Monthly Archives: April 2009

MANILA, Philippines – The country can expect a lower level of investments from American firms this year, not only due to the global recession but also because of investor concerns that remained unresolved.

MANILA, Philippines — The worst shock waves from the global financial crisis and commodity price spikes may be over for the Philippines and other emerging markets which can now “decouple” from the slump in the West, an economist from British banking giant HSBC said yesterday.

The government is targeting at least one million new overseas absentee voters for the national polls in 2010, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said yesterday.

THE former head of President Arroyo’s Kampi political party led 174 congressmen yesterday in filing House Resolution 1109, which proposed to convene Congress into a constituent assembly (Consa) to amend the Constitution.

MALACAÑANG said it will rally its allies in Congress to amend the Oil Deregulation Law amid government findings that oil companies are overpricing their products.

Brussels, (ITUC OnLine): The international trade union movement has called on the World Bank and IMF to use the opportunity of their spring meetings in Washington to accelerate efforts to stem the global collapse in employment and economic prospects.  In a statement released today by the ITUC and its Global Unions partners, trade unions warn…

WASHINGTON (AFP) – The International Monetary Fund Tuesday raised its estimate of losses from the global financial and economic crisis to more than four trillion dollars due to writedowns on soured credit.

BAGUIO CITY, Philippines – For the second time in a row, the Supreme Court dismissed the petition questioning the propriety of the Downstream Oil Industry Deregulation Act of 1996.

MANILA, Philippines – Accelerated spending and weak revenue collection pushed the country’s budget deficit to P52.6 billion in March, almost triple its level in the same month last year, the Department of Finance (DOF) reported yesterday.

MANILA, Philippines – The Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) with its banner program Bright Minds Read (BMR) celebrated a milestone with its first batch of grade school graduates. BMR, with its mission to eradicate illiteracy and champion beginning reading among public school children, started in 2002 with 14 pilot schools with 4,200 Grade 1 pupils…

BONN, Germany — Co-hosted by UNESCO and the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research, the first half of the UN DESD (Decade of Education for Sustainable Development, 2005-2014) was assessed by a total of 600 delegates from UNESCO Member States.

When a retired government employee is re-employed in another government office, can his previous government service be credited in the computation of his retirement benefit? This is the issue raised in this case of Pepe.

MANILA, Philippines – Poor countries most likely to bear the brunt of the effects of climate change will need an additional $50 billion in funding each year, according to a report released in time for this year’s Earth Day celebration.

MANILA, Philippines – Government agencies have been providing limited jobs to persons with disabilities (PWD) despite existing laws mandating them to allocate five percent of all casual, emergency and contractual positions for PWDs, according to various non-government organizations.

MANILA, Philippines – The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has revised its growth projection for the country for this year from 2.25 percent to zero, with remittances from overseas Filipinos actually declining by 7.1 percent.

With the Supreme Court (SC) opening the door to more party-list members of Congress, former Maj. Gen. Jovito Palparan, known to militants as “The Butcher” and being a top nominee of his party, Bantay, won a seat and is expected to join Congress soon.

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia said Wednesday it will liberalize parts of the services sector, removing ownership rules linked to a controversial affirmative action policy for majority Muslim Malays.

RECOGNIZED as the Most Popular Destination in Asia in one survey, the Philippines was again cited as one of the Top 5 Best Diving Areas, one of the Top 10 Most Desirable Destinations, and for having the Best Dive Resort and the Favorite Dive Operator.

HOUSE Speaker Prospero Nograles on Wednesday announced that the House of Representatives would petition the Supreme Court (SC) for a Declaratory Relief to usher in new partylist representatives in light of the recent High Court decision adding 32 party-list seats in the House.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) predicted that the Philippine economy would post flat growth this year, resulting from a contraction in remittances.

Brussels, 21 April 2009: Some representatives of members of Global Unions, together with over 40 trade unionists belonging to 25 national trade unions, are taking an active part in the Conference to evaluate the implementation of the Durban 2001 Declaration and Programme of Action against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance.

Postmenopausal women who have breastfed a child have a lower risk of heart attacks, stroke and cardiovascular disease, a study released Tuesday found.

Cebu City – Workers in Cebu should not expect another round of wage increases during the Labor Day celebration on May 1, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) in Region 7 said Wednesday.

Forty participants, 13 of whom are women, lighted candles in remembrance of fellow workers who have died, got injured or got sick because of unhealthy, unsafe and unsustainable working conditions. They held placards calling for the ban of asbestos use emphasizing the fact that no level of exposure to the substance is safe. “Asbestos kills!…

TOKYO (AFP) – Japan’s export slump eased last month, government data showed Wednesday, raising hopes that the world’s second largest economy may be through the worst of its deepest recession since World War II.

Message by ATTY. DEMOCRITO T. MENDOZA President of the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) to the National Forum on Decent Work and Social Justice in Times of Crisis Manila, Philippines 22 April 2009

The economic slowdown in the Philippines has started to bottom out and growth will pick up in the third quarter of the year as the impact of the world financial crisis on the country subsides, Economic Planning Secretary Ralph Recto said yesterday.

Emphasizing that the problem of global warming is “even more critical” than the global economic crisis, President Arroyo has ordered state agencies to join the Carbon Cutting Coalition that aims to reduce the Philippines’ consumption of fossil fuel by 50 percent in two years.

Let’s face it. There are a whole lot of lonely people out there. They live life wondering if anybody cares. Sure they know in their minds that there are people who love and care for them, but they get carried away by negative feelings that drag them down and threaten their happiness.

Why the shipment of 15 40-footer container vans of toxic waste materials was allowed to be “reexported” to its port of origin in violations of existing laws has puzzled local and international environmentalists who demanded yesterday an immediate investigation.