Monthly Archives: January 2010

WASHINGTON – Top US bankers Wednesday admitted mistakes that led up to the global financial crisis as they came under intensive grilling at a special inquiry into the economic calamity.

MANILA, Philippines–The economy, gauged using the leading economic indicators (LEI) index, continued to slide for the sixth consecutive quarter in October to December, according to the National Statistical Coordination Board.

Consumers and enterprises alike suffer from green fatigue, an ennui born from too much hype and too little substance around green technology. But as green technology becomes more synonymous with cost-saving technology, enterprises have begun to warm to the idea. Contact centers, in particular, have begun to explore the homeshoring or work-at-home agent model, a…

Emails to the Office of Senator Mar Roxas endorsing the passage of Senate Bill 741 banning asbestos in the Philippines have been blocked! The emails sent starting January 13 have been reported bouncing back to their senders. When contacted, the Office of the Senator did not deny the blocking of the emails. Supporters of the…

THE 132 authors of the Reproductive Health bill have promised to block the passage of tax measures and Constitutional Convention bills being rushed by the House leadership in the last nine days of session, and after the House leadership removed the population control measure from the list of priority bills.

A status quo order has been handed down by the Supreme Court (SC) stopping the government from implementing its radio-frequency identification (RFID) decal contract which is expected to raise more than P1.6 billion for the Land Transportation Office (LTO) this election year.

07 October 2009 –In two-separate meetings, TUCP Vice President Alejandro C. Villaviza, TUCP Party-List Representative Raymond Mendoza, and TUCP Officers handed over the World Day for Decent Work Call to Action for Decent Work, Decent Life! to DOLE Secretary Marianito Roque and PEZA Director General Lilia de Lima. The WDDW Call to Action highlights eight…

The Supreme Court on Tuesday told the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to put a group representing lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender (LGBT) back on the list of accredited party-list names that may run in the 2010 elections. It issued a temporary restraining order enjoining the Comelec from implementing its resolution denying the application for accreditation…

Outsourcing activities would continue to flourish this year as more companies worldwide would turn to it as an emerging business model rather than just a way to cut costs during a crisis, an IT consulting firm said.

MANILA, Philippines – When it comes to eating food, Filipinos just can’t say “No”, a survey by Reader’s Digest magazine found. The survey, covering 16 countries, asked over 16,500 people around the world about their views on weight and eating.

Local sugar millers should take the challenge of DTI Secretary Peter Favila “to just export all their outputs.” Favila bravely asserted that the government can already take care of domestic sugar supply via government-to-government import deals. True to form, Favila does not appear to know what he is talking about.

MANILA, Philippines – The Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) reported another banner year last year after loan disbursements jumped 30 percent as the pension fund manager extended more loans to help members.

MANILA, Philippines – Agriculture Secretary Arthur C. Yap expressed confidence yesterday that the agriculture sector managed to post a slight growth last year in spite of the back-to-back devastation caused by typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng.

MANILA, Philippines – Foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows posted a double digit growth in the first 10 months of last year due to stronger equity capital inflows and higher reinvested earnings, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Amando M. Tetangco Jr. reported yesterday.

This is another labor case of a seaman who incurred work-related disability. The question arising here is the kind of disability he suffered which determines the amount of compensation he should receive. This is the case of Jason, an Able Seaman employed by NB Shipping U.K. Ltd. (NB) through its local agent (PTC) for a…

MANILA, Philippines – Involuntary hunger has reached record numbers, with almost one in four Filipino households going hungry in the past three months, according to a Social Weather Stations survey.

MANILA, Philippines—As many as three out of 10 government employees have mental health problems, a recent survey has found out. The most common mental disorders found among state workers were depression and anxiety disorder, which require professional intervention, said Dr. Edgardo Tolentino Jr. of the Philippine Psychiatric Association.

A political group chaired by Senator Edgardo Angara has endorsed l0 senatorial candidates from various parties for the May elections.

Ooffshore outsourcing in 2010 may focus less on the quantity of work organizations are sending overseas and more on where they’re sending it. Leading companies will begin developing networks of offshore locations for outsourcing: They’ll supplement contracts with vendors in more developed locales like India and the Philippines with new relationships in emerging markets in…

Everyone has their reasons for accepting outsourced call centers or rejecting them and of course there are the bunch that just don’t care either way. Having worked in a call center in India for over 1 year I will tell you they suck. If you are desperate to make some fast cash then maybe this…

Even as a militant lawmaker yesterday stepped up her opposition to the radio frequency identification (RFID) project of the Land Transportation Office, six groups of transport workers asked the Supreme Court to dismiss a petition questioning the project’s legality.

The Arroyo administration’s claim that it has the best record in setting up infrastructure since the ouster of former President Ferdinand Marcos in 1986 is flawed and insistence on it “is being intellectually dishonest,” former Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno said.

Dear PAO, I am 61 years old and have been retired since last year. I am now receiving my retirement benefits from the Social Security System (SSS). But I would like to know if thSSS  will discontinue my benefits if I find a new job. I am thinking of going back to work because of…

MANILA, Philippines – The proposal of a women’s party-list group for a 10-year expiry on marriage has caused quite a stir, with various groups indicating their approval or disapproval of the proposal via the Internet and other media.

MANILA, Philippines – Public satisfaction with the performance of the Arroyo administration fell to a “poor” -23 in the last quarter of 2009, its lowest approval rating in nine years, a survey of the Social Weather Stations (SWS) showed.

MANILA, Philippines – Smartmatic International Corp.-Total Information Management Corp. has finished manufacturing nearly half of the 82,200 precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines to be used in the May 2010 polls.

MANILA, Philippines – The Senate should pass a bill that will create a Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) that would pave the way in making the Philippines the premiere location for IT-enabled services in Southeast Asia, foreign businessmen said yesterday.

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine economy is forecast to grow by a more respectable 3.8 percent this year, driven by election-related spending and a continued construction boom, top economists said yesterday.

MANILA, Philippines – Investors swarmed the government’s Treasury bill (T-bill) auction yesterday, with total tenders reaching at least twice the offer size across all tenors as cash-rich investors remain hungry for lucrative investment facilities.

If you’re like most people, you’ve already forgotten the resolution you made on January 1. Fact is, it’s not easy to change habits, unless you’ve just had a heart attack or some other traumatic event. You may know what you should eat, how often you should exercise, and when you should see a doctor and…