Monthly Archives: November 2010

I DON’T do Facebook. I will not be your “friend,” and I will certainly not sign up for a Facebook account simply “to connect” with anyone. Nor will I put the little “f” logo and a link back to Facebook anywhere on my blog.

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines, along with India and Indonesia, offer the biggest opportunities for the fledgling microinsurance industry, which has a potential market of three billion people, a Reuters report said.

MANILA, Philippines – The Senate has approved on second reading a bill granting household helpers or “kasambahay” a higher monthly minimum wage and additional benefits, and ensuring their rights.

Manila (30 November) — To revitalize and strengthen the Makati-Pasay Tripartite Industrial Peace Council, the mayors of both cities recently inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) at the Sampiro Hall of the Makati City Hall.

Move targets HIV-hit overseas workers. Manila: The government has expanded its health insurance scheme to cover Aids following reports that the number of overseas Filipino workers with the disease has been increasing, a top official has told Gulf News.

MANILA, Philippines—As close to 200 countries began Monday a two-week meeting in Cancun, Mexico, to try to forge an agreement to curb climate change, several international agencies warned that the Philippines remained a disaster waiting to happen—with Metro Manila possibly going under water after just a heavy downpour.

COMPLACENCY will doom the planet, a ranking official of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) warned, as negotiators from over 190 nations gird for two weeks of talks in Cancun to come up with an agreement that will stop Earth from warming too much.

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) has issued new guidelines exempting women workers from the Labor Codes’ night work ban.

THE Finance and Trade departments will come up with a common position aimed at giving out the least possible tax incentives and other perks to investors.

PUBLIC utility bus operators in Metro Manila may soon face another hurdle on their operation, the moment the members of the Metro Manila Council, the policy making body of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA), push through with its proposal to disallow operators from renewing the registration and franchise of 10-year-old and above bus units.

CEBU, Philippines – The Visayan Electric Company Employees’ Union-ALU reiterated its call for a dialogue with the management after they were able to get 177 signatures from members asking the management to agree to a dialogue to settle their current labor dispute.

ONE out of every four Filipinos infected with HIV is an overseas worker, Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) party-list reported Monday. TUCP secretary general and former Sen. Ernesto Herrera revealed that at least 1,501 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) are infected with deadly disease, accounting for 26 percent of the 5,729 reported cases in…

The number of international migrants could soar by 68 percent to 405 million in 2050, the International Organization (IOM) said on Monday, noting that emerging economies in Asia, Africa and Latin America are becoming important destinations.

CEBU, Philippines – Mass media has long been recognized as an important source of information on HIV/AIDS.

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Finance (DOF) reiterated the need to rationalize the country’s redundant incentives and at the same time repeal revenue-eroding measures, including perks given to the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) as well as operators of freeports and economic zones in Aurora and Bataan.

MANILA, Philippines – The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported that the country’s foreign portfolio investments or “hot money” hit a new record level of $3.44 billion as of the second week of November as capital flows continued to flood emerging market economies in the Asia Pacific Region, including the Philippines.

There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.

MANILA, Philippines – President Aquino has appointed a former brigade commander and intelligence officer as head of the office tasked to look into the human rights complaints involving the military.

It’s quite natural for Reproductive Health bill advocates to welcome Pope Benedict XVI’s stance on the use of condoms for exceptional cases, such as when a male prostitute has to use the prophylactic to avoid infecting other persons. In fact, although it would be like reaching for the moon, they would like a more radical…

“It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing” was how William Shakespeare described it and that applies to the recent ranting about the so-called budget cuts in state universities and colleges (SUCs).

Vice President and presidential adviser on Overseas Filipino Workers’ (OFWs) Concerns Jejomar Binay urged the joint congressional oversight committee to suspend the implementation of the law requiring insurance coverage for agency-hired migrant workers.

The Reproductive Health (RH) bill got lashed with prayers as thousands members of a Catholic charismatic group flocked at Amvel City compound in Parañaque City last Saturday.

Here’s a trick question: Which of the following is a grave sin and which is the lesser of two evils—murder with torture or murder without pain? For liberals opposed to the Catholic Church prohibition on contraception, it seemed something could be evil, but not sinful. At least that was how they apparently—or wishfully—understood Pope Benedict…

President Benigno Aquino 3rd’s policy of making state universities and colleges (SUCs) self-sufficient is wrong since this would make them as expensive as private colleges and universities, Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano said Sunday.

MANILA, Philippines – The growth prospects for the Philippines is expected to go on an upward trend with the gradual increase in demand for electronics and engineering products and services for a global market.

MANILA, Philippines – The need to review the policy on the grant of survivorship pension, limited ATMs and increased representation for retirees in the GSIS governing board.

If the Bangko Sentral won’t do it, then Congress might  shield consumers from abusive credit card companies.

DAGUPAN CITY, Philippines — Pangasinan and Benguet are at the forefront of information campaigns in northern Luzon about AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome) and how the (human immunodeficiency virus), the virus which causes it, is transmitted as six new cases were discovered this month in Baguio City.

THE Department of Health yesterday said the younger working population makes up the highest number of HVI cases in the Philippines.

MANILA, Philippines – Malacañang yesterday assured Senate Majority Leader Vicente Sotto III that the entire budget of the Department of Health (DOH) would not be allotted solely for the purchase of contraceptives, but only a portion of it.