Monthly Archives: January 2010

MANILA, Philippines – One in 5 Filipino women aged under 50 have suffered physical abuse since the age of 15, according to a government survey released Friday.

HARLOW, Essex – Like Filipino nurses who leave the Philippines to find better job prospects elsewhere, UK’s home grown nurses are also leaving the country to seek opportunities abroad.

MANILA, Philippines – Prospects are bright for Asian economies this year as the region is expected to post higher growth compared to 2009.

The National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB) is upbeat that the economy is now slowly recovering, citing the upward trend in almost all leading economic indicators (LEI).

Second of three parts (This is the second part of the speech I gave during the Annual Convention and Seminar Workshop for Campus Advisers and the 13th Annual National Convention and Seminar Workshops for Student Leaders held in Baguio last year. It was attended by more or less 600 faculty-advisers and student leaders from the…

An information technology (IT) expert has urged the public to pressure the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to abort automation and revert to manual elections, saying the probability of failure is “extremely high.”

MANILA, Philippines – Filipino women still have babies who are unwanted or unplanned despite a steady increase in contraceptive use in the last 30 years, according to a government survey.

MANILA, Philippines – The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) yesterday attributed the rise in hunger incidence in the country to the impact of typhoons “Ondoy” and “Pepeng” and not to inflation.

MANILA, Philippines – THE risks reporters in the Philippines face made world headlines in November 2009 when a warlord family in Mindanao allegedly organized a massacre in which 31 journalists were among 57 people killed.

During last April’s bidding for the election automation, Smartmatic admitted it was going to use voting machines of Dominion Co. of Canada. Rival bidders questioned this. Comelec rules specifically stated that the automation contractor must not be a mere sales agent, and may not sub-contract the manufacturing. But the complaints of Election Systems & Services…

LEGAZPI CITY , Philippines  – Communist rebels in Bicol collect between P20,000 and P500,000 from politicians to allow them to campaign in areas under their control, the military said yesterday.

MANILA, Philippines – Nearly five out of 10 Filipino adults believe there will be another show of people power if there is a failure of elections in May, a survey by the Social Weather Stations (SWS) revealed.

MANILA, Philippines – The Supreme Court (SC) has affirmed its ruling last year that reversed an earlier decision disqualifying a town mayor for premature campaigning.

MANILA, Philippines – Beverage companies are allegedly hoarding sugar which adds to the supply shortage and the increase in the price of the product, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said yesterday.

MANILA, Philippines – The non-performing loan ratio of universal and commercial banks improved to 3.26 percent in November last year from 3.37 percent a month earlier due to the expansion in the industry’s total loan portfolio, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported yesterday.

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines shrugged off the global recession and posted a net portfolio investments inflow of $388.02 million last year, a complete turnaround from the $1.784 billion outflow posted in 2008.

Over breakfast at the Tuesday Club this week, Agriculture Secretary Art Yap redeemed this administration from the impression that it does not know what it is doing on the sugar situation. Secretary Yap confessed that he was surprised when he read newspaper stories quoting DTI Secretary Peter Favila saying government-to-government importations will be immediately resorted…

Boost your energy and maintain a healthy body by working out every day. MANILA, Philippines – The New Year always inspires new beginnings and new resolutions to do better. This 2010, why not develop and adopt good habits that could help improve your health and well-being? Here are some tips on how to embrace a…

MANILA, Philippines – The local government is hopeful that the US Congress will pass a vital garments bill known as “Save Our Industries Act of 2009” during the first quarter of this year.

MANILA, Philippines – The Home Development Mutual Fund or Pag-IBIG has released P100 billion in benefits to its members in 2009, Vice President and Chairman of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) Noli De Castro said the other day.

ON JAN. 1, 2010, the China-Asean Free Trade Area (Cafta) went into effect. Touted as the world’s biggest Free Trade Area, CAFTA is billed as having 1.7 million consumers, with a combined gross domestic product of $ 2 trillion and total trade of $ 1.3 trillion.

Experts believe it is the polyphenols in green tea that may make it beneficial Drinking green tea may offer some protection against lung cancer, say experts who studied the disease at a medical university in Taiwan.

THE government has identified 558 election hotspots and at least 170 private armed groups across the country, members of the National Security Council-Cabinet cluster said Wednesday.

The Board of Investments plans to remove the fiscal incentives granted to high-rise housing and condominium development projects from the annual Investment Priorities Plan for failing to address the country’s housing backlog.

More than 500 officials and employees of the Bureau of Immigration (BI) reiterated their support to the proposed new immigration bill pending before both houses of Congress.

The Department of Education (DepEd) – National Employees Union assailed Malacanang for allegedly using DepEd’s funds for an emergency employment program that turned out to be a political gimmickry meant to polish President Arroyo’s image.

JAKARTA: Indonesia has asked to rewrite a new regional trade pact with China, citing fears of job losses because of a flood of cheap Chinese imports across various sectors, officials said Wednesday. The government has sought to maintain 228 tariff lines for another two years rather than cut them as required under the Asean-China Free…

MANILA, Philippines – The Dangerous Drugs Board, in an effort to further strengthen the fight against substance abuse in the Philippines, is calling for the conduct of random drug tests for government employees.

“Religions derive their power and popularity in part from the ethical compass they offer. So why do so many faiths help perpetuate something that most of us regard as profoundly unethical: the oppression of women?”

MANILA, Philippines – The Commission on Elections (Comelec) is set to release today the official list of candidates for president, vice president and senators in the May elections.