Monthly Archives: June 2010

STATE-OWNED National Power Corp. (Napocor) is seeking higher rates to recoup deferred foreign exchange and fuel costs. In separate petitions jointly filed before the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC), Napocor asked the regulator to allow it to recover from its customers a total of P8.8 billion in fuel and contracted independent power producer costs, and P8.5…

Legislators of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) lambasted the planned pilot testing in the region’s schools of the sex education module of the Department of Education (DepEd), which they deemed as a “unilateral imposition on the people of the Muslim autonomous region.” Officials and members of the ARMM’s Regional Legislative Assembly (RLA) said…

The controversial free trade pact between the Philippines and Japan is currently being reviewed by the World Trade Organization (WTO) to ensure the agreement’s transparency, the Department of Foreign Affairs yesterday said.

MANILA, Philippines – The vast tracts of sugar plantations in the so-called sugar capital of the country might not escape the harsh impact of the escalating climate change.

MANILA, Philippines – Monetary authorities see a slight uptick in inflation over the next few months in light of the wage increase approved recently by the regional wage board as well as higher commodity prices but will still be within the target range set by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).

MANILA, Philippines – Lack of jobs and extreme poverty are the two biggest problems the incoming government will have to solve.

MANILA, Philippines – Total resources of banks operating in the Philippines grew by 9.4 percent in the first quarter of the year as the country’s banking industry survived the global financial crisis and continued to remain resilient despite the debt crisis in Europe, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported over the weekend.

MANILA, Philippines – The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has agreed to waive the fees imposed on banks that use the Philippine Payments and Settlements System (Philpass) remit system as part of efforts to reduce the cost of sending money by overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).

The paramount importance of education can never be overlooked by anyone who holds close to his heart the welfare of our people and the future of our country.

MANILA, Philippines – A senior military official proposed yesterday a political settlement to end the decades-old communist insurgency in the country through the signing of a peace agreement to give rebels a graceful exit from the lingering conflict.

Ex-CBCP president urges DepEd to consult parents on sex education plan MANILA, Philippines – The former president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) yesterday urged the Department of Education (DepEd) to inform parents of their methods of teaching sex education in elementary and high schools.         

MANILA, Philippines – Recruitment agencies threaten to stop deploying workers overseas as protest against the plan of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) to remove the probationary period in the standard employment contract without consultation with foreign employers.

MANILA, Philippines – An organization of government employees has thrown its support behind the move of president-elect Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III to start weeding out massive corruption in the bureaucracy, saying they will be the “eyes and ears” of the incoming administration.

UNITED NATIONS—After an economic assessment of some 50 countries, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has come up with a “concrete action agenda” to accelerate progress toward the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

There has been much talk about living green and going green, whether it is for the home, at work or in the community. But how does one start, really?

Responding to reports claiming that the Commission on Election’s (Comelec) computerized voters list (CVL) could have between 700,000 to four million illegal double or multiple registrants, officials of the Smartmatic-TIM joint venture are proposing changes—additional technology—in the automated election system (AES). They are introducing the idea of biometric machines that will store an image of…

AS far as Rep. Teodoro Locsin Jr. of Makati is concerned—and his feeling, attitude and findings during the hearings of the House of Representatives’ Committee on Suffrage and Electoral Reforms seem to be shared by most Filipinos—there is no evidence that fraud has been committed with the use of the Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS)…

The Center for People Empowerment in Governance (CenPEG) congratulates the teachers, media, watchdogs, and the Filipino people, for their collective efforts at vigilance and dedication to national interest during the May 10, 2010 national and local elections. Although there should yet be no judgment on the overall failure or success of this electoral exercise, these…

Commissioner Rene Sarmineto of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) admitted that a lot needs to be improved in the automated election system (AES) used in the May 10 national and local elections despite it being “generally successful.” He spoke to The Manila Times in lieu of Comelec Chairman Jose Melo who declined to be interviewed…

In a sign of bad faith, Smartmatic, the technical provider and partner of the Commission on Elections (Comelec), failed to disclose that its precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines had console ports or “secret backdoors” which anyone could open without the need for passwords or usernames to gain complete control over the units’ operating system…

MANILA, Philippines—The Philippine Airlines Employees’ Association (Palea) on Sunday slammed as a “midnight decision” the order signed by acting Labor Secretary Romeo Lagman that found the planned PAL spin-off as a valid exercise of management prerogative.

Major revisions to the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers, 1978 (the STCW Convention), and its associated Code, are set to be adopted at a diplomatic conference to be held in Manila from June 21 to 25, under the auspices of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the United Nations specialized…

The Social Security System (SSS) announced a new amnesty program for business owners that failed to remit their employees’ loan amortizations due on or before April 1 this year, a top official said.

THE Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) said the Philippines has yet to fully comply with global standards on tax information exchange despite the last year’s enactment into law of the Exchange of Information on Tax Matters Act of 2009. In a letter to Finance Secretary Margarito Teves, Jeffrey Owens, OECD chief for Tax…

ENERGY Secretary Jose Ibazeta on Friday urged National Power Corp.’s employees to prepare for a coming reorganization that will likely result in layoffs, saying the state-run firm was overstaffed.

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) takes a strong exception to a recent article published in your newspaper which claims “DOLE” data as the basis in claiming the current, outgoing administration has failed in the area of employment (“GMA failed to bring down unemployment rate — DOLE data,” The Philippine STAR,…

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MANILA, Philippines – The maritime industry worldwide is suffering from lack of ship officers because many of them prefer to stay on land with their families after making sufficient earnings, industry experts said during the 11th Asia Pacific Heads of Maritime Safety Agencies Forum which concluded yesterday.

MANILA, Philippines – Contrary to public perception, even members of the militant bloc of the House of Representatives belong to the millionaires’ club, based on their annual statements of assets, liabilities and net worth. Representatives Satur Ocampo of Bayan Muna and Liza Maza of women’s group Gabriela – who both lost in the May 10…

The Philippines and Japan took turns in defending their three-year-old bilateral free trade agreement before the World Trade Organization (WTO) highlighting the economic benefits the deal has generated for each country.