Monthly Archives: September 2010

The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines said in a press release yesterday that Laurence Kevin Fishman, the American businessman who deserted and defrauded his Filipino employees of some P50 million in wages, should be forever banned from re-entering the Philippines.

DHAKA, Bangladesh—Global retailers fleeing China’s rising labor costs now find themselves facing growing pressure for higher wages in countries from Bangladesh to Cambodia, Vietnam, India, and Indonesia.

A LAWMAKER yesterday raised misgivings on the proposed doubling of the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s (DSWD) budget for next year, citing a “dole-out society” in the works with a higher allocation for the conditional cash transfer (CCT) program.

DAVAO CITY — The Philippines should start strengthening trade with other Asian countries other than its current markets, China and Japan, a central bank consultant said here early last week.

Trans-Pacific Partnership best bet for Philippines THE PHILIPPINES may have to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) deal if it wants a trade pact with the United States, a visiting American official said on Friday.

PARIS – A vaginal gel failed to protect women against the AIDS virus, doctors said on Monday, reporting on a major clinical trial that enrolled more than 9,000 women.

The government has started penalizing senior citizens for its inability to raise revenues. A few days after Malacañang said it would not give priority to a proposal to remove the 12 percent value added tax (VAT) exemption enjoyed by the elderly, the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) had stricken off such privilege on water and…

President Benigno Aquino 3rd has given marching orders to once and for all end within six years the vicious cycle of sea tragedies that plague the archipelago, an official said.

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Education (DepEd) has ordered the heads of public elementary schools to refrain from giving students homework during the weekend to give them enough time to rest and spend time with family.

MANILA, Philippines – The Immigration minister of Canada yesterday said the Philippines remains an important source of immigrant workers to the country, which is experiencing a low birth rate and an ageing work force.  In a speech before the Canadian Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, Canadian Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Jason Kenney…

Imagine a immensely lucrative company that underpays workers, cuts corners on health and safety standards, cheats on taxes, bribes officials and poisons the environment. Think of another enterprise, less profitable but paying the right wages and taxes, abiding by consumer-protection standards for its products, shunning corruption, curtailing emissions and conserving resources. Which one is better…

The Canadian government will implement early next year new laws on hiring temporary foreign workers in a bid to enhance the protection accorded to foreign workers in Canada. Jason Kenney, Canada’s minister for citizenship, immigration and multiculturalism, explained over the weekend that the new laws, which aim to complement and reinforce Canada’s policies, would benefit…

BAGUIO CITY: In an effort to warn miners about the negative effects of mercury, a Dane recently launched a crusade to lessen, if not eradicate, its use in gold mines in and around the country. Peter Appel of the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland said that he can help mitigate the dangers of mercury…

MANILA, Philippines – The yearly setting of the minimum wage discourages businessmen from investing in the country, the Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP) said.

MANILA, Philippines – Beneficiaries of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) are turning to savings and investments as the country posted a surprising economic rebound in the first quarter of the year after, results of a survey conducted by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed.

Does your credit card charge you interest and penalty of more than a percent each per month? If yes, then know that you are being overcharged. The Supreme Court had so ruled last year unanimously in a division. It called “exorbitant, iniquitous, excessive” exactions on credit cards above one-percent interest and one-percent penalty, or a…

MANILA, Philippines – The Aquino administration’s ambitious growth targets for next year are in peril due to the government’s low budget for capital outlay and expansion as well as risks of a “double-dip” recession in the US, a congressional think-tank warned yesterday.

MANILA, Philippines – President Aquino has reiterated his commitment to level the playing field in business to attract more investors to the country.

MANILA, Philippines – Filipino seafarers would enjoy longer breaks under a new standard employment contract proposed by the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA).

VALENCIA CITY (MindaNews/18 September) — One of five children between the ages five and 14 or 67,000 children in Bukidnon are considered by the International Labor Organization as child laborers, according to Jesus Macasil, a Manila-based ILO senior programme officer.

WNS, a provider of global business process outsourcing services, announced that it will expand its operations in Manila in response to increasing demands from its clients. During his visit to the WNS Philippines center, Keshav Murugesh, Group CEO, WNS Global Services said that the Manila center will be a hub for offering voice and data…

MANILA, Philippines – Since the issuance of the implementation of the rules and regulation finally exempting them from paying the 12 percent E-VAT on some products and services, senior citizens have never been in a more euphoric mood than they are today.

DAYS before the national government delivers a report to the United Nations General Assembly in New York, an official revealed the government’s view that not all the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) will be met by deadline year 2015.

The money sent home by overseas Filipinos workers (OFWs) may expand by 8 percent this year, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said over the weekend.

Alex Magno tells us in his September 11 column that we should be concerned about potential mining investors turning their sights away from the country and to Afghanistan. We are talking about billions of dollars, yes, but where does the bulk of the money really go? Not to us. The Arroyo administration’s mineral policy, which…

The touted Nautical Highway project launched by the unpopular previous government will apparently push through under the term of President Benigno Aquino 3rd.

Not even two of the largest the shipping companies in the Philippines—Aboitiz Transport Corp. and Sulpicio Lines Inc. —have been able to avoid being linked to the country’s appalling maritime safety record.

The Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions (COHRE), an international human rights organisation based in Geneva, Switzerland, on Sunday called on the newly-established ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) to seriously address housing rights violations in the region.

AS A MEASURE AGAINST ‘DRUG MULES’ MANILA, Philippines—The country’s maritime training schools and centers are now required to include in their maritime courses for seafarers topics on prevention of alcohol and drugs abuse in the maritime sector (Padams) and personal safety and social responsibility (PSSR).

BERKELEY — We hear from surprisingly many quarters these days that governments in Europe and North America, and their central banks, should give up on the expansionary policies they have pursued to try to create jobs. The high unemployment currently afflicting the North Atlantic, critics of government stimulus maintain, is not cyclical but “structural,” and…