Monthly Archives: August 2010

A lawmaker in the House of Representatives on Monday moved to amend the Witness Protection Program Act, following President Benigno Aquino III’s call encouraging witnesses to speak up on unresolved crimes and allegations of corruptions in government.

Buoyed with renewed sense of hope and promise of a bright future with the assumption into power of the new Aquino administration, investors and companies have shown renewed confidence in the country’s economy as reflected in the significant rise of job openings for workers in online recruitment sites.

MANILA, Philippines—The Philippine government is to blame for creating a “dire human rights crisis” in the country by withholding access to family planning services and imposing a criminal ban on abortion, pro-choice activists said Monday.

Spotlight on Marissa Begonia  (J4DW/Unite/TUC – United Kingdom) Domestic work: “The worst torture is not seeing your own children” Brussels, 2 August 2010 (ITUC OnLine):The adoption of an international Convention on Domestic Work and accompanying recommendation was approved in principle at the last International Labour Conference. This is a welcome step forward for the many…

Delinquency in payment of loans to the Social Security System (SSS) turned for the worse under the watch of NBN-ZTE scandal witness Romulo Neri who had been tasked in the previous administration to improve the state-owned firm’s financial performance, the Commission on Audit (CoA) reported.

MANILA, Philippines—The management and union officials of the Philippine Daily Inquirer Monday signed a new three-year collective bargaining agreement (CBA) on salary increases and other benefits worth over P95 million.

Under Revenue Regulations No. (RR) 02-98, as amended, the payor/buyer is constituted as the government’s withholding agent who is mandated to deduct and withhold from the gross income to be received by the payee at the time of payment or accrual of income, whichever comes first.

Worried over the reported exodus of Filipino scientists and pilots for higher-paying jobs abroad, Sen. Edgardo Angara, head of the Senate Committee on Education, Tuesday urged Filipino scholars and professionals to return to the country and contribute to the local domestic academe and workforce the expertise they gained overseas.

Reproductive health and women’s rights advocates urged Congress Monday to pass a law allowing “safe and legal abortion,” citing a new report that described a “human rights crisis” of maternal deaths, injuries, and illnesses arising from unsafe abortions in the Philippines.

“MYLENE,” A 26-year-old doctor, became pregnant after she was raped by a politician who had sponsored her medical school scholarship. Because an induced abortion is a crime under Philippine law, she could not confide in anyone and felt constrained from seeking safe abortion services. Instead, she sought to perform an abortion on herself and, being…

More dialogues to be held; carrier cuts cancellations MALACAÑANG mediation yesterday failed to resolve a labor row between Philippine Airlines (PAL) management and some of its pilots, with officials announcing the staging of further dialogues aimed at ending three days of flight disruptions.

Republic Act 10055, “An Act Providing the Framework and Support System for the Ownership, Management, Use, and Commercialization of Intellectual Property Generated from Research and Development Funded by Government and for Other Purposes,” otherwise known as the “Technology Transfer Act of 2009” (TTA), which was approved on March 23, 2010, took effect on May 8.

MANILA, Philippines – Optimism among Filipinos is now at its highest level since the 1997 Asian financial crisis due to the ascendancy of President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III, a new survey by private pollster Pulse Asia revealed Tuesday.

THE government is planning to go into a “food-for-work program” as one strategy to ensure that the National Food Authority (NFA) will not drown in “excess imported rice,” a result of overimportation by the Arroyo  administration.

DUBAI – Special envoy to the Middle East Roy Cimatu has arrived in war-torn Iraq amid growing clamor to lift the work and travel ban of Filipinos in that country.

Issues unresolved in Palace-brokered talks with PAL management, pilots MANILA, Philippines – The labor dispute between the Philippine Airlines (PAL) management and its pilots is far from over.

President Aquino’s Senate allies nailed down the more sought after committee leadership posts in the upper chamber in yesterday’s caucus on committee assignments with none going to members of the minority including Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago.

We probably have read or heard about organizations that are operating as sweatshops, where employees are paid below minimum wage and are made to work in unhealthy or unsafe work environments. Similarly, we may know of organizations that shuffle their contractual employees among various agencies that are sometimes owned by related parties or between branches…

Local automotive industry players are asking the government that they be extended more incentives, citing the need for support in a bid to make the Philippines the auto production hub in this side of the world. Elizabeth Lee, Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. (Campi) president, told an exclusive roundtable with The Manila…

No sanctions, vows DOTC secretary The management of flag-carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) has agreed to take back 25 pilots who have resigned without any sanctions being imposed on them, Secretary Jose de Jesus of the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) said on Monday. Government officials on Monday met separately with the management of PAL…

MANILA, Philippines – The hefty salaries, allowances and perks of officials of government-owned and controlled corporations (GOCC) and government financing institutions (GFI) may soon be a thing of the past, particularly those enjoyed by officials of the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS).

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Health recorded 109 new cases in its Philippine HIV and AIDS Registry last month, the DOH said yesterday.

MANILA, Philippines – The Senate has assigned the chairs and members of all but one of the 37 committees, with President Aquino’s allies cornering most of the major committees.

Pilots who left flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) without giving the company ample time to train their replacements have been ordered to return to work within seven days or face civil, criminal and administrative charges.

MANILA, Philippines – Almost 80 percent of Filipinos want the restoration of police checkpoints across the country due to its effectiveness against crime, a survey said on Monday.

The Alliance of Vehicle Importers and Dealers reiterated its opposition to an executive order allowing local car assemblers to create a motor vehicle “super body,” saying it could kill the trading industry.

PHILIPPINE Airlines on Sunday rejected the resignation of 25 pilots who quit without notice, telling them to return to work or face charges after their departure forced the airline to cancel flights and rebook passengers over the weekend.

Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago has warned that the conflict among the senators over committee chairmanship is making the Senate leadership unstable, a situation which could induce the disgruntled to attempt a coup.

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As the Aquino government frenziedly identifies measures to raise at least P325 billion to cover its expected deficit for 2010, a major labor bloc urge it to investigate firms found underpaying their workers and violating other general labor standards.