Monthly Archives: September 2009

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines likely improved its ranking in the annual global survey on doing business set to be released next week, the International Finance Corp. (IFC) said.

MANILA, Philippines – Four out of 10 Filipinos disapprove of President Arroyo’s performance and continue to distrust her, according to the latest Pulse Asia survey released yesterday.

WE are unable to read minds, so we can only guess at what was really going through Senator Mar Roxas’ brain when he decided to sacrifice his presidential ambitions in favor of his friend, Senator Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III, whose unremarkable record as a lawmaker is an open book.

THE leadership of the politically influential Iglesia Ni Cristo is expected to pass to Eduardo Manalo, 53, with the death of his father, Eraño Manalo, 84, of cardiopulmonary arrest.

THE communists are still hoping to achieve what they call a “strategic stalemate” in the next 10 years in their war against the government, and that with luck, “progressive forces within the ruling system” will negotiate peace with them to achieve national unity.

THE EARLIEST years with my kids as a single parent were characterized by sleepless nights, missed meals, reading by candlelight to save electricity…

Representative government is not a perfect system of government, and one of its salient imperfections is the elected representatives’ inability to accord priority to the needs and concerns of all those who elected them. As a result, some constituents consider themselves marginalized and calls begin to be made for steps to correct this systemic shortcoming.

There are just too many kinks needed to be ironed out if transparent, honest and orderly electronic voting, as being pushed by both the Commission on Elections (Comelec) and Smartmatic-TIM, is to come about.

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has again failed to achieve its eyed number of new registrants for the overseas absentee voting (OAV) for the national elections next year, missing its target of 1 million by a huge margin.

Given the present global economic and political climate, we put in mind that there are those who are underprivileged in terms of employment opportunities and basic necessities to sustain a decent way of life. Within the glamour of these earthly blessings we are endowed with as entrepreneurs and employers, corporate social responsibility, especially for the…

BACOLOD CITY: A supervisor of a fast food giant in Bacolod City is in hot seat for alleged sexual harassment filed by two female service crew workers while another victim may follow suit with an additional case.

The Philippines represented by Filipino students from the University of the Philippines College of Law emerged as the overall champion in the prestigious 2009 Asia Cup International Law Moot Court Competition held in Japan recently, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) reported Tuesday.

The private sector is increasing its role in poverty alleviation, and best practices among firms should be shared to reduce poverty in Southeast Asia, experts said during a ceremony on Tuesday.

MANILA, Philippines – Banks’ credit card receivables as of end-June rose by 3.1 percent, indicating that the global financial turmoil continues to affect the disposable income of consumers.

MANILA, Philippines – Sen. Manuel “Mar” Roxas II made the “supreme sacrifice” and announced yesterday that he would give way to Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III as the presidential candidate of the Liberal Party in the 2010 elections.

The Senate has approved the bicameral committee report of a consolidated version of the various bills on a proposed law that would focus on the formulation of policies and set a national agenda on all matters concerning and related to climate change. The proposed Climate Change Act of 2009 also seeks to create a Climate…

MANILA, Philippines – Health experts have warned that dengue is becoming a global public health threat, owing to rapid urbanization, growing population, increasing international travel and climate change.

MANILA, Philippines – The Commission on Human Rights announced yesterday the creation of a team to investigate the disappearance of 13 members of the National Democratic Front (NDF), the political arm of the communist rebels, as an apparent confidence-building measure to convince the rebels to resume peace talks with the government.

MANILA, Philippines – President Arroyo has made sure that there is “pork” for every lawmaker in her proposed P1.541-trillion 2010 national budget.

THE Department of Budget and Management (DBM) said the government raised its allocation for education next year, adding the sector would get nearly half the budget set aside for social services.

MANILA, Philippines – The government lost P125 billion in potential tax revenues from January to July this year as a result of an economic slowdown and the implementation of several tax relief measures, a ranking finance official said.

PORT UPGRADE: The modernization of the decrepit North Harbor in Manila, now a mere shadow of the crown jewel of the transport industry that it used to be, is long overdue.

MANILA, Philippines – A new movement pushing for a moral force aimed at combating widespread corruption in government was formally launched yesterday with its founder, Chief Justice Reynato Puno, calling on Filipinos to choose leaders who are “true, good and right” in next year’s polls.

Thirty officers and organizers from different unions conducted a leafleting at Sun Life Financial’s headquarters in Makati City , Philippines last August 20, in unity with the protest of Filipino workers at the Pacific Beach Hotel in Waikiki .

MANILA, Philippines – An acting sheriff of the National Labor Relations Commission was arrested by police late Monday for alleged extortion, a police official said on Tuesday.

More than a year after the last wage, a labor party-list solon has called for a quick review of existing wage rates.

The US manufacturing sector grew in August after 18 consecutive monthly declines, a survey from the Institute of Supply Management showed Tuesday.

Sen. Manuel Villar led the choice among 1,200 respondents in a survey on the preference for president for next year’s elections conducted by The Center with 20 percent followed by former President Joseph Estrada and Sen. Francis Escudero in a tie for second and third places both with 16 percent, which comes to an almost…

Mining has always been repugnant to the residents of communities surrounding the mining sites. And this is true in the case of large-scale nickel- mining operation on Mindoro island which is being strongly resisted by the local folk. They fear the venture would cause environmental havoc. Indigenous peoples, farmers, fishermen, political, religious and civil society…

September 1, 2009 marks the 52nd Founding Anniversary of the Social Security System (SSS). With the Anniversary theme, “SSS@52: SOURCE OF SOCIAL SECURITY, STRENGTH AND STABILITY”, this year’s celebration will be headlined by Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Amando M. Tetangco, Jr. as Guest of Honor and Keynote Speaker at the Anniversary Program and Balikat…