Monthly Archives: December 2010

THE EUROPEAN Union (EU) Delegation launched last week a P42-million trade-related project that will provide short-term technical assistance to the Philippines to improve its access to foreign markets.

CANCUN, MEXICO — A new deal among 190 nations to slow climate change throws a lifeline to UN-led talks, but they will still struggle to find a deal extending the Kyoto Protocol for cutting carbon emissions beyond 2012. Most delegates said the main achievement of the two-week conference in Cancun, Mexico was simply to have…

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) are in the process of crafting new guidelines governing outsourcing of jobs in the banking industry.

The Senate committee on banks, financial institutions and currencies has concluded that no criminal offense was committed when Home Mutual Development Fund or Pag-IBIG allegedly gave preferential treatment to Globe Asiatique (GA) as he cited the need to plug the loopholes in the agency’s dealings with developers, Sen. Sergio Osmeña III, chairman of the committee,…

OVERSEAS Filipino worker (OFW) households have reduced their expenditures on big-ticket items such as property and motor vehicles amid the peso’s strength, according to a survey by the Philippine central bank. In the latest round of its Consumer Expectations Survey, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said OFW households that used remittances to buy consumer…

The Philippines has sought the assistance of the International Atomic Agency in its ongoing review and assessment of the possible rehabilitation of the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP) which has been dormant for more than two decades.

MORONG, Bataan: A group of anti-nuclear power activists and a much smaller group of nuclear-energy supporters on Saturday held separate rallies as delegates of the Nuclear Power Forum arrived at the mothballed Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP) in Morong town.

CEBU, Philippines – Filipinos have a better chance of surviving three world crises  climate change, the peak oil crisis, and an unfolding economic crisis  with our frugal lifestyle of utilizing for example the small CR water dipper; our innovation of an efficient non-rail transport system with vehicles like the trisikad; and our culture where family,…

MANILA, Philippines – Multilateral lender International Monetary Fund (IMF) reiterated that the local banking system remained resilient after the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) managed to put in place reforms aimed at containing the effects of the global financial crisis.

MANILA, Philippines – If the National Government will use Public Private Partnership program for the rehabilitation of Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP), the private entity’s participation should not go over 20 percent, according to a former legislator.

MANILA, Philippines – The government is expecting another double digit growth in investments next year after projecting this year’s investments to grow by more than 34 percent.

THE Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) recently launched a four-pronged project aimed at developing models of climate change-resilient communities in agricultural and forested areas using updated scientific data on climate risk management under the Philippines Climate Change Adaptation Project Phase 1 (PhilCCAP1).

One extrajudicial killing recorded every week THE Aquino administration is no different from the previous Arroyo administration when it comes to human rights violations and extrajudicial killings, the Catholic Church said Sunday. In a report over the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), the conveners of the Religious Discernment Group denounced the recent spate…

MANILA, Philippines –  Despite the Department of Health (DOH)’s all-out campaign against firecrackers, the industry continues to flourish in the country as evidenced by the increasing number of firecracker manufacturers, dealers and retailers seeking license from the Firearms and Explosives Office (FEO) of the Philippine National Police (PNP).

CANCUN—UN-led climate negotiations in Mexico on Saturday approved a deal after two weeks of talks and a final two days of virtually non-stop diplomacy. Major powers including the United States, European Union, China, Japan and India all endorsed the deal. Bolivia was the only major holdout, but host Mexico overruled its objections.

REPRODUCTIVE health is now the focus of much talk as Congress starts hearings on RH bills. This article scans through the many arguments (pros and cons) of the debate. The sources cited below can be found easily via an Internet search.

History seems to be repeating itself in the case of the country’s love-hate relationship with nuclear energy. Amid frenzied lobbying in Congress by both the opposers, led by Greenpeace, and the energy players that are betting on nuclear as a safe, clean (read: good alternative to fossil fuels) means for building capacity while the specter…

Lung cancer remains the deadliest type of cancer globally accounting for more deaths than the combined mortality rate for other types of cancer, including breast, colon, kidney, liver, skin and prostate. Each year, 1.18 million people die as a result of the disease, equating to more than 3,000 deaths worldwide everyday or two deaths per…

Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz last Friday said the adoption by the country’s industries of voluntary codes of good practices boosts the efforts to wean industries from too much dependence on government for regulation and intervention even on minor issues that industries themselves, in cooperation with tripartite partners, can easily address.

President Aquino’s so-called “straight path” is nowhere to be discerned in a recent Transparency International (TI) survey that showed nearly half of Filipino respondents stated that the current government’s action against corruption was ineffective.

CEBU, Philippines – The Visayan Electric Company Employees Union is questioning why the order of the Department of Labor and Employment for a compulsory arbitration between VECO and the union has not reached the National Labor Relations Commission 7 until now.

MANILA, Philippines –  The Philippines is expected to solidify its position as a global leader in business process outsourcing (BPO) activities once Congress passes a special law securing personal data privacy, House Deputy Majority Leader and Pasig City Rep. Roman Romulo said over the weekend.

THE immediate passage of a measure implementing a comprehensive insurance scheme that will cover the damage caused by natural disasters has been sought in the House of Representatives. Rep. Teodorico Haresco Jr. of Ang Kasangga party-list was referring to his House Bill 2672, which states that no comprehensive motor vehicle insurance policy will be issued…

In the past months, experts have warned that a power crisis looms next year, with Mindanao to be hit hard together with Luzon, including Metro Manila. The latest warning came from an official of the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines, who said that with unstable supply and no new generating capacity expected soon, the…

MANILA, Philippines –  The multi-sector Philippine National AIDS Council (PNAC) is expecting the number of HIV/AIDS cases in the country to reach 46,000 by 2015 if no effective intervention measures will be implemented soon.

MANILA, Philippines –  Life begins at fertilization. Having agreed to this principle with the Catholic church, the Philippine Medical Association (PMA) has asked the Department of Health (DOH) for an inventory of contraceptives used in its family planning program on fears that some may contain abortifacients.  

THE Department of Budget and Management (DBM) said over the week end that it would prioritize processing allocations to scholarships and hospitalizations from the P70-million worth of Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) of each member of the House of Representatives. “The DBM is giving priority to the processing if allocations for scholarships and hospitalizations because…

MANILA, Philippines –  The Philippines has called for national, bilateral and multilateral policies and programs to promote and protect the rights of persons with disabilities.

The National Power Corp. (Napocor) needs at least P3 billion to rehabilitate the Agus-Pulangi hydropower plants in Mindanao to increase their capacities by 100-200 megawatts (MW).

Noting that a growing number of Filipinos in China face illegal recruitment, and are often charged with overstaying and drug trafficking, Vice President Jejomar Binay on Sunday urged Filipinos there to follow the laws of their host country as well.