Monthly Archives: October 2009

CEBU, Philippines – Birth control pills and other forms of artificial hormonal contraception increase the risk of breast cancer among women, the Human Life International – Pilipinas said yesterday.

MANILA, Philippines – Portfolio investments continued to bounce back to a net inflow of $229.1 million in the first nine months of the year from a net outflow of $889.1 million in the same period last year amid the global economic slowdown, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported yesterday.

MANILA, Philippines – Remittances from overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) went up by 2.8 percent in August on the back of the steady deployment of Filipino workers abroad and the increasing number of remittance centers worldwide, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas reported yesterday.

MANILA, Philippines – Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri announced that Congress has ratified the bicameral conference committee report of the Magna Carta for Homeowners and Homeowners’ Association Tuesday night before both houses went into a three-week recess.

MANILA, Philippines – The House committee on energy is studying possible amendments to the 1998 Oil Deregulation Law that would allow the government to “manage” pump prices in times of calamity.

The electronics industry is still hurting, but better times could be here before you know it.

Motorcycles and tricycles now dominate the Philippine streets, according to the government’s statistical board.

State-run relocation projects boosted production of the National Housing Authority and helped strengthen its financing footing, according to an official.

THE Philippines ranked 34th among 84 developing countries in reducing hunger, but was first in the world in providing equal opportunities to men and women, according to the 2009 Global Hunger Index report.

A new front in the ongoing battle being waged by a group of misguided (and foreign-funded) non-government organizations against the banana-exporting industry has opened in the Supreme Court. Last week, the mostly Davao-based NGOs staged a rally in front of the tribunal to dramatize their demand to ban the decades-long practice of aerial spraying of…

OUSTED President Joseph Estrada yesterday named a motley lineup of 11 senatorial candidates for the United Opposition, including Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, Ilocos Norte Rep. Ferdinand Marcos Jr., Makati Rep. Teodoro Locsin Jr. and actor Edu Manzano.

MANILA, Philippines – Liberal Party standard-bearer Sen. Benigno Aquino III has emerged as the top choice of Filipinos for the country’s next president, results of the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey revealed.

MANILA, Philippines—A National Women’s Summit with the theme “Women’s Self-Reliant Leadership in Times of Crisis” will be held at Miriam College on October 20-21 with the topics Gender and Disaster Risk Reduction and Management, the state of Human Rights in the Philippines, Gendered Responses to Governance and Corruption, as well as Violence Against Women high…

MANILA – It is possible for ordinary citizens to predict oncoming floods using a low-cost, do-it-yourself gadget. This is according to Dr. Carlos Arcilla, Director of the National Institute for Geological Sciences (NIGS) at the University of the Philippines- Diliman.

MANILA – A 28-year-old Filipino household service worker in Saudi Arabia has sought the help of a Filipino migrants group reportedly for fear of being located by an alleged abusive employer whom she ran away from.

The hunger problem in the Philippines was categorized as “serious” and ranked the country 34th among 84 countries in the Global Hunger Index (GHI), according to a report prepared by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), Welthungerhilfe and Concern Worldwide.

WASHINGTON – Asia may be leading the world’s recovery from recession but its growth prospects are still clouded by the fragile global economic situation, the Asian Development Bank’s top economist said Wednesday.

MANILA – Concerned health groups are hoping to give more condoms and toiletries to victims of tropical storm Ondoy, in an effort to respond to reproductive health (RH) problems in overcrowded evacuation centers.

The handling of the Ondoy disaster was a massive managerial failure, I said last week in my column.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) raised its forecast for the country’s dollar surplus, citing robust remittance inflows and foreign investments.

THE Philippines needs significant investments in the short term to bring its natural gas resources to the retail market.

An upcoming job fair organized by foreign businessmen will give priority to job seekers who were affected by tropical storms Ondoy and Pepeng.

WASHINGTON, D.C.: The United States said last Tuesday that it would not endorse any new global trade accord unless it contained a “solid” deal on services, urging Asian nations in particular to liberalize the lucrative sector. “We know that the biggest gains to the global economy are likely to derive from multilateral services liberalization, but…

Dear PAO, I would like to inquire about the computation of an employee’s separation pay. I have a friend who works for a company that is about to change its company name. Is she entitled to a separation pay? Her salary is P10,000.00 a month and she has been with this company for over 10…

THE Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) expects to enhance its operational capability with the implementation of a knowledge transfer project endorsed by the Supreme Prosecutors Office of Korea. PDEA has been chosen as the beneficiary of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean)-Republic of Korea Knowledge Transfer on Narcotics Crime project.

A lawmaker on Wednesday filed a measure that would prohibit the imposition of a surcharge, extra charge or additional charge in the use of the credit, or automated teller machine (ATM) debit cards for payment of purchases of consumer products and services. Rep. Narciso Santiago 3rd of the party-list Alliance for Rural Concerns filed House…

ROME: The food crisis in poor countries, coupled with the global economic crisis, has caused a spike in world hunger, with more than one billion people undernourished this year, United Nations food agencies said on Wednesday.

Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino 3rd again led all candidates for president in next year’s elections in a survey that sought to determine the top three candidates most preferred by the public to succeed President Gloria Arroyo.

MANILA, Philippines – The economy may still hit the high end of the government’s 0.8 to 1.8 percent growth target this year despite the damage caused by the two typhoons that recently ravaged the country and the lingering impact of the global financial crisis, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Augusto Santos said during the government’s midyear economic…

The timely payment of a cash or surety bond is a jurisdictional requirement for the perfection of the appeal by employers to the NLRC. If no bond is posted within the period to perfect the appeal, the case will be dismissed even if a motion to reduce the bond has been filed and yet unresolved.…