Monthly Archives: March 2011

MANILA, Philippines –  Cagayan de Oro City Rep. Rufus Rodriguez claimed yesterday that the new requirement of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) for high-income private taxpayers to file the equivalent of a statement of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN) is unconstitutional.

MANILA, Philippines –  Several lawmakers urged the government yesterday to again control increases in the prices of gasoline, diesel and other oil products.

Calling the Philippines a “key emerging power in East Asia,” British Ambassador Stephen Lillie on Thursday relayed the United Kingdom’s optimism in strengthening bilateral trade with the Philippines as it did in the previous year.

Injecting drug users behind rising HIV/Aids cases CEBU CITY, Mar 9 (PIA) – Health officials are alarmed over the rising cases of the dreaded human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in Cebu due to drug use as the Department of Health (DOH) recently gathered partner agencies and stakeholders in a consultative meeting to address the public health…

Rising oil prices brought by the continuing tensions in Libya, which sits on the largest oil reserves in Africa, may push the Philippine inflation to as high as 8 percent by October, a Metrobank study has showed.

Over 6,000 jobs are up for grabs in a three-day job fair organized by the United States (US) Embassy for displaced migrant workers from Libya and other job seekers, Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz on Wednesday said.

MANILA, Philippines- This month marks the 16th anniversary of the Philippine Mining Act of 1995, which opened doors wider to mining. Calls for its scrapping resound to this day as pro-environment groups could not warn the government enough about the destruction mining brings.

MANILA, Philippines – Vehicle sales grew 5.8% to 22,518 units in the first 2 months of the year, industry data showed on Wednesday.

MANILA, Philippines – Local government officials from almost 50 municipalities, 114 school administrators and other education advocates have set an ambitious target for public schools.

MANILA, Philippines – The government can save up to P5 billion if the incentives scheme for domestic registered enterprises is amended, a joint Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and Department of Finance (DOF) Fiscal Incentives Reform (FIR) report showed.

Capping interest rates on credit card loans can hurt credit availability badly. Some lawmakers are pushing for measures that would further regulate the credit card industry, including putting a ceiling on interest rates.

Government spending on social and economic services is important to economic development. The question is, how has the government performed on this front? A recent economic analysis of public expenditure by the World Bank provides a good answer to these questions. The study pays particular attention to government spending on education, public health, and infrastructure…

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines has pledged to contribute 12,000 metric tons (mt) of rice to the ASEAN + 3 rice reserve scheme, National Food Authority (NFA) administrator Angelito Banayo said.

BUSINESS process outsourcing (BPO) firms are being encouraged to secure quality certifications to boost chances of attracting clients amid competition posed by other countries in the region.

MANILA, Philippines –  Local celebrities came together in a campaign against mercury-containing thermometers and sphygmomanometers in the market.

MANILA, Philippines –  Women activists all over the country marked the 100th anniversary of Women’s Day yesterday with protest marches to push for the passage of a comprehensive reproductive health bill and urge the government to address the rising prices of basic commodities.

MANILA, Philippines (PNA) – Comprehensive health services provisions of the Magna Carta of Women (MCW) were heightened during a forum of the United Nations Children’s Fund’s (UNICEF) in Quezon City Tuesday.

ILOILO CITY, Mar 8 (PIA). Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago recently lauded public officials who have enacted reproductive health ordinances in their respective areas.

One of the most debilitating effects of minimum wage is that it automatically limits the right of employers to make adjustments on the wage of their employees based on the most important consideration of knowing their individual performance. This is most apparent in companies whose profit is barely marginal. Instead of using wage as an…

Just how much do women across Asia Pacific know about managing finances? MasterCard Worldwide’s inaugural Index of Financial Literacy released today highlights that women across Asia Pacific are financially savvy to some extent, in particular among the over 30, married, working group, but that the level of financial literacy in women can be raised further,…

The narrowing real interest rate in the first two months of 2011 is now worrying the Bangko Sentral, which said it will definitely review its policy stance in its next meeting on March 24.

OIL companies raised pump prices for the third time in less than two weeks as international petroleum prices continued to rise.

Energy Secretary Rene Almendras is correct to focus on assuring oil supply because there is nothing anybody can really do about the price. Loud mouths demanding his resignation because he cannot keep prices down are simply being ignorant and unreasonable.

Government appears helpless in dealing with a growing unregulated backyard industry – one that exports acid-drenched lead derived from used vehicle and industrial lead-acid batteries.

With gasoline at an all-time high, thanks to the Libyan crisis, whatever economic gains we may have had in the past few months will surely go to naught. But last Saturday, I was quite surprised that the nightspots in Metro Cebu were bustling with business and traffic was heavy in many areas which only tells…

MANILA, Philippines – Income tax incentives granted to investors regardless of location would be reduced while the five percent on gross income earned (GIE) would be capped to a maximum of 25 years at reduced rate.

MANILA, Philippines — “Local government units (LGUs) are partners of the national government and are better positioned to help mitigate the impact of the crisis through counter measures to stimulate local economy.”

TACLOBAN CITY, Leyte, Mar 8 (PIA) – The Magna Carta of Women, a landmark law of the Philippines that was passed in 2009 but was implemented in 2010, benefits even the Filipinas who are living abroad, Philippine Information Agency (PIA) Region 8 Director Olive Tiu said in a two hour radio program, Good Morning Philippines…

MANILA, Philippines – The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP), the country’s largest labor group, filed a petition before the Regional Triparite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB) in the National Capital Region yesterday asking for a P75 across-theboard increase in the daily pay of all workers in the NCR.