Monthly Archives: May 2009

MANILA, Philippines – A bill seeking to extend the Rent Control Law was passed in the House of Representatives on Tuesday night.

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) has put up a P15-million reward for the arrest of Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) chairman Jose Maria Sison and New People’s Army (NPA) spokesman Gregorio “Ka Roger” Rosal.

MANILA, Philippines – The Government Service Insurance System (GSIS), the state-owned pension fund for government employees, reported yesterday that its income from loans and investments went up by 30.39 percent to P46.42 billion in 2008 from P35.6 billion recorded in 2007, GSIS data showed.

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines may import up to two million metric tons of rice this year, based on a standby authority approved by the National Food Authority.

Members of the House of Representatives have approved a bill that would extend the Rent Control Law which expired on Dec. 31 last year for another four years even as it lowered the ceiling allowed for increases from 10 percent to only four percent per annum.

Six newly installed party-list lawmakers have warned of unrest if Congress fails to pass the bill seeking to extend the implementation of the agrarian reform law.

Lawmakers yesterday slammed President Arroyo for putting up a P25-million bounty that she said was needed to end the spate of political killings in the country, saying that dangling such “bribe” only manifested her apparent inability to govern and to resolve issues involving political violence.

SINGAPORE: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Wednesday sharply slashed its growth outlook for Asia, predicting a “long and severe recession” for the region’s wealthier but export-reliant economies.

The world’s scientific community has been talking of unprecedented warming of the global climate system these last 1,300 years. Most of this warming has been attributed to human influence or anthropogenic factors.

The indigenous people under the banner of Kalipunan ng Katutubong Mamamayan ng Pilipinas (KAMP) held a picket rally at the gate of Camp Aguinaldo to condemn the recent extrajudicial killings against the indigenous people.

State-run Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) said its investment income rose last year despite the global turmoil, citing its prudent investments strategy.

Trade officials of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) have identified the priority sectors in the creation of a single market and seamless production base under the Asean Economic Community, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said.

President Arroyo has approved the 2009 Investment Priorities Plan (IPP), which contains a unique “contingency list” that will grant incentives to firms that save or generate jobs amid the global economic slowdown.

AMID modest growth in the first quarter this year, Philippine telecom companies are scaling down their expansion plans, with the country’s leading industry player shelving a venture in Japan and India and the second-ranked operator trimming capital expenditures for the near term.

The number of Filipinos affected by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) has dramatically increased since the turn of the millennium, the United Nations Development Program reported Wednesday.

Industry and government officials said Wednesday that the Philippine business process outsourcing (BPO) industry would not likely suffer from US President Barack Obama’s crackdown on outsourcing among American companies.

SEVERAL House members on Wednesday immediately responded to a Palace directive for them to contribute a portion of their Countrywide Development Fund (CDF) to a reward system that the President hopes would end political killings in the country.

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The government’s top anti-piracy official said powerful lobby groups in Washington are to blame for the country’s retention in the watch list of the United States Trade Representative on copyright piracy.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Evidence that housing is poised to improve and optimism about the results of banking “stress tests” raised hopes Monday, May 4, that the recession is easing.

Geneva (AFP) – Global foreign direct investment flows are expected to plunge even further this year, after falling some 15 per cent in 2008, the United Nations trade and investment think-tank UNCTAD said Monday.

MANILA, Philippines – President Arroyo announced yesterday the establishment of a P25-million fund to pay informants in a bid to end the wave of political killings in the country.

MANILA, Philippines – A firm selling health insurance plans was ordered closed by the Muntinlupa City government for reportedly committing unfair labor practices.

MANILA, Philippines – A 19-year-old construction worker survived electrocution and a plunge from the third floor of a building under construction in Sampaloc, Manila yesterday morning.

MANILA, Philippines – Filipino doctors and dentists can now practice in other countries that are members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

MANILA, Philippines – Close to 400 Filipino nurses and caregivers are leaving for Japan this weekend, the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) reported yesterday.

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine economy, as measured by gross domestic product (GDP), is likely to grow by four percent this year or within the revised GDP forecast of 3.1 percent to 4.1 percent, a ranking National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) official said yesterday.

THE Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said exporters have been suffering from a trade-financing crunch amid the current global economic crisis.

THE Philippine economy is likely to grow at the high-end of a government target this year driven by election related spending and the planned front-loading for infrastructure projects, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) said.

But bottom lines diverge on one-off items   THE Philippines’ telecom sector registered modest growth in the first quarter this year despite the tough economic environment, but the country’s leading player saw its profit fall as foreign exchange losses pulled down its performance.