Monthly Archives: January 2010

MANILA, Philippines—The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Monday unveiled new safeguards for whistleblowers in a crackdown on corruption.

GINGOOG CITY, Philippines – A Higaonon “alimaong” (warrior), who had been leading an anti-logging campaign, was shot and killed by unidentified men in the village of Minalwang here on Christmas Eve.

Outsourcing providers around the world predict that demand for their services is expanding rapidly, and they are adding staff and investing in new services to meet expected growth, according to a new survey from Duke University’s Offshoring Research Network and PricewaterhouseCoopers.

‘Marriage is null and void if not renewed’ MANILA, Philippines – Unsatisfied with your marriage? Then simply wait 10 years for your marriage to “expire.”

December 14, 2009, Quezon City — Some 25 youth, women and informal workers, union organizers and activists from three (3) trade union organizations (TUCP, FFW and APL), Informal Sector Coalition of the Philippines (ISP) and Youth for Empowerment and Solidarity (YES) and local unions with domestic workers segments in Luzon and selected regions in Visayas…

December 23, 2009, Quezon City –Two Capacity-Building programs on Labor Standards Enforcement Framework (LSEF) and Core Labor Standards were held on 10-12 December and 21-22 December 2009.

A lawmaker is seeking a raise in the termination pay of employees separated from employment because of sickness.

State-run pension fund Social Security System has earmarked P2 billion for investments this year in listed companies with relatively smaller capitalization.

Leading indicators point to an economic recovery in the fourth quarter of 2009, but the impact of typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng restrained the pace of expansion in the last three months last year.

THE Supreme Court has stopped a Quezon City Regional Trial Court from quickly enforcing its order to the state-run National Power Corp. to pay P33.75 billion to the 5,648 employees that it dismissed illegally in 2003, saying that could bankrupt the power producer and the government as well.

TACLOBAN CITY, Philippines – The military claimed it has succeeded in reducing Communist rebel forces in Eastern Visayas.

TACLOBAN CITY, Philippines — The military has claimed success in reducing communist rebel forces in Eastern Visayas.

MANILA, Philippines – As sugar prices continue to increase, the government said they will be importing sugar immediately in order to provide affordable sugar to consumers.

MANILA, Philippines – The Senate ended 2009 by standing up to President Arroyo’s declaration of martial law in Maguindanao following the Nov. 23 massacre of 57 people in the province.

MANILA, Philippines – The local auto industry had a banner year in 2009 as it experienced sales growth across categories, except Asian utility vehicles (AUVs), and finished the year with a 6.4-percent sales increment from 2008 for a full-year total of 132,444 units.

State pension fund Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) said its Consolidated Loan (ConsoLoan) program, a loan window that consolidates five different loan packages into one, provided the country with a much needed economic stimulus last year.

Sen. Loren Legarda wants the Senate to immediately pass the bill she authored creating the Migrant Workers Hospital so that returning overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) can avail themselves of medical care.

Last week, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) warned cement makers that the government would impose a price cap on the construction material barring a return to normal price levels.

THE upcoming national elections may put potential investors on a “wait-and-see” stance, Trade Secretary Peter Favila warned. “[The influx of investments] this year will depend on the outcome of the elections—who is the next president and the credibility of the polls,” he told reporters Friday night.

THE Department of Finance will launch the National Strategy and the Regulatory Framework for Microinsurance on January 29 with the theme “Magpaseguro Para Protektado.” The milestone documents will outline the government’s policy thrusts and directions in providing the poor access to insurance products and services.

Dear PAO, I have been working for seven months now as an instructor in a language school in Cebu. I have no salary deductions for my Social Security System (SSS) and PhilHealth contributions, because of this my employer said that I am not entitled to 13th month pay.

The Bureau of Immigration (BI) opened a total of 33,000 new jobs for Filipinos to help the job industry cope with the financial crisis that hit the globe.

(Editor’s note: In the first part, Father Gaston shows how worldwide the total fertility rate has declined, with richer countries having more older people than young people. He explains that in general, a total fertility rate, or children per woman, of 2.1 is necessary to replace a country’s population. In the Philippines, where mortality rates…

Half a year before the event, election violence has begun—horrifically, in Maguindanao province, and more mildly in eight other provinces so far.

CLARK FREEPORT, Philippines – Because of the sound economic agenda instituted by the administration of Clark Development Corp. president Benigno Ricafort and the support of the state-owned firm to the various crisis-affected firms, most Clark locators are able to recover from the economic meltdown.

MANILA, Philippines – Agrarian Reform Secretary Nasser Pangandaman said Wednesday that the 200,000-hectare land distribution target the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) set for the year is attainable, thanks largely to Congress for restoring the controversial compulsory acquisition scheme and for increasing the budget for land reform.

MANILA, Philippines – Former Sen. Ralph Recto urged the Arroyo administration yesterday to negotiate a debt-for-disaster relief program with the country’s creditors to hasten the rehabilitation of areas devastated by “Ondoy” and “Pepeng.”

Six years is a long time for a bad president, Fidel Ramos famously said. What’s a long time for a bad spouse?

MANILA, Philippines – Doctors and hospital owners opposed a Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (Philhealth) circular imposing a 90-day preventive suspension on member-hospitals and clinics with pending administrative cases.