Monthly Archives: November 2010

MANILA, Philippines—The killing of 57 civilians and media people last year made the Philippines “the most dangerous place in the world for journalists,” said Frank La Rue, UN special rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression.

MANILA, Philippines—Iloilo Representative Janette Garin said the statement of Pope Benedict XVI on condom use was laudible, but wanting. Why is condom use acceptable among male prostitutes and not among couples who need it as much, asked Garin, a medical doctor and author of one of the reproductive health bills pending in the House of…

THE president of the Visayan Electric Company Employees Union (VECEU) has asked Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz to order Veco management for his full reinstatement in the company.

MANILA, Philippines—An international expert on Monday said effective implementation of the conditional cash transfer program is critical to addressing extreme hunger and poverty suffered by 4 million Filipino families.

MANILA, Philippines — Vice President and overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) czar Jejomar Binay proposed the establishment of OFW lounges in airports.

MANILA, Philippines—Businesses in the country are planning to expand operations in 2011 as they remain optimistic about the economy’s ability to follow through on its recovery this year from the global crisis in 2009.

MANILA, Philippines—NEDA Chief Cayetano Paderanga has been quoted as saying, “for 2011 to 2016, we are targeting a higher annual growth path that will bring us above seven percent.”

EASING ‘LEARNING FATIGUE’ MANILA, Philippines—Girding for its planned extension of the basic education cycle from 10 to 12 years, the Department of Education (DepEd) is decongesting the current public school curriculum to ease “learning fatigue”—identified as a leading cause of poor performance and early dropouts among students in public schools.

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MANILA, Philippines—Catholic priests said they would use the pulpit to step up their campaign against the proposed Reproductive Health (RH) bill as its proponents rallied their own local and international troops to urge its passage.

MANILA, Philippines—The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) Governing Board rejected a proposal of the recruitment agencies to defer the implementation of the mandatory insurance cover, it was learned Sunday.

There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.

VATICAN CITY — Pope Benedict XVI has opened the door to the previously taboo subject of condoms as a way to fight HIV, saying male prostitutes who use condoms may be beginning to act responsibly. It’s a stunning comment for a pontiff who has blamed condoms for making the AIDS crisis worse.

A MEETING with the Catholic bishops has not changed President Benigno Aquino III’s decision to make artificial birth control available to the poor, presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said Friday.

MANILA, Philippines –  Aurora Rep. Juan Edgardo Angara has urged malls and other commercial establishments, government offices and the general public to avoid using too many Christmas lights to save electricity and help mitigate the effects of global warming.

The Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) reminded employers in the private sector yesterday that all wage and salary workers are entitled to the 13th month pay as mandated by law.

MANILA, Philippines –  A laborer died after falling from the 16th floor of a building that is still under construction in Quezon City Friday night.

No worker or company need ever be uninformed about core labor standards, workplace conditions, and holiday pay rules again. All they need to do is to turn on a computer, launch the Internet browser, and type and click: http://www.bwc.dole.gov.ph.

Part three BELOW is part three of the key-note speech I delivered during the National Conference on Information Technology Education with the theme “Building an IT Enabled Nation” on October 21, 2010 at La Carmela de Boracay Convention Center, Station 2, Boracay, Malay, Aklan. The speech is 1,852 words long. The Manila Times issue of…

MANILA, Philippines –  Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. said yesterday the House of Representatives would prioritize the passage of several anti-corruption measures as part of the chamber’s effort to encourage investments, promote transparency and eradicate poverty.

MANILA, Philippines –  Only a fourth of the countries employing Filipino workers have been certified fit to hire by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) as mandated by the amended Migrant Workers Act.   

The House of Representatives will review the implementation of the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (Epira) law, House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. said on Friday. Belmonte was referring to the law that mandates the government to sell 70 percent of the plants of the National Power Corp. (Napocor) within three years from its enactment. The…

MANILA, Philippines –  Pangasinan Rep. Gina de Venecia stressed the role of women in nation-building and interfaith dialogue and achieving world peace during the Global Peace Convention in Nairobi, Kenya last week.

MANILA, Philippines –  Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago has filed a proposed Magna Carta for Call Center Workers Act aimed at protecting the huge workforce in this growing sector.

MANILA, Philippines—The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) has rejected a proposal by recruitment agencies to suspend the implementation of the law providing insurance coverage for overseas Filipino workers, which since its implementation this month has resulted in a 52 percent drop in deployments abroad, POEA Administrator Jennifer Manalili said Friday.

FRANKFURT—The head of the International Monetary Fund said Friday the post-crisis global economy would be very different to the system in place before the turbulence, calling for nations to pull together.

MANILA, Philippines—The House committee on civil service and professional regulation approved on Wednesday House Bill No. 28 which seeks to grant security of tenure to casual or contractual employees in the government who have rendered at least 10 years of service.

TAGUM CITY, Philippines—Christmas came early to some 120 inmates of various prison facilities in Southern Mindanao as the Supreme Court’s Justice on Wheels dismissed the charges against them.

MANILA, Philippines—A laborer at a building under construction died Friday night after he fell from the 16th floor of the structure in Libis, Quezon City.

INVESTMENT PLEDGES approved by four promotion agencies went up by 82.9% in the third quarter compared to the same period last year, the National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB) said Friday.