Monthly Archives: July 2009

To be able to reach its 1 million target voters for the overseas absentee voting (OAV), the Commission on Elections (Comelec) is planning to tap religious organizations and a migrant workers group to help it entice Filipinos overseas to register for the national polls next year.

The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) yesterday expressed concern over the rise in violence in the country, labeling the current situation as that of “unpeace” that is not only “distressing but disturbing, and even tragic.”

A group of internet cafe owners are organiizing Icafe Pilipinas, a national industry association.

Being preoccupied with building a legacy to be left behind as a reminder of one’s greatness is not necessarily a bad thing. Some people become preoccupied with building grandiose structures and edifices, some endeavor to produce spectacularly magnificent (or conversely, spectacularly horrendous) works of art, others take on social projects of mammoth proportions, or labor…

THE indigent-holders of pre-need plans by the Legacy Group of Companies have been exempted from paying docket and filing fees by the Supreme Court.

SAUDI Arabia’s new draft law to protect domestic workers from abusive working conditions and unpaid wages “falls short” of international standards, Human Rights Watch said.

As many as 120,000 information technology experts will be tapped by the Commission on Elections and its private partners for the automation of the 2010 polls.

Software firm Oracle partners with AMA University MANILA, Philippines – Database business software firm Oracle is setting its sights to make the Philippines as a major source for database systems experts.

Huge commissions, more than the standard 10-percent hush money, being demanded by engineers belonging to the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) from constructors undertaking government-funded infrastructure projects not only threaten the profitability of the construction industry but also result in poor-quality projects to the detriment of their target beneficiaries.

SINGAPORE (Xinhua) — The role and relevance of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) in the regional and global architecture will be shaped by how it deals with the current crisis and its aftermath, a Singapore official today.

LONDON (AP) — Thousands of people with schizophrenia worldwide could have been saved if doctors had prescribed them the anti-psychotic drug clozapine, a new study says.

99,000 jobs still open in Qatar MANILA, Philippines—Norway is open to Filipino professionals from the fields of engineering and information technology seeking to land a job there, Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) Secretary Marianito Roque said on Monday.

Updated estimates released at July 13-14 International Diaspora and Development Conference WASHINGTON, July 13 – Remittance flows to developing countries are expected to be $304 billion in 2009, down from an estimated $328 billion in 2008, said the World Bank today, releasing a new migration and remittances brief to coincide with an International Diaspora and…

Various task forces from areas with high prevalence of child labor met in June in a unique assembly meant to inspire people to continue upholding child labor education as a priority issue.

Conclusion   Parents of homosexual and lesbian children have the choice to love or to reject them and the earlier they recognize what homosexuality is all about, the sooner they will be able to avoid much of the unnecessary pain that these young people have to bear as they grow into adulthood.

CALL centers would have to freeze salary increases to remain attractive to clients, amid a recent study showing that salary inflation of about 10 percent is among the highest in the Philippines, an industry official said. Benedict Hernandez, Contact Center Association of the Philippines (CCAP) president, told reporters that annual salary adjustments may no longer…

STANDARD and Poor’s (S&P) forecast Philippine economic expansion to slow down to 1 percent this year due to the lower than expected first quarter growth and a significant shortfall in government revenues.

Second-quarter GDP growth to take a hit   THE Philippine economy may not pick up in the second quarter of the year as four agencies tasked to stimulate growth failed to disburse funds for infrastructure projects.

MANILA, Philippines – Workers from both the government and the private sector who have been infected with the A(H1N1) virus can now seek compensation from the Employees’ Compensation Commission through the Social Security System or the Government Service Insurance System.

MANILA, Philippines – Nearly a quarter of a million unemployed or underemployed Filipinos found jobs through the Comprehensive Livelihood and Emergency Employment Program (CLEEP) between January and July this year, the government said yesterday.

MANILA, Philippines – Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago, chairperson of the Senate Economic Affairs Committee, will file a bill providing conditional cash transfers (CCTs) to extremely poor families.

MANILA, Philippines – Malacañang assured the public yesterday that prices of certain medicines, including those taken by the elderly, will go down by half in the next 10 days even as officials turned the tables against Sen. Mar Roxas, who they said was actually the one opposing the reduction of the prices of drugs.

DAVAO CITY, Philippines – Commission on Human Rights (CHR) head Leila de Lima declared a “breakthrough” in the investigation into the existence of the so-called Davao Death Squad (DDS) after more skeletal remains believed to be those of victims of summary executions here were dug up.

MANILA, Philippines – Hard times struck in 2008 but the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said banks managed to keep their capital levels significantly above international standards, driven by conscious efforts to beef up capital.

MANILA, Philippines – HP products, particularly inkjet printers, now contain more recycled materials compared to units shipped two years ago. It was one of the various environmental goals that HP set last year for 2010 fruition, but has been exceeded a full year ahead of schedule.

MANILA, Philippines – The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) is losing roughly 35 percent in potential revenues because of the existence of the so-called underground economy and other tax evaders, a ranking Department of Finance official said over the weekend.

MANILA, Philippines – Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Amando M. Tetangco Jr. said over the weekend that the Philippines would have to address three major deficiencies in its legal system, particularly the declaration of terrorist financing as a criminal offense on its own.

MANILA, Philippines – The non-performing loan (NPL) ratio of universal and commercial banks rose slightly to 3.74 percent in May from 3.65 percent in April but remained well below the 4.17 percent ratio over the same month in 2008, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported over the weekend.

THE ANNUAL INFLATION RATE of 1.5 percent posted in June was the lowest the country has seen in 22 years. This implies that consumer prices as a whole have shown remarkable stability over the past year. For the year so far, the average over the first half was 5 percent, which is lower than the…

From the top of Singapore’s Equinox bar you can see the city skyline and ship after ship after ship. Singapore claims to be the busiest port in the world.