Monthly Archives: January 2011

MANILA, Philippines – Organizations of judges all over the country have called off their planned actions this month to protest the cut in the judiciary’s proposed budget for this year, apparently after being pacified by the Palace.

WASHINGTON—Global freedom declined for a fifth straight year in 2010 as authoritarian regimes dug in worldwide and crime and unrest plagued democracies like Mexico, a US watchdog said Thursday.

MANILA, Philippines – There are ongoing talks between the management of local carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) and potential investors. This was confirmed on Jan. 13 by PAL Holdings, the listed firm that owns 85% of PAL.

MANILA, Philippines – National Food Authority Administrator Lito Banayo said Friday that he has requested Malacañang to investigate ranking government officials who may be involved in the overpricing of rice imports during the administration of former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

MANILA, Philippines – Philippine trade negotiators should seek the liberalization of various trade barriers particularly on market access, national treatment and domestic regulation to exploit the competitiveness of Filipino accountants.

The Philippines needs to maintain a low inflation regime to sustain its robust economic recovery, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Gov. Amando Tetangco Jr. said Thursday.

TACLOBAN CITY — The government will merge three anti-poverty programs in a bid to enhance efficiency in providing assistance to extremely poor families in the next six years, Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Corazon J. Soliman said in a recent briefing here.

MANILA, Philippines –  German banking giant Deutsche Bank AG said it expects the Philippine economy to grow five percent this year, slowing down from the estimated 6.5 to 7 percent growth in 2010.

MANILA, Philippines –  With a huge potential market of 1.3 billion people and escalating economic influence, China could be an exporter’s paradise for those who know how to navigate the Chinese marketplace. China’s increasingly affluent middle class with rising disposable incomes and changing lifestyles that include a growing demand for imported foods have created plenty…

Hungry workers are angry workers. On this note, a labor confederation on Friday warned the government against summarily dismissing petitions for a wage increase amid rising costs of living.

MANILA, Philippines –  Local exporters announced it is business as usual for them despite the expiration of the privileges enjoyed by the country under the US Generalized System of Preference (GSP).

A major labor confederation said Thursday it will file a petition next week calling for an increase in Metro Manila workers’ wages, amid recent and impending hikes in prices of basic goods and services.

LONDON — France and Germany are ready “to do everything, absolutely everything” to ensure the stability of the euro zone, French Prime Minister Francois Fillon said in a speech in London on Thursday.

MANILA, Philippines –  Workers in Metro Manila are seeking a P55 hike in their daily take-home pay to help them cope with the impending increase in fare rates and the corresponding rise in prices of essential commodities, a labor group said yesterday.

ANTI-CORRUPTION efforts — this time directed towards the private sector — will be added to the Makati Business Club’s (MBC) priorities, its new executive director said.

CEBU CITY, Philippines – The Philippines incurs an average of P6.6 billion in economic losses every year due to typhoons alone because of inadequate protective measures and policies against natural disasters, a UN study revealed yesterday.

WASHINGTON – A successful election in the Philippines in May was one of a few “bright spots” in the annual survey of political rights and civil liberties around the world, said Freedom House, a Washington-based non-government organization.

WASHINGTON – The Philippines slipped six places to 115 in the latest index of economic rankings of 179 countries around the world.

MANILA, Philippines (PNA) – Department of Health (DoH) Secretary Enrique Ona affirmed on Thursday the position of the government to support responsible parenthood by providing the Filipino people with necessary information that would be helpful in raising their families.

A LABOR row at Bluestar Marketing and Manufacturing Corp., maker of the Advan brand of casual shoes, has been resolved, with the workers’ union securing a collective bargaining deal. Undersecretary for Labor Relations Hans Leo G. Dacdac said in a report to Labor Secretary Rosalinda D. Baldoz the National Conciliation and Mediation Board headed by…

DAVAO CITY — The Board of Investments (BoI) expects a surge in application for incentives for mass housing projects this year, a ranking official of the agency told journalists here yesterday.

The Philippine economy will grow at a moderate pace this year on the back of continued remittance-supported household spending and further government support for infrastructure development, a World Bank report showed Thursday.

Dear PAO, My father lost his job two months ago. He used to be an account executive. Their company told him that they had to retrench several employees, including my father, because the company has not been getting any income for the past several months. He has gone back and forth to their office because…

MANILA, Philippines – Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said workers in Metro Manila should not expect an increase in minimum wage until after July this year despite recent increases in oil products and transportation fees.

A day after 59 overseas Filipino workers (OFW) returned from Lebanon, Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz on Thursday ordered the strict implementation of the OFW deployment ban on Lebanon and four other “high-risk” countries.

THE Department of Health (DOH) on Wednesday launched a project that will hire and deploy 10,000 volunteer registered nurses to poor areas in the country.

MANILA, Philippines – The country is still considered “mostly unfree” in a global index that measures commitment to free enterprise and capitalist system.

THE Philippines may be the most susceptible to adverse affects of higher food prices worldwide among all Asian countries as the bulk of the country’s inflation accounts for food.

Concerned about reports of increasing number of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) being used as drug couriers, Labor and Employment Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz yesterday issued an urgent warning to prospective OFWs and those already deployed abroad to be wary of glib-tongued individuals luring OFWs in the drug trade.

MANILA, Philippines – Averages can hide as well as reveal patterns in data. The recently approved increase for Light Rail Transit (LRT) and Metro Rail Transit (MRT) fares, which average about 56%, is a good example of this truism.