Monthly Archives: September 2009

When my niece got pregnant when she was 14, she had to stop going to her old Catholic school because getting pregnant was against the rules. After giving birth, she tried to enroll in another Catholic school. When asked why she transferred from her other school, she told them the truth. They refused her admission.

The problem of juvenile delinquency, however, is not one that we should casually accept as something we could live with. Police reports about crimes such as theft, rape, and drug-related cases often involve offenders who are below 18 years of age, mostly school dropouts. Sen. Kiko Pangilinan authored the law that would give alternative punishments…

STATE subsidies to nonfinancial government owned- and controlled-corporations (GOCCs) rose by double digits in the first eight months this year, the Department of Finance said.

TUGUEGARAO CITY: The National Food Authority (NFA) Cagayan has announced the implementation of a two-tier pricing scheme for corn farmers in the province. Provincial Manager Armando Rey Villacorta said the two-level buying prices for clean and dry yellow corn grain took effect on September 14, 2009. The prices have been set at P12.30 per kilogram…

About 50 percent to 60 percent of Filipinos use generic drugs and more people now prefer less expensive but quality medicines, the Department of Health (DOH) said on Friday. “Five to six of 10 Filipinos are indeed using generic medicines now. This emerging generation of wise consumers is surely increasing and it has caused the…

CEBU, Philippines – The Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) has warned delinquent employers of civil and criminal charges if they will continue to neglect the law on the prompt remittance of premium contributions.

BATANGAS, Philippines – A labor lawyer is now in critical condition after he was shot in front of his law office in Sto. Tomas town yesterday morning, police said.

“Hey Francis, why should I spend a lot of money training my people to only losing them to the competition?” “Hey Francis, training involves a lot of money. It is an expense we cannot afford.”

MANILA, Philippines – The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Department of Energy (DOE) will hold today (Sept. 26) the first large-scale swap of incandescent bulbs to compact fluorescent lamp (CFLs), signaling the gradual and voluntary phase-out of incandescent bulbs in the country.

MANILA, Philippines – The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has deputized five government agencies to check out prospective voting center sites for the May 10, 2010 elections.

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Health (DOH) yesterday warned the public not to rely on the newly developed anti-HIV vaccine and advised people to instead use condoms or abstain from sex to avoid the deadly disease.

MANILA, Philippines – Speaker Prospero Nograles disputed yesterday the results of an “informal survey” supposedly showing that Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III is the top choice among House members for the presidency.

Brusssels (ITUC OnLine):  The world’s trade union movement has described the results of the Pittsburgh G20 Summit as representing progress on the outcome of the April Summit in London, but has warned against complacency and highlighted crucial areas where little or no progress has been made.

Brusssels: Meetings of world trade union leaders with G20 host President Barack Obama and other heads of government in Pittsburgh on the eve of the Summit have helped push employment to the top of the agenda for action by the world’s largest economies.

Trade Union Congress Party (TUCP) Party-List Rep. Raymond D.C. Mendoza recently filed House Bill No. 6851 which intends to criminalize the practice of labor-only contracting and House Bill No. 6850 that aims to strengthen the security of tenure of employees.

Like in a horse race, the announcer declares that all the horses are already lined up ready for the starting gun to fire and you can very well say that the same is true with our Presidential race now that the tandem from the Liberal Party, Presidential standard bearer, Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III and…

MANILA, Philippines – Climate change is happening faster than we believed only two years ago. Continuing with business as usual almost certainly means dangerous, perhaps catastrophic, climate change during the course of this century. This is the most important challenge for this generation of politicians.

MANILA, Philippines—The European Union and some international funding agencies have urged local governments to strengthen alliances to avert the damaging impact of climate change and the global financial crisis on local communities.

MANILA, Philippines – The Commission on Elections (Comelec) is enlisting the help pf teachers, police and IT groups to help survey available network infrastructure in preparation for the 2010 elections.

THE BANGKO SENTRAL NG Pilipinas expects remittances to grow by more than 3 percent this year. Under the BSP’s original forecast, remittances was supposed to register a flat growth this year from last year’s $16.4 billion.

FORTY-FIVE local companies and overseas recruitment agencies are expected to join the first district-wide job fair in Cebu “Trabaho alang sa Quinto Distrito” on Sept. 26 at the Danao Civic Center, Danao City, Cebu.

LEGAZPI CITY, Philippines – Some 20,000 Filipinos are needed to work at the newly established Integrated Free Export Zone (IFEZ) Incheon, South Korea, according to presidential economic adviser and Albay governor Joey Salceda.

A Malacañang survey reported that Noynoy’s Sept. 5 to 6 rating of 51 percent has gone down to 33 percent by Sept. 21. Veteran campaigner, DILG Secretary Ronnie Puno expressed the view that the euphoria from President Cory’s death will not last till election day. Recall that in the survey of The Center, headed by…

Catholic bishops earlier threatened presidential and congressional candidates who support the birth control bill their withdrawal of support come election day, unless these candidates turn their back on the same legislative measure.

The proposed automated elections next year now face a new hurdle, computer trans-missions, which, if not assured for at least 25 percent of the country, would make the Commission on Elections (Comelec) revert to manual polling next year, Comelec Chairman Jose Melo said yesterday.

First of two parts Adisclosure notice. As I am an official of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), I must inform readers of this column that all the issues, statements and information written in this space are my personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect the position of the Office of Programs and Standards (OPS)…

You’ve heard about “midnight” deals surreptitiously signed to land juicy government contracts and other such anomalies. How about an attempt, spearheaded by so-called environmental activists, to cripple an entire agricultural industry by railroading a controversial ban on the basis of a study that the prohibition’s proponents can’t even wait to be reviewed?

1. Money Villyear What’s in a name? This is something that a lot of wise people ask themselves. And that is what I am asking myself now . . . will this man, whose name resounds money, moolah, dough, piedad, pera, datung, cha-ching, or whatever you call those bills and coins that make the world…

KUWAIT CITY: About 17,000 expatriate workers have cancelled their residence permits and left Kuwait in the first half of 2009 due to the impact of the global economic crisis, a Kuwaiti daily said on Thursday. Quoting informed sources in the ministry of social affairs and labor, Al-Seyassah said that more than 70 percent of the…

A global information and communication technology (ICT) research and advisory firm has downgraded its growth forecast for the Philippine business process outsourcing (BPO) sector in light of the economic downturn. In a statement, XMG Global Inc. said the local BPO sector may close the year with a 21.7-percent to $7.3-billion growth—lower than its previous forecast…