Monthly Archives: November 2009

35% NOW LIVE BELOW POVERTY LINE MORE people slipped below the poverty line this year, making it almost impossible for the country to attain the Millennium Development Goal of reducing poverty by half by 2015, economists claimed.

Singapore: Asia-Pacific leaders including the US and Chinese presidents Sunday pledged to reject trade protectionism and pursue a new strategy for growth after the world’s worst economic crisis in decades.

US State Secretary Hillary Clinton has undoubtedly charmed the Filipinos during her two-day whirlwind visit. Like a true diplomat, she ably traipsed her way through delicate and highly sensitive matters concerning Filipino-American relationship by tactfully emphasizing that we are “partners” in finding solutions to political, socio-economic and cultural problems.

MANILA, Philippines – After being rejected by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) for the second time around, Ang Ladlad party-list, which represents homosexuals, bisexuals and transgender individuals has found an ally in the Commission on Human Rights (CHR), which is likely to file a Motion for Intervention as it supports the group’s plea for reconsideration.

MANILA, Philippines – The Office of the Ombudsman claimed yesterday that corruption ranking of the Philippines according to the latest Washington-based Millennium Challenge Corp. (MCC) index is based on “mere perception.”

MANILA, Philippines – There is no reason for fuel pump prices to increase with the scrapping of Executive Order 839 that had implemented a price cap on oil products in Luzon, officials pointed out.

A meeting of G-7 officials in Japan acknowledges that “downside risks” remain for the global economy, in part because of dangers stemming from the U.S. housing crisis.

MANILA, Philippines – At the height of the global financial crisis last year, the government had distributed 32.6 million kilograms of rice worth P652 million to around half a million families through President Arroyo’s Food for School Program (FSP), the National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC) said yesterday.

MANILA, Philippines – The first multilingual call center in Mindanao has begun operations in Zamboanga City.

COMMUNIST rebels attacked a logging company and killed 12 security forces in Surigao del Sur, the military said yesterday.

MISIBIS BAY, Albay – The past year has seen many stories citing IT as a stepping stone for global industries to recover from tumultuous global economic downspin. In the Philippines, the effect is not as bad as in other countries until the export industry took a hit when demand for products declined.

SINGAPORE—As Asia-Pacific leaders tackled further relaxing trade barriers and galvanizing regional integration in the face of the financial crisis, President Macapagal-Arroyo on Saturday asked her counterparts to come up with a framework ensuring the protection and fair treatment of migrant workers.

SINGAPORE—Japan’s Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama on Saturday said that his country, which is battling low birth rates and an aging population, should make itself more attractive to migrants.

Eliminating barriers to trade will lead to more Canadian investments in the Philippines, a top Canadian trade official said on Friday.

SINGAPORE: The global recovery faces serious pitfalls including mass unemployment in rich nations, asset bubbles, and a lurch toward protectionism, the World Bank chief and Asia-Pacific leaders warned Friday.

The Teachers’ Dignity Coalition (TDC) over the weekend released a list of demands it said the government and the Commission on Election (Comelec) should fulfill before teachers do poll duties in the 2010 national elections. “We are appealing to the national government and the Comelec to hear our demand first before ordering us to do…

The World Health Organization (WHO) yesterday expressed concern for the psychological well-being of more than a million people still living in flood waters weeks after three typhoons swept through the Philippines.

Acting National Economic Development Authority (Neda) chief Augusto Santos has dismissed as baseless the claim made by his predecessor, Ralph Recto, that prices of petroleum products in the country are overpriced by at least P8.

ANGELES CITY, Pampanga , Philippines  – The Department of Tourism is eyeing bright tourism prospects in North Philippines for the rest of the year despite calamities.

MANILA, Philippines – Information technology experts have warned that the Philippines will not be able to effectively interconnect with its ASEAN neighbors once their economies are integrated unless the country starts structuring its IT network.

SINGAPORE – President Arroyo said yesterday that the Philippines will continue its fiscal stimulus program and would issue more bonds to finance it.

MANILA, Philippines – Nursing, accounting, teaching, and even dog-handling are just a few of the “hot” jobs that Filipinos should apply for next year.

MANILA, Philippines – The Pinoy’s ability to adopt an American, British or Australian accent could make up for his ineptitude in the English language and protect the Philippines’ image as one of the world’s top locations for a business process outsourcing (BPO), according to Jayjay Viray, managing director of JobsDB.com.

MANILA, Philippines – Malacañang will closely monitor oil firms and traders to check their compliance with the conditions set by President Arroyo last week in exchange for lifting price caps on petroleum products and other basic commodities effective tomorrow, officials said yesterday.

MANILA, Philippines – One in every five Filipino children aged zero to five years suffers from stunted growth because of poor feeding practices, a report from the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) said.

MANILA, Philippines – Young Filipino math and science wizards placed second in the math category in the 6th International Math and Science Olympiad (IMSO) in Jogjakarta, Indonesia recently.

MANILA, Philippines – Sen. Joker Arroyo came to the defense of Ang Ladlad, a gay organization whose petition for party-list status was junked by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) on grounds of “immorality.”

(Speech delivered before the Rotary Club of Manila 101 on November 13, 2009, Tower Club, Makati City.) MANILA, Philippines – A Manila broadsheet recently reported the signing of a GRP-MILF accord calling for the establishment of an International Contact Group (ICG) – a body that will be composed of major foreign government stakeholders in addition…

BERLIN—Shanghai, the world’s largest port, may be the Chinese metropolis most at risk from climate change.

President Arroyo yesterday signed into law the Anti-Torture Act of 2009 in Malacañang, obligating her government to provide protection to Filipinos’ human rights by going after perpetrators of such acts of abuse.