Monthly Archives: November 2010

CEBU, Philippines – The management of Visayan Electric Company assured that service will continue as before and that their customers will not be affected by the “unfortunate and irresponsible statements and actions” of the ALU and 156 “misguided union team members who have chosen a path of utmost disregard for the public they were hired…

CEBU, Philippines – About 500 business establishments in the Metro Cebu have been found violating the minimum wage law.

STATE-RUN Social Security SSS (SSS) said members affected by Typhoon Juan can avail of the pension fund’s salary and house repair loan programs. “We have a huge delinquency in short-term loans. But those affected by the recent typhoon can still avail of salary and house repair loans,” Emilio de Quiros Jr., SSS president, said in…

MANILA, Philippines – Manila Electric Co. (Meralco), the country’s biggest power distributor, is looking at nuclear energy as a possible power source over the long term in line with the company’s bid to return to po-wer generation, its top executive said yesterday.

SINGAPORE – The Philippines is taking on the challenge of leading the development of renewable energy (RE) in the region, an energy official said.

PHILIPPINE share prices set a new all-time high for the third consecutive day in anticipation of better-than-expected corporate earnings. At the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), the local composite index rose 15.44 points, or 0.35 percent to 4,397.3, just less than three points shy of the 4,400 mark. The broader all-shares index added 17.13 points, or…

The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) on Thursday warned higher education institutions (HEIs) against raising their tuition, saying that there is a process to increase tuition that includes consultation with parents and students. Lawyer Julito Vitriolo, CHED executive director, made the warning after students of several private colleges and universities complained to them of tuition…

Do we Filipinos care about our kind and ourselves? Mull over these statistics, and form your own conclusion:

MANILA, Philippines – The Child Protection Unit-Philippines yesterday expressed concern over the high incidence of incest cases in the country.

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines’ disaster preparedness and management measures remain deficient despite claims that the country has learned its lesson from previous typhoons, a multinational risk consultancy firm said.

Economists believe that the country’s gross domestic product may continue to accelerate at a surprising growth as inflation remains slow. In its quarterly report, “Philippines: Back to Normal,” New York-based think tank Global Source Partners projected that the country’s GDP may rise to 6.8 percent from its previous forecast of 6 percent.

There is an urban legend about a known society figure who had more than 10 children but remained as beautiful as a young girl even when she was already in her late 30s and well into her early 40s. The society figure’s beauty secret was supposedly simple: She never breastfeed any of her children, believing…

PHILIPPINE Airlines on Wednesday assured the 2,600 employees to be laid off in its outsourcing plan that they will receive at least P1 million each in separation benefits and free plane tickets for their families on any domestic or foreign destination.

MANILA, Philippines – The country slipped further in the global ranking of economies on the “ease of doing business” despite recent efforts to simplify procedures for acquiring permits.

A WIDE array of incentives for both local and foreign companies promoting green technology has been proposed in the House of Representatives. Rep. Juan Edgardo Angara of the Lone District of Aurora pitched for such measure on Tuesday, saying that the green technology in various fields—such as power generation, recycling, water purification, air purification, sewage…

A P10-million allocation for the compensation of persons wrongfully jailed has been proposed in the House of Representatives. Rep. Al Francis Bichara of the Second District of Albay made the proposal under House Bill 1138 which provides an indemnification of P60,000 a year of detention to persons detained and were acquitted or found innocent by…

FRESH from a favorable government ruling on its planned retrenchment, Philippine Airlines (PAL) on Wednesday said it would tap state-owned banks to finance the multibillion-peso severance package of close to 2,600 terminated rank-and-file workers. In a briefing, Jaime Bautista, PAL president and chief operating officer, told reporters that the company’s planned spin-off of in-flight catering,…

CEBU, Philippines – The members of the labor union of the Visayan Electric Company (VECO) voted yes to a strike last night. Majority of the 239 members of the Visayan Electric Company Employees Union – Associated Labor Unions-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (VECEU-ALU-TUCP ) favor the staging of strike during the vote held outside…

The decision of the Federal Reserve to stimulate the US economy would mean higher capital flows into emerging market economies including the Philippines, monetary authorities said Thursday.

HERE is good news. The 3rd Quarter 2010 Social Weather Survey (SWS), conducted from September 24to 27, found that 38 percent of Filipino adults expect their personal quality of life to improve in the next 12 months. SWS calls these segment of the population the “Optimists.”

The labor code provides that regular employees cannot be dismissed without cause and due process. The stability of tenure of personnel is one of the 14 principles of management contributed by Henri Fayol. According to Fayol, employees work better when they are assured of job security and career progress. All their efforts and energies are…

ONE OF the creepier stories in the TV news line-up filled with the bizarre and the weird (on the occasion of Halloween and All Saints Day) was the report about a seven-month pregnant woman found dead and naked in a provincial cemetery.

Vice President Jejomar Binay posted one of the highest satisfaction rating, with a predominantly “very good” rating among officials in the line of succession of President Aquino, a recent Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey showed.

The Palace said yesterday it is four-square behind Labor Secretary Rosalindo Baldoz’s decision favoring flag-carrier Philippine Airline’s (PAL) outsourcing of its businesses that resulted in the layoff of 2,600 employees while at the same time advising the Philippine Airlines Employees Association (Palea) to exhaust legal remedies to defend their rights.

These must be really slow days for both media and the police because the usual harassment—better known as raids—on bars, massage parlors, and other places condemned as places of sin by moralists and by those who stand to gain from exposing the supposed evil that happens in these places has started once again. The season…

PRESIDENT Benigno Aquino 3rd’s undiminished popularity and the people’s continuing confidence in him as their leader apparently account for the “very high” Net Personal Optimism score recorded in the latest survey of the Social Weather Stations (sws). The SWS conducted its Third Quarter 2010 Social Weather Survey on September 24 to 27.

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines is still keen on pursuing an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the European Union, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said.

MANILA, Philippines – Rates for the bellwether 91-day Treasury bills (T-bills) went down by 17.5 basis points to 3.400 percent from 3.575 percent previously.

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines ranks third after Burma and Indonesia in the list of countries in Southeast Asia with the most number of people displaced by internal armed conflict, according to Abante Mindanao party-list Rep. Maximo Rodriguez.

The Negros Labor Coalition condemns in the strongest possible terms the recent decision of Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz upholding the planned outsourcing of services and consequent severance from employment of 2,600 affected Philippine Airline employees, NLC convenor Wennie Sancho said yesterday.