Monthly Archives: May 2010

MANILA, Philippines–The cost of doing business in Asean is expected to lower and trade-related transactions to become simpler as the Asean Trade in Goods Agreement (Atiga), one of the region’s landmark economic agreements, entered into force Monday, May 17, the Asean Secretariat said.

MONEY sent home by Filipinos working abroad grew by 7% to $4.3 billion in the first quarter, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) yesterday reported.

Part 1 of 2 The next Philippine president will have his work cut out for him.Apart from addressing new challenges that may arise during his or her term, the next administration will also have to tackle the old problems that are dragging down the country’s growth.

MANILA, Philippines – The aging population and accommodative migration policies of most destination countries, plus the inability of the domestic economy to offer jobs, will mark the continued migration of Filipinos seeking better opportunities abroad.

MANILA, Philippines – The fight against software piracy in the Philippines remains crucial as the software piracy rate or installations of unlicensed software in personal computers (PCs) in the country remained unchanged at 69 percent from 2007 to 2009.

THE Employers Confederation of the Philippines (Ecop) is willing to work with the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) and similar groups to amend “outdated” provisions of the 34-year-old Labor Code.

TATAD CONSIDERS MOVE TO NULLIFY POLL RESULTS The camp of former President Joseph “Erap” Estrada showed documents yesterday which it will use to support allegations of massive electronic fraud in the country’s first automated elections held last May 10 some showing pre-programmed votes that are dated way ahead of election day.

The country is at the dawn of a new administration and the most natural feeling for many is optimism. This optimism for change is a nation’s response to nine years of economic and political disarray under the Arroyo administration, and indeed from worsening poverty and backwardness. Yet even more welcome than the sense of hopefulness…

One of the things outgoing President Gloria Arroyo got right is the work done by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD). The Social Welfare department under Arroyo has been one of the few National Government Agencies (NGAs) being lauded for its performance in providing aid for the country’s most bereft citizens.

THE presidential election campaign of 2010 was absurdly easy, compared with the magnitude and complexity of the tasks the winner must now take up. President Gloria Arroyo leaves us a country with an opaque and incompetent government; rising poverty and inequality; and falling global competitiveness. Where does President-elect Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino 3rd begin?

MANILA, Philippines – Cases of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) in the country have reached epidemic proportions, prompting health authorities to sound the alarm to stem the rampant transmission of the deadly disease.

MANILA, Philippines – A broadcaster of a state-owned radio network in Kalinga was shot by unidentified men inside his booth yesterday morning, but he survived the attack.

MANILA, Philippines (Xinhua) — The Philippines has called on the international community to intensify cooperation against piracy which has now extended to other shipping routes.

SANTA, Ilocos Sur – A construction worker was killed and his co-worker seriously injured in a landslide near the approach to the newly-built President Quirino Bridge in Barangay Banaoang, here, police reported Saturday.

DESPITE the Philippines is considered as one of the third largest English speaking countries in Asia yet the report released by the US State Department, in its “2007 Investment Climate Statement” this month cited that the “English language proficiency, while still better than in other Southeast Asian nations, is declining in the Philippines. ”

CenPEG: Poll body has no right to tamper with proof for audit purposes What should be part of the body of evidence in an audit, such as Smartmatic’s faulty compact flash cards, has now been tampered with by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) through its destruction of these flash cards.

Anakpawis party-list Rep. Rafael Mariano yesterday expressed strong doubts over the credibility and integrity of the automated elections, saying “poll irregularities are now coming out one by one.”

Rain welcomed me when I landed in Taoyuan Airport in Taiwan and the cool Baguio-like weather was a far cry from Manila’s scorching heat.  I am attending the BirdLife Asia Partnership meeting where, together with our NGO partners from Southeast and South Asia will be sharing lessons and discussing strategies that will help us make…

MANILA, Philippines – The ratio of non-performing loans (NPL) of universal and commercial banks to the industry’s total loan portfolio continued to improve as of end-March this year as corporate and individual borrowers were able to pay their outstanding financial obligations on time, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported yesterday.

MANILA, Philippines – The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) disclosed yesterday that the agency had warned 132 nursing schools whose graduates have consistently flunked the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) nursing licensure examinations for five years to either shape up or phase out their nursing programs.

MANILA, Philippines – Rigging last Monday’s polls was not possible with the automated election system, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) said yesterday.

MANILA, Philippines – The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has been swamped with disqualification cases and other electoral protests a few days after the country held its first automated elections.

FOUR Philippine universities made it to the top 200 list of Asian universities drawn up by the consultancy Quacquarelli Symonds Ltd. (QS) for 2010. The top Philippine university on the list was the Jesuit-run Ateneo de Manila University, which tied with Taiwan’s National Central University in the 58th slot.

BACOLOD CITY, Philippines – Smoke, sparks and popping sounds much like what’s heard during the New Year came from the ceiling in front of the Provincial Election office in Bacolod City at 11:05 a.m. Friday.

Estrada camp, others warn of massive poll fraud Speed there certainly was, in giving out the election returns via the precinct count, but accuracy of the vote count certainly appears to have failed, giving rise to massive electronic poll fraud marking the country’s first automated elections.

It should be clear to everyone by now that, except perhaps for the Iglesia ni Cristo, there is no such thing as a “religious vote” in the Philippines.

The May 10 elections were supposed to have ushered Filipino voters into the modern age of computerized voting, but the results show the country will remain stuck with feudal-style politics as dynasties secured elective positions at the provincial, congressional and local levels.

MANILA, Philippines – Foreign portfolio investments or ‘hot money’ registered with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) jumped by about 65 percent in the first four months of the year as investors invested more in government securities and stocks despite jitters brought about by the recently concluded May 10 elections, data released yesterday showed.

MANILA, Philippines – The government is set to release an additional P100 million for exporters after the government realigned the initial P1-billion export fund for calamity relief.

MANILA, Philippines—Roman Catholic bishops around the country Thursday aired their support for “president-in-waiting” Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III in his promise to fight poverty and corruption, but reminded that the Church’s stand on the Reproductive Health (RH) Bill would never change.