Monthly Archives: October 2009

Amidst the unemployment problem, certain jobs are hard to fill and remain unfilled for unbelievably long period. As a result, 41% of employers in a recent survey struggled to find qualified candidates due to a dearth of talent.

MANILA, Philippines – Banks in the Philippines have reduced lending rates much faster than those in most Asian countries, thus contributing more to efforts to pump-prime the economy amid the lingering global economic crisis.

ZAMBOANGA SIBUGAY: Six established Filipino companies, including an electric cooperative in Western Mindanao, have been named regional winners in the prestigious Department of Labor and Employment’s 2009 Productivity Olympics. The six winners were Julies Bakeshop, Philippine Pioneer Rubber Products Corp., Pagadian City Springland Resort, Vic Engineering and Drilling Services, Zamboanga del Sur Electric Cooperative, Incorporated…

The newspapers report the vast devastation in our agricultural sector wrought by typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng. Rice fields have been inundated, rice warehouses in the North flooded. Thousands upon thousands of sacks of rice were rendered inutile, unfit for human consumption, and there are talks that we may need to embark on hefty importations again…

Apply the SOS approach, as an initial and interim measure. This is the essence of the reply I got from former Optical Media Board chairman Edu Manzano in reaction to my column of October 17. That piece raised the possibility of an upsurge in the exploitation of women and children — especially the latter —…

MANILA, Philippines – President Arroyo has ordered all government offices to use only the E10 blend of gasoline for their vehicles as part of the state’s contribution to the promotion of bio-fuels.

MANILA, Philippines – Multi-player online role-playing games, social networking sites, and pornography are officially banned on public high school Internet stations.

MANILA, Philippines – Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) announced yesterday that effective today the benefit package for normal childbirth or “spontaneous delivery” done in accredited hospitals and maternity clinics will be increased from P4,500 to P6,500.

MANILA, Philippines – US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has commended the Philippines’ international interfaith initiatives, particularly the Tripartite Forum on Interfaith Cooperation for Peace.

Heeding the call of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo for all government agencies to provide assistance and relief to areas heavily affected by Typhoons “Ondoy” and “Pepeng”, the Depart of Labor and Employment (DOLE) created the DOLE Crisis Response Team to expedite the necessary interventions and assistance particularly the Ondoy-affected workers in the private sector and informal…

NEW DELHI, India— It’s “mission accomplished” for the 20-member Philippine team to the just-concluded 2009 Wizards at Mathematics International Competition (WIZMIC) where it finished in second place.

MANILA, Philippines—Beginning in December, Filipinos working in the Middle East may take professional licensure examinations in their host countries to boost their credentials.

As 2GO drops out and Smartmatic switches manufacturers of ACMs Too many changes in the poll automation contract between Smartmatic-TIM, the winning bidder, and the Commission on Elections, as well as the reports of the withdrawal of 2GO, the Aboitiz delivery and warehousing firm which also got the nod of the poll body, prompted a…

WASHINGTON – THE US economy exited recession in the third quarter, posting the strongest growth in two years, according to government data released on Thursday.

MANILA, Philippines–A state firm is seeking a budget of P100 million to maintain the mothballed 630-megawatt Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP) next year, according to a government official.

MANILA, Philippines–Remittances sent through informal channels continued to decline, amounting to only less than 4 percent of total money from abroad.

WE know that credit cards are not our best friend, but somehow, we find ourselves relying on them more than we should. A card can be a beneficial financial partner when it’s simply a substitute for cash, meaning you’ll pay in full come due date because it’s hassle-free and virtually interest-free. Other than that, it’s…

I had a different topic planned but I’m going to have to talk about oil again despite the fact that I’ve done so several times before (columns of May 15, July 24 and Aug. 21 are a few). The government’s dangerous decision to take a populist approach and discard sound economics leaves me no option.

BALANGA City: The labor union head of Dunlop Slazenger at the Bataan Economic Zone suffered four gunshot wounds but miraculously survived the ambush staged by still unidentified men some meters away from his residence in Mountain View, Mariveles on Wednesday.

THE country’s poor tax effort and the effects of the global financial crisis could derail the government’s quest to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015, a government think-tank said. “The country’s tax effort is worrisome. It’s a cause [for] concern because it affects the chance to achieve the MDGs,” Josef Yap, president of…

MAP chief warns: Price control ‘very dangerous’ The president of the Management Association of the Philippines (MAP) said that the government order to freeze fuel prices may have a short-term benefit, but its consequence was “very dangerous” to the economy as it would create a black market. “Buyers will turn to informal sources and a…

I support the deregulation of industries. Less government intervention is the better for business. I was one of the countless oil company staff that worked on position papers and made one too many presentations to legislators and media to deliver the message that deregulation would benefit the consumers.

WASHINGTON – The United States has emerged from a long and crippling recession, posting its strongest growth in two years in the third quarter as government stimulus spurred consumer spending, official data showed Thursday.

Pat Cuilan, Benguet: The RH bill is among the worthy measures that can regulate a population that’s growing faster than the economy. Ruel Bautista, Laguna: The RH Bill is against the Catholic Church’s doctrine. I’ll never be in favor of it.

MANILA, Philippines — A sedentary lifestyle and an unhealthy diet have contributed to the rise in diabetes patients in the country, with as many as 1.4 million Filipino adults (aged 20 and above) acquiring the disease in the last five years.

MANILA, Philippines – Voicing “serious” concern over inadequate reproductive health services and information, low rate of contraceptive use and difficulties in access to artificial methods that contribute to teen pregnancies and high maternal death, a United Nations panel urged the government to pass the Reproductive Health (RH) bill.

REMITTANCES SENT by Filipinos overseas, which now account for 10 percent of the gross national product, may no longer contribute as much to the economy seven years from now.

INVESTMENT BANK UBS has upgraded its growth outlook for the Philippines for 2010 alongside a modest global recovery and benign inflation prospects.

WHERE IS IT?: As the country reels from an emergency compounded by the manipulation of fuel prices, we ask what ever happened to the P300 million that was supposed to help small retailers entering the deregulated oil industry.

MANILA, Philippines – Paolo Velasco, a 17-year old fourth year student of the Marikina National High School is in danger of not graduating because he is hard-up going to school while working in the meat shop of his uncle. Working long hours, he earns a measly P100 a day which he shares with his younger…