Monthly Archives: August 2009

The moment I got the news I never wanted to hear, there was nothing else to do but cry. I have written two columns expressing my support for former President Corazon Cojuangco Aquino after she started her battle with colon cancer. I had been praying fervently for a miraculous recovery for her, joining the rest…

Providing subsidies like reduction in taxes and easy access to credit lines will help small and medium enterprises (SMEs) weather the global economic crisis, according to economists.

MANILA, Philippines — A total of 159,100 new absentee voters have registered after six months under the Overseas Absentee Voting (OAV) registration, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) announced Tuesday.

MANILA, Philippines — More than nine million Filipino families consider themselves poor, while nearly two in five say they are “food poor,” according to the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey.

China’s job outlook remains “very grave” and could deteriorate further, a senior official has said.

SENATOR Mar Roxas is allying himself with the Left to boost his stock among the poor, who comprise the majority of voters, and increase his chances for the presidency next year, says Senator Franklin Drillon, chairman of the Liberal Party of which Roxas is a member.

MANILA, Philippines—Congress should build up the Nurses Assigned in Rural Service (NARS) Project toward mobilizing a larger number of unemployed nurses, this time as village midwives, a lawmaker from Mindanao said.

Over 1.2 million barangay (village) officials and their families will soon receive free health insurance coverage under a joint project of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) with local government executives. DILG Secretary Ronaldo Puno, who announced this new benefit package for the village officials…

Social networking, video requires more resources MANILA, Philippines – Data centers are in a renaissance in recent years with increased Internet usage, spurred by the growth of online services.

Your neighborhood sari-sari (variety) store, the Internet café on the street corner, the food stall where you buy cheap meals to fix that grumbling stomach—they may not be as huge as a shopping mall, an IT hub or a fastfood restaurant, but these micro-, small- and medium-enterprises (MSMEs) help bolster the domestic economy amid a…

CEBU, Philippines – The out-of-school organization of Talisay City, Pag-asa Youth Association (PYA), yesterday celebrated its second founding anniversary that was highlighted by the opening of the youth center and products and services booths at the city’s sports complex in Barangay Poblacion.

MANILA, Philippines – The United Nations Secretary General’s Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict said compliance to the action plan signed by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) on Friday to prevent the continued recruitment of child soldiers requires close follow-up.

Last week the National Bureau of Investigation filed a charge of credit fraud against a dentist who allegedly booked P1.2 million on her patient’s credit card without his knowledge. The card holder questioned six transactions which were charged to his card, claiming that he never used the card on the day the transactions were supposedly…

MANILA, Philippines—President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has ordered the Bureau of Immigration (BI) to loosen its policy on jet-setting Chinese tourists and allow them to enter the country without visas and remain for seven days.

According to a blog post citing an article in a newspaper, Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero asked Filipinos to stop negative tirades against President Arroyo because she should not anymore be an issue in 2010. Posted on the blog of Ladlad founder and Ateneo Prof.

FEWER Filipino nurses now want to work in the United States, because of the global recession, the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines said yesterday.

President Arroyo on Friday (Saturday in Manila) witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the Philippines and the United States on “Cooperation in Maritime Counter-Piracy, Training and Education” in Washington D.C.

CEBU, Philippines – Councilor Edgardo Labella wants sales ladies in commercial establishments in the city to be provided with seats where they could rest when not attending to customers.

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) has set in place a mechanism to facilitate the settlement of all labor disputes and subsequently the delivery of justice and assistance to workers in distress.

About one-third of HIV-positive adults have recently engaged in sexual behavior that could put others at risk for infection, but the factors associated with such behavior differ for women, heterosexual men, and men who have sex with men, according to a new study.

Century Properties, a top real-estate firm which has active presence in Filipino markets overseas, attests to the resilience of the residential real estate sector in the Philippines.

Gone are the days when social cause and profit orientation occupied opposite ends of a tense rope.

Next to improving the intelligence quotient of students, the Department of Education (DepEd) is also focusing on enriching the emotional quotient of learners to support its effort to inculcate the value of cultural heritage among the youth.

The erstwhile delayed salaries would be given soon to the 300 Filipino construction workers in Maldives, the Department of Foreign Affairs reported over the weekend.

Three lawmakers sought to amend the watered-down version of the Cheaper Medicines Law with the inclusion of the Drug Price Regulatory Board (DPRB), which would put a cap on all types of medicine.

WASHINGTON (AFP): The US economy showed signs of emerging from a long and brutal recession, according to data on Friday showing a narrower-than-expected  1.0% decline in output in the second-quarter.

MANILA, Philippines – It never occurred to this urban poor women’s cooperative, or this guild of construction workers, that they would win orders from big companies.

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The Pamilyang Overseas Filipino Workers-Small and Medium Entrepreneurs Network Foundation Inc. (POFW) urged yesterday the overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and their families, as well as the members of the POFW, to attend the Philippine Business and Entrepreneurs Expo (PBEX) 2009 which will be held today, July 29 to Aug. 2 at the SM Megatrade Hall…

Thousands of workers, mostly from malls and small retailers in Binondo, Quiapo, Sta. Cruz in Manila, and Baclaran in Parañaque may lose their jobs due to “unwarranted raids” on these small businesses by government agents, the Department of Labor and Employment yesterday said.