Monthly Archives: May 2009

Iceland asked to ease forex policies MANILA, Philippines—The North African country of Libya is poised to be a strong market for skilled overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) this year as it is in need of more than 16,000 migrant workers, Labor Secretary Marianito Roque said over the weekend.

WASHINGTON (AFP) – US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said “it is going to take a while” for the economy to recover from recession while noting “important signs of some stability.”

Reactions to my articles on anti-life, anti-family measures like “reproductive health”, “reproductive rights”, family planning, population control and the use of artificial contraceptives vary from total agreement to conditional support, to critical rejection or indignant disapproval. This is alright. Freedom of expression or free exchange of views, ideas and beliefs is the essence of democracy.…

Oh, to live and diet! The battle with the bulge rages. You’ve tried every diet program on the planet, every fat-zapping procedure and diet pills there are. But so far, the only thing they’ve successfully reduced is your hard-earned money.

For men and women experiencing the most common type of hair loss — androgenetic alopecia, or pattern hair loss — and pondering what, if anything, could be done about it, there’s a mix of encouraging and discouraging news. There’s still no great way to easily restore your hair to its former glory. No drug treatment…

MANILA, Philippines – Controversial party-list Rep. Jovito Palparan of Bantay vowed yesterday to pursue the revival of the Anti-Subversion Law at the House of Representatives as part of his crusade against communist rebels and their front organizations that he claimed are seeking to overthrow the government.

MANILA, Philippines – Energy Secretary Angelo Reyes admitted that tapping nuclear energy as a possible source of power is an option that the Department of Energy (DOE) wants to take.

BAGUIO CITY, Philippines – CropLife Philippines has called on the public to know the science behind pesticides and fungicides, belying claims that they are toxic chemicals that have killed people in banana plantations in Mindanao and in other farms.

MANILA, Philippines – President Arroyo yesterday said the P25-million fund she put up for reward to solve political and media killings could help reduce possible election-related violence leading to the national and local elections next year.

The government office that acts as advisory board to the President on matters regarding the advancement of women yesterday expressed its support for the Reproductive Health (RH) Bill, believing that “God would understand” a couple’s family planning choice.

MANILA, Philippines – Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap expects the growth results for the first quarter to be mixed due to the uncertain weather pattern and recent events that are impacting food production.

MANILA, Philippines – The government is eyeing to put in place an extensive credit information system by the end of the year, now that the implementing rules of the Credit Information System Act (CISA) have already been drafted, a ranking official said yesterday.

MANILA, Philippines – The government must put in place measures to protect the local steel industry from artificially cheap products dumped into the country.

MANILA, Philippines – The number of displaced workers in the Philippines as a result of the global financial crisis went down in April, indicating that the country is slowly recovering from the difficult economic tide, National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) director for policy and planning Dennis Arroyo said yesterday.

The Supreme Court (SC) en banc has “denied with finality” the motion for reconsideration of oil companies seeking a reconsideration of the tribunal’s decision ordering oil firms to move out of the Pandacan Oil Depot.

The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) yesterday asked Malacañang to instead use the proposed P25-million informants’ reward for the improvement of the country’s law enforcement, judicial system and witness protection program to end extra-judicial killings.

The Commission on Human Rights said Thursday that it was unsure about efficacy of the P25-million reward fund to counter political killings, even as a Cabinet member argued that money was a good incentive.

Palace creates employment task force President Gloria Arroyo created the Presidential Task Force on Emergency Employment to thwart the effects of the global economic crisis in the country’s economy.

The United Nations’ Office of the High Commission on Human Rights will subject the Philippine government to “a higher level of scrutiny” when it comes to protecting the rights of migrant workers, after the Philippines claimed to be a global “model” among countries sending out workers overseas.

The country is not yet ready to embrace nuclear power. This was the stand made by Energy Secretary Angelo Reyes, when asked if the government was seriously pushing through with nuclear technology for the country’s power requirements.

ADB compares living standards around the world   It would take nearly two centuries for the Philippines to catch up with the living standards of industrialized countries at its current pace of economic growth, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) reported Thursday.

MANILA, Philippines—While he welcomed the job opportunity for the country’s health workers, Nueva Vizcaya Representative Carlos Padilla warned that the conditions set by the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA) on the hiring of Filipino nurses and caregivers could only lead to their exploitation.

MANILA, Philippines—The Philippine National Police (PNP) plans to offer a P3.235-million bounty for the arrest of 19 suspects in the killing of several militant leaders across the country, a police spokesman said on Thursday.

MANILA, Philippines—A 14-year-old high school student of the Chiang Kai Shek College (CKSC) in Manila got a perfect score while 246 other young Filipinos were among the top scorers in a correspondence-based Canadian Mathematics Competition (CMC).

MANILA, Philippines—As one of the biggest sources of migrant workers in the world, the Philippines should step up initiatives to ensure the protection of the rights of its workers, an arm of the United Nations (UN) said in a report.

MANILA, Philippines—Filipino nurses are still welcome in New Zealand, executives of the New Zealand Nursing Council told the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Association of Deans of Philippine Colleges of Nursing.

Malacañang approved the 2009 Investment Priorities Plan that grants fiscal incentives to investment-generating activities and to those seeking to preserve jobs amid the global economic slump.President Arroyo said the Board of Investments and other agencies drew up the 2009 IPP as a tool to generate investments and create jobs as well as preserve employment amid…

MANILA, Philippines—The country’s two biggest oil firms Wednesday disputed the National Economic Development Authority’s claim that local gasoline is overpriced by P8 per liter.

MANILA, Philippines—The Philippines and the rest of Asia may reel longer than expected from anemic exports as demand from the United States and other advanced economies may not immediately respond to pump-priming initiatives, the International Monetary Fund said.

MANILA, Philippines—(UPDATE 2) Microsoft Philippines finally revealed that their Philippine operations would be among those affected by the recent global job cuts announced by the software giant.