Monthly Archives: April 2009

Remittances from overseas Filipinos, both from migrants and workers, improved in February, marking a recovery from the virtually flat growth in January, the central bank reported Wednesday.

Intel reported a steep decline on Tuesday in first-quarter net profit but the head of the world’s biggest computer chip-maker said he believed personal computer sales had “bottomed out.”

THE Philippines’ huge population growth may shield the economy from contracting as domestic demand would boost growth, a high-ranking official of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) said.

So what are old people to do? The inevitability of death is creeping up on them they cannot run from it for there is nowhere to run. Instead, they have no choice but to look at it in the eye and stare it down. This, even if they do all within the limits of their…

Numerous possibilities, few inevitabilities . . . that’s life. The sky’s the limit, but in that journey there are a few inescapable realities. Growing older is one of them. Aging not only happens, it happens fast . . .

April 15 (Bloomberg) — I have nothing against music. As long as it’s played in the privacy of a home, car or concert hall, or at low decibel levels in public places, music is food for the soul.

The 35-percent increase in state-managed healthcare benefits will cost the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. about P7 billion, said PhilHealth president and chief executive Dr. Rey Aquino.

CHIEF Justice Reynato Puno will preside over a forum on environmental justice in Baguio City today aimed at speeding up the resolution of at least 3,000 cases in 117 “green courts” nationwide and the validation of the rules of procedure for environmental cases.

Global PC shipments totaled 67.2 million units in the first quarter of 2009, a 6.5 percent decline versus first quarter 2008, according to preliminary data from Gartner.

MANILA, Philippines — Local and foreign firms operating in the country have resorted to cutting employee bonuses and benefits just to keep from laying people off.

The good news is that the Technical Education & Skills Development Authority is launching an on-the-spot-hiring fair for laid-off workers and new grads. TESDA will screen participants if qualified for training — and daily allowance of P60 for tyros and P150 for experienced.

MANILA, Philippines – Malacañang claimed yesterday that job losses have started to taper off now that businesses are starting to recover from the effects of the global financial slowdown.

MANILA, Philippines – The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) said yesterday 129 colleges and universities all over the country are pushing through with their plan to raise tuition fees for academic year 2009-2010.

MANILA, Philippines—A leading seafarers’ group called on the Philippine government Tuesday to lead an international response to piracy off the Somali coast.

MANILA, Philippines – Petron Corp. and Seaoil Philippines Inc. raised their gasoline prices yesterday by P1 and diesel by 75 centavos per liter.

MANILA, Philippines – Almost two out of three Filipino adults, or 66 percent, oppose Charter change if it would allow the extension of the term of President Arroyo beyond June 30, 2010, a recent survey by the Social Weather Stations (SWS) revealed yesterday.

MANILA, Philippines – Majority of Filipinos are still scared that they will lose their jobs and have cut their spending habits in light of the weak economy, a survey by a global market research group showed.

MANILA, Philippines – Foreign direct investments continued to plummet, tumbling by 52 percent to only $13 million in January this year from $27 million in the same period last year and $184 million in January 2007.

MORE Filipinos are poised to lose their jobs as the government is set to cut anew its economic growth target for this year, according to pundits.

Dear PAO,  My girlfriend filed a case for nullity of her marriage on the ground that it was bigamous. Can my girlfriend sue her former husband for bigamy? Can she claim alimony from her former husband after the annulment? 

The government sees a robust Philippine economy despite the global financial crisis, as housing, food, tourism and business process outsourcing (BPO) industries “remain to be resilient,” a Palace official said Tuesday.

Ombudsman Maria Merceditas Gu­tierrez said she is elated by the results of the 2009 Political Economic Risk Consultancy (PERC) survey, which reported that the perception of the Philippines has improved.

Drugs are often more than a necessity. They sometimes represent the thin line between survival and death. We know, too, that the prices of drugs in this country are so much more prohibitive than those in other Asian countries.

JOB losses as a result of the global economic meltdown have begun tapering off, with some 14,000 workers retrenched in the first quarter regaining employment in companies that are beginning to recover, an official said yesterday.

AUSTRALIAN banana growers have taken their protectionist lobby to the skies and censured their national carrier, Qantas Airways, for serving passengers with bananas grown in the Philippines on trans-Tasman flights.

This case of Tony, a Filipino seafarer, is an example of the judicial power of the Courts to review and declare as unconstitutional the acts of a co-equal branch like Congress.

GIVEN the severity of the global economic downturn, remittances from overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) may fall by 10 percent to 20 percent this year even if many of them are in recession-proof sectors and in countries that are unlikely to plunge into recession, according to Moody’s Investors Service.

When I did some consultancy work with a large multinational corporation years ago, a top executive told me of a study the company had made. It seems that their executives who retired lived on average only two years. That is, two years after retirement, they were dead.

MANILA, Philippines—Economic Planning Secretary Ralph Recto has announced that job losses resulting from the global financial crisis were “tapering off.”

MANILA, Philippines – The Commission on Elections (Comelec) said it welcomes various groups’ raising “warning flags” on full automation of elections in 2010, saying it’s an indication of sincere concern.