Monthly Archives: August 2009

MANILA, Philippines – The country’s import performance began to show signs of recovery in June, posting the lowest annual contraction since October last year and marking the second consecutive month of improvement.

Growth opens more business for telcos MANILA, Philippines – There will be 30 million Internet users in the Philippines by 2012, driven by lower cost of access and wider availability of devices, according to a report by research group Nielsen.

MANILA, Philippines—An IT company is giving out tickets to Quentin Tarantino’s latest movie, “Inglourious Basterds,” and a day off in a bid to get its employees to register for next May’s elections.

MANILA, Philippines – Companies from the United States and Europe are looking at investing in the country’s retirement sector, with plans already on the table to set up “continuing care facilities” for retirees.

The Joint Foreign Chambers (JFC), which is made up of the biggest foreign trade groups in the country, has opposed a bill seeking to limit the number of casual workers hired by firms operating in the country.

The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) has urged the national government to instantly settle some P19.2 in unpaid dues it owes the state-run Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) in order to prevent the firm from becoming insolvent.

A militant lawmaker has asked Congress to investigate the contracts entered into by the Philippine government and local governments that reportedly allow foreign corporations long-term use of the country’s agricultural lands.

Foreign businessmen said they would block a pending bill at the House of Representatives that seeks to provide workers security of tenure.

The possibility of hacking into the automated election system is “practically nil,” a technical consultant to the Commission on Elections (Comelec) said Monday, disputing allegations made by several groups that the automated machines can be easily tampered with.

CEBU, Philippines – The management and rank and file employees of Coca-Cola Philippines-Cebu Plant inked a three-year Collective Bargaining Agreement yesterday.

To continue with last week’s loaded topic on fats, Dr. Angel Respicio Jr., nutrition adviser at The Sleeplab, Hawaii Medical Center-West, prescribes this formidable list of nutrients to ward off the Big C:

Military op-eratives in the United States have recently deployed its latest secret weapon in the war against terror: Barney the Dinosaur. The famous purple and green Tyrannosaurus Rex loved by children all over the world is now battling it out with the Al Qaeda. His mission for the US military is simple enough. Just really loudly sing his…

Doctors call it gastroesophageal reflux disease or GERD. Millions of people call it heartburn, and many others have coughing, wheezing, or hoarseness without realizing that GERD is to blame. By any name, GERD is common, bothersome, and sometimes serious. But once you know you have GERD, and understand its mechanics, you can control it and…

MANILA, Philippines – Mindanao farmers asked the Departmetn of Health yesterday to work for the banning of aerial spraying of pesticides in banana plantations in the region, saying that this gravely affects their health and other crops.

MANILA, Philippines – The Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) is projecting a 10-percent increase in mineral production value this year due to the improvement in the prices of gold, nickel and copper as the global economy starts showing signs of recovery.

MANILA, Philippines – The Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) is optimistic that the remittance business in the Philippines will expand on the higher end of the single-digit growth this year.

MANILA, Philippines – An acclaimed economist of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) is optimistic that the Philippine economy will make a strong recovery in the second semester of 2009.

MANILA, Philippines – The government sold P8.5 billion worth of Treasury bills (T-bills) yesterday after investors swarmed the auction with total tenders reaching P23 billion or almost three times oversubscribed.

We are happy to note that there is now more involvement of local agencies and authorities in the implementation of poverty solutions. The Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines (ULAP) and various state agencies namely the Department of Health, Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) and…

MANILA, Philippines – Young Filipino math wizards continue to impress the world with their latest feat at the 5th International Mathematics Contest in Singapore.

MANILA, Philippines – More adult Filipinos remain optimistic that their lives will improve in the next 12 months, a survey by the Social Weather Stations (SWS) revealed yesterday.

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Scientists claim they have developed a more sensitive test for the asbestos-related cancer mesothelioma.

Data suggest Europe, Asia improving; China leader cautions world economy faces ‘difficulties’

Throughout the majority of the 20th century, power plants were a common location for asbestos exposure. Before the 1980s, asbestos was considered an ideal material due to its insulating properties and ability to withstand high temperatures.

Secretary Ronnie Puno of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) has called on local chief executives to support the department’s training initiatives on the barangay human rights program, which seeks to empower vulnerable sectors like women and children in pursuing justice through heightened awareness about their basic rights and the country’s judicial…

Despite the worldwide recession, more than 150,000 jobs are being offered in the United Kingdom to foreign workers, including Filipinos, who will qualify under the new points-based system introduced in 2008 by the UK Border and Immigration System.

What could possibly go wrong in the automated national elections in May 2010?

Fruit growers in Mindanao are going bananas. They need to repel the spread of unseen but disastrous fungi if they are to go on exporting banana by the billions of tons. But a drive to ban aerial spraying of pesticides is hemming them in from the other side. The Philippine Banana Growers and Exporters Association…

A law is necessary and desirable if its purpose is to promote public welfare and advance the common good. And we can be sure that this is its purpose if it is based on the truth. This is the problem with the RH bill. It is based on grounds that are not true or accurate.…