Monthly Archives: September 2010

MANILA, Philippines – Malacañang has cut by nearly half the legal assistance fund for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in the proposed P1.645-trillion national budget for next year.

MANILA, Philippines – The country is committed to pursuing its five-year Millennium Development Goals (MDG) through good governance, transparency and accountability in government, President Aquino declared yesterday.

MANILA, Philippines – President Aquino issued yesterday Executive Order 7 suspending the allowances, bonuses and incentives of directors and trustees of government-owned and controlled corporations (COCCs) and government financial institutions (GFIs) for more than three months or until Dec. 1, pending the issuance of new policy and guidelines on their compensation.

Message of FMR. SENATOR ERNESTO F. HERRERA, Ph.D. General Secretary, Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) at the PALMCO 19th Annual National Convention, 9-10 September 2010, UP SOLAIR, Quezon City

WASHINGTON—They say money can’t buy happiness. They’re wrong. At least up to a point. People’s emotional well-being—happiness—increases along with their income up to about $75,000, researchers report in Tuesday’s edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

MANILA, Philippines—Malacanang has cut by almost half the legal assistance fund for overseas Filipinos workers (OFWs) in the proposed 2011 national budget from P50 million this year to P27 million next year, it was disclosed Wednesday at the budget hearing in Congress.

NEW YORK, United States—Four million children have died in the past decade because governments have not spread major medical advances to the poor, a leading aid group said Tuesday.

MANILA, Philippines—The city environment office of Pasig kept a tight watch on two factories after an open pipe was discovered protruding and discharging white chemical substance into the Marikina River.

When a very pregnant Jean Cruz (name changed) told her neighbour that she had not visited a doctor during her entire pregnancy, she was shocked. “What! Not even now – in your eighth month?” the neighbour had exclaimed, before frantically referring her to the nearby Community Health Care Clinic that charged only a nominal fee…

MANILA, Philippines—The Department of Education (DepEd) is seeking more than twice its current funding for the construction and repairs of school facilities across the country as officials hope to address the perennial shortage of classrooms and a backlog of repairs in public schools.

THERE is a recent study that shows promoting values in the workplace helps improve productivity and reduce incidence of turnover.  Many companies nowadays are taking time to hold prayer breakfast for executives, Bible study for their employees or even just a few minutes of devotional and prayer before starting work in the morning.  Of course,…

DoLE, foreign chambers agree to partner in governance MANILA, Philippines—Labor and Employment Secretary Rosalinda Dimapilis-Baldoz has urged the Joint Foreign Chambers of Commerce of the Philippines (JFCCP) to champion core labor standards and decent work.

Manila, Philippines (8 September 2010) – The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP), the Associated Labor Unions (ALU) and the Building and Woodworkers International (BWI) urged the Senate and the House of Representatives to pass the bills banning asbestos to minimize hazards to health and safety of workers, their families and the general public.

The government could mount a rescue on the cash-strapped Manila Metro Rail Transit System (MRT) by acquiring its private partner’s equity share or project assets along with the unsecured shares of the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) and the Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP) in it to maintain a cheap mode of transportation…

There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.

Editor’s note: The second part of this series discussed why the government’s anti-poverty program has been not effective in some way because of its basic design or politics. Third of Five Parts

THE Philippines is not considered as top priority host economies for foreign direct investments (FDIs) for the next three years, according to United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) survey.

MANILA, Philippines – The Senate has approved a resolution that creates an oversight committee on public expenditures that would review the performance of the 157 government owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs) and monitor the mishandling of funds and unwarranted bonuses and commissions.

MANILA, Philippines – Running on a treadmill that is moving faster and faster is how Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima describes the work that needs to be done to fix the country’s fragile fiscal position. One major part of the problem is the problematic situation of many government-owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs).

MANILA, Philippines – More and more women are dying of lung cancer. According to new statistics released by the Philippine Cancer Society (PCS), of 2,500 (per 100,000 research population) new cases of women with lung cancer monitored, 2,043 patients have died. The higher mortality rate is due to the fact that more females today smoke…

MANILA, Philippines – Core values and business principles of a United Nations-led global initiative could help reduce poverty in the country and contribute to meeting the targets of the Millennium Development Goals, an official of the Philippine Business for Social Progress said Monday. Rafael Cojuangco Lopa, PBSP executive director, said the delivery of basic services…

THE Social Security System has collected a total of P916.45 million from 17,920 employers in six months ending on August 2 under a rare amnesty program that condoned penalties on overdue premiums.

IN HIS MESSAGE that accompanies the proposed government budget for next year, President Benigno C. Aquino III notes that the allocation for health is 13.6% higher than 2010’s P29.3 billion (According to the 2010 General Appropriations Act though, only P28.7 billion was allocated to the Health department).

There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.

THE Aquino administration plans to tap state-run pension funds and financial institutions to raise money for its public-private partnership (PPP) initiative. During a Senate Committee on Finance hearing on Monday, Department of Finance (DOF) Secretary Cesar Purisima said they would turn to the Social Security System, Government Service Insurance System and other government financial institutions…

Editor’s Note: The first part identified some factors on why the government has failed to attain the targets of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) set forth by the United Nations.

Stories about Mendoza’s murderous hostage taking have managed to bump off the news headlines the scandalous stories about the excessive pay and perks of officials of government-owned financial institutions and corporations, which were further exposed during recent Senate hearings.

The Department of Education (DepEd) on Monday said that all public high schools in the country will have computer laboratories and Internet connectivity before the end of 2010. Mari Paul Soriano, the Education department’s Technical Services Director, said that only 813 out the country’s 6,650 public high schools have no computer laboratories and Internet access.

MANILA, Philippines – In a bid to lure more investments into the country and generate more employment, the government is now moving to ease regulations on commercial establishments.

MANILA, Philippines – When Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima speaks of the National Food Authority (NFA) and its debts, his listeners can’t help but notice the urgency in his voice.