Monthly Archives: September 2009

Micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in the country have to deal with lack of an enabling environment, access to finance and markets and productivity, Rhodora Leaño, the director of the Department of Trade and Industry’s Bureau of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise Development, said during a roundtable at The Manila Times on Friday.

BERLIN: The global economy “appears to be emerging” from a steep slump and countries should plan to wind down stimulus efforts, according to International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn day.

MANILA, Philippines – For five straight months, customers of Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) will be paying less for their electricity bills, a company official said yesterday.

MANILA, Philippines – Due to the Philippines’ high vulnerability to rising sea levels and destructive typhoons, President Arroyo has ordered concerned government agencies to rush the formulation of an adaptation plan for the country against the effects of climate change, officials said yesterday.

There is no doubt that the political stock of Sen. Manuel “Mar” Roxas has risen quite sharply with his surprising announcement in giving way to the presidential bid of Sen. Benigno “”Noynoy” Aquino III and accepting to be his vice presidential candidate. But as of press time, Noynoy has not yet made the decision to…

MANILA, Philippines – President Arroyo has set aside P12 billion in her proposed P1.541-trillion 2010 national budget as subsidy for poor families, or more than double this year’s allocation of P5 billion.

Beyond its mandate of service to its members, the SSS has always been aware of its corporate social responsibility (CSR) towards the greater public and its role as an instrument of humanitarian and social work. Starting from simple financial donations to socio-civic and charitable institutions, the SSS has ince expanded its CSR programs to incorporate…

NEW DELHI: India’s trade minister reminded World Trade Organization (WTO) members Friday of the work needed to clinch a new global free-trade pact next year as ministers from more than 30 countries wrapped up a two-day meeting here.

Long-awaited talks in Norway this weekend between the Philippine government and Maoist rebels aimed at ending a deadly 40-year insurgency will not go ahead, both sides said Friday.

MANILA, Philippines – Rising debt service expense and government payroll have led to the contraction of proposed infrastructure funds for next year, Budget Secretary Rolando Andaya Jr. said yesterday.

Finance ministers from the world’s most powerful economies have agreed a series of measures to try to regulate the global banking system.

BERLIN—Sex happens 125 million times a day, but the subject remains taboo and the issues associated with it—including abortion and contraception—remain a source of division among people with different persuasions, a conference was told here Monday.

MANILA, Philippines — An organization of Asian migrant labor organizations Thursday denounced a Hong Kong government decision to freeze foreign domestic workers’ monthly wages at the current HK$3,580 (about P22,500) level.

A bill pending before the Senate committee on labor and employment that proposes to radically amend Labor Code provisions on contracting and subcontracting will wreak havoc on the economy by forcing out of business independent contractors and service providers.

The severity of the global economic downturn was not anticipated by policymakers.

Sometimes, the best way to uncover the real motives for outwardly inexplicable actions is to let some time pass. In the case of the controversial proposed nationwide ban on aerial spraying of fungicides in banana plantations in Mindanao, it’s becoming clearer and clearer that neither the public’s health nor the protection of the environment are…

First of two parts On August 19, 2009, 14 chairpersons of technical panels for the different clusters of higher education programs met with the technical panel for General Education (GE) for a consultative conference. The purposes were to hear the views of the different technical panels on what they expect from students finishing GE and…

FILINVEST Land Inc. (FLI) said the oversupply in business process outsourcing (BPO) office space in Metro Manila would persist in the next three years.

CLARK FREEPORT, Pampanga, Philippines – President Arroyo ordered yesterday the creation of provincial anti-hunger task forces, starting with the six “most food-poor” provinces in Mindanao.

MANILA, Philippines — It’s an order well-meant but lacking in funds. The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), in a statement, said that it could not yet accommodate the 300,000 additional families President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo ordered included in a government poverty-reduction program by next year.

“An employment that has been zealously earned, industriously worked for, valued and treasured, should be secured. The protection should extend to remunerations and benefits, with all the enhancements, merited due to years of arduous service.”

MANILA, Philippines — A total of 216,176 new overseas absentee voters (OAV) registered in various posts abroad for the May 2010 presidential election in the six-month registration period that ended August 31, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Wednesday.

US Federal Reserve policymakers are increasingly confident the downturn in the US economy is ending, minutes from their latest meeting show.

Civil socialites who were earlier for Sen. Mar Roxas as presidential bet dumped him for Noynoy Aquino, after they saw the opportunity to ride on the public sympathy shown during the wake and funeral of former President Corazon Aquino, in the belief that the sympathy wave would translate to votes for Noynoy. They certainly had…

The National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP), which represents the local communist movement whose followers have been hankering for peace since the 1986 peace talks flopped, yesterday cast doubt on the ability of the Arroyo leadership to pursue peace talks with them.

The PC industry is coming out of the recession, the boss of the world’s biggest chipmaker has told the BBC.

BRUSSELS, Belgium (Reuters) — The euro zone jobless rate held unchanged at a three-and-a-half year high in July and producer prices were more subdued than expected in the same month, the European Union statistics office said.

INTERNATIONAL passenger traffic flow in the Philippines dipped in the first six months of the year as airlines reduced capacity amid the Influenza A(H1N1) scare and the global economic downturn, the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) said Wednesday.

DAVAO CITY, Philippines – After a lull for several months, summary killings have again surged in this southern metropolis, with 15 cases recorded last month alone.

MANILA, Philippines – The peso hit a nine-month low of 49.01 to the dollar during intra-day trading yesterday on the back of renewed risk aversion, traders said.