Monthly Archives: February 2009

BAGUIO CITY – The Department of Environment and Natural Resources is examining old lease sites of a mining company in Benguet after it was found dumping untreated asbestos insulation panels in Mankayan town.

This is a story told by someone who shall remain anonymous to protect both him and the institution he heads.

MANILA, Philippines – Broadcaster Antonio “Tony” Calvento is facing a complaint for sexual harassment and acts of lasciviousness filed by a former employee who accused him of making untoward sexual advances toward her.

While stressing that Congress has the power and mandate to review, amend or repeal any law, including the oil deregulation law, Speaker Prospero Nograles said Monday that any congressional move on the controversial measure will have to be dictated by public interest.

Former President Joseph Estrada is still not saying whether he will be seeking the presidency in 2010, saying instead that he will be making his decision by June this year.

MANILA, Philippines – Bataan Bishop Socrates Villegas has expressed fear that the planned re-commissioning of the mothballed Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP) might become another source of corruption in the country.

MANILA, Philippines – Malacañang will consult stakeholders in the move to review the Oil Deregulation Law in the effort to strike a balance between consumer welfare and business promotions.

MANILA, Philippines – The recruitment industry yesterday warned of a lingering shortage of qualified nurses for overseas hiring.

This was the call made by the National Union of Students in the Philippines (NUSP) to the Commission on Higher Education (Ched) as the country’s largest consortium of private schools expressed willingness to hold tuition increase for the school year 2009-2010.

Consider the following: 1) The Philippines, at present, is proven to have at least 2,600 MW of untapped geothermal energy resources, with tens of thousands more left to be discovered; 2) Filipino geothermal scientists and engineers are considered to be the best in the world, such that countries like Japan are fast recruiting them for…

Members of the House of Representatives over the weekend voiced support to a government move to assign Filipino nurses in their hometowns while waiting for employment opportunities abroad.

PARIS: For a while France was able to say it had dodged the worst of the global economic crisis, but now jobs are being slashed across the country, recession is inevitable and social discontent is rampant.

A BANGKO Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) poll showed that private sector economists expect inflation to ease further and fall within its target for 2009 and 2010.

BARELY had his feet touched down in Zurich where the temperatures were sub-zero than Department of Tourism (DOT) Undersecretary for Planning and Promotions Edu Jarque was calling us to impart the warm news that despite rumblings on the global economic front that was impacting on the worldwide tourism industry, the situation in the Philippines tourism…

President Gloria Arroyo has ordered Cabinet members to take the lead in the government’s anti-corruption campaign by setting up agency-specific Moral Renewal Programs to ensure “zero tolerance for corruption.”

Malacañang admitted that the country could see massive job losses this year, but said that the administration is working hard to counter the problem by creating jobs locally despite the current economic crisis.

The government will forego roughly P20 billion in potential revenues this year from the full-year implementation of the tax relief law, which increased the personal exemptions of taxpayers and waived the withholding tax on minimum wage earners.

Lito Vargas surveys the day’s catch of yellowfin tuna as they slide down the steel gutting table at the bustling port at General Santos city in the southern Philippines.

The generally accepted norm in the workplace when it comes to matters of the heart is that romantic relationships are not the company’s business.

Low-paid Asian workers who toil long days to build the skyscrapers of Dubai have become the latest victims of the global financial crisis as companies run short of business and money.

Around 3.7 million students are expected to benefit from a no-tuition hike policy adopted by the Commission on Higher Education for the school year 2009-2010, according to Chairman Emmanuel Angeles.

TRANSIENTS are trooping to Bayani Fernando’s inn on Bonifacio Drive near Rizal Park in Manila each time they can’t make it home, and for a good reason: They pay only P25 to stay 10 hours and have an eight-minute shower—or P50 to stay 24 hours and have two eight-minute showers.

AS THE controversy over the alleged rigging of foreign-funded road contracts worsens, World Bank country president Bert Hofman has made an admission that the bank lacks evidence to prove that local and foreign contractors have colluded with one another during the bidding for these infrastructure projects.

MANILA, Philippines – The Romanian government is in need of Filipino workers to maintain their railway network, considered the fourth largest railway system in Europe.

BAGUIO CITY, Philippines – The Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) will set aside P7 billion to help its members cope with the impact of the global economic crisis.

MANILA, Philippines – Admitting government’s limited powers to address problems faced by consumers with the country’s oil industry, Malacañang warned it might move to review the oil deregulation law.

MANILA, Philippines – The Arroyo administration will not lay off government workers but instead hire tens of thousands of new employees to help stem unemployment in the country triggered by the global economic crisis, Budget Secretary Rolando Andaya Jr. said.

MANILA, Philippines – The European Union (EU) will not rush negotiations for a Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA) with the Philippines as it is bent on reaching a “quality” agreement.

MANILA, Philippines – The country’s economic managers are sticking to the 3.7-4.7 percent growth target for the gross domestic product (GDP), saying the growth momentum would continue in 2009.

Global climate is undeniably getting warmer, but the term “climate change” itself is natural and gradual. We are now in the warming phase of the earth before another ice age hits again.