economic downturn, the Semiconductors and Electronics Industries of the Philippines (SEIPI) said yesterday.

Deposit claims from the group of 15 banks, including the so-called Legacy Group are estimated to reach P14 billion and deposit insurance authorities said they were hiring an external auditing firm to speed up the settlement of the claims.

The National Government’s debt stock increased by two percent or P84 billion as of end-October 2008 from the end-September level, the Bureau of the Treasury reported yesterday.

Now we know: between associate justices endorsing a decision and the Chief Justice promulgating it lies Purgatory.

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) reported yesterday that fewer workers sought extra jobs last year despite the prevailing global economic crisis.

Nearly half of Filipinos believe violence would erupt if the May 2010 elections are cancelled or postponed, according to a survey.

The government reported over 3,000 workers from 15 electronics and semiconductor companies inside different economic zones across the country have been laid off thus far as a result of the business slowdown triggered by the global financial crisis.

A local industry group expressed fears yesterday that the global crisis will lead to more cases of technical smuggling in the country, especially with Chinese manufacturers having difficulties in selling to major markets.