Monthly Archives: March 2011

The numerous views and comments I have mentioned in this column are mostly against the RH bill simply because I have yet to receive from its advocates and supporters a point by point refutation of the reasons why it should not be enacted into law. Any response from the RH bill advocates and supporters will…

MANILA, Philippines — An undisclosed number of undocumented Filipino migrant workers have opted to stay behind in rebellion-torn Libya, where job prospects are supposedly better than here in the Philippines.

CEBU, Philippines – The man held responsible for the death of a construction worker following the explosion of a steel drum at a condominium project in Barangay Sta. Cruz last Thursday was already released from police custody.

This year’s Women’s Month is very significant because it includes the Centennial of International Women’s Day. With all the activities lined up I would like to highlight one difficult task heroically done by the Legal Alternatives for Women Center Inc. (LAW Center Inc) which is engaging the Local Government Units in women empowerment. Difficult because…

DAVAO CITY (PIA) – Around 7,590 poor senior citizens across the region will soon benefit from a social pension program entitling them to a monthly stipend of P500 to augment their daily subsistence and medical needs.

MANILA, Philippines—Nearly one out of five Filipinos believes some provinces in northern Luzon and Mindanao are “unsafe” from crime, a survey conducted by the state-owned Philippine Information Agency has revealed.

Dear PAO, I am 19 years old and I am currently working as a service crew for a fast-food chain. My work schedule lasts for nine to 10 hours but my salary is so small.

MANILA, Philippines – The National Government (NG) registered total debt of P4.718 trillion at the end of last year, higher by P321.5 billion from the 2009 level of P4.396 trillion, latest data from the Bureau of the Treasury showed.

MANILA, Philippines – State-run Philippine National Railways (PNR) will have 50 more train cars in the coming months as part of a government donation agreement with the East Japan Railway Co. (JR-East).

MANILA, Philippines – If President Aquino does not want to suspend the 12-percent value added tax (VAT) on oil products, he should at least cut it by half while gasoline prices are high.

MANILA, Philippines – Akbayan Rep. Walden Bello has urged lawmakers to rethink the proposed revival of the mothballed Bataan nuclear power plant in the wake of the largest earthquake in Japan’s history.

There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.

Empowering the Filipino People MANILA, Philippines – We cannot overemphasize the importance of good governance and good government in defeating mass poverty – particularly now that financial crises, as in mid-1997, have dampened optimistic expectations about globalization and growth in the face of economic recession, calamities/ climate change, and violent uprisings in the Middle East…

Asia Pacific CEOs confidence spread across all countries within the region according to PwC’s 14th Annual Global CEO Survey. CEOs in India (88%), China (72%) and ASEAN (60%) were standouts about near term growth. However, Japan was the least confident (25%). Globally, chief executives in Western Europe were not as optimistic as their Asian counterparts,…

EMBOLDENED by the 33-percent rise in net income the past year, chairman Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala III, his brother Fernando and the rest of the board of the Bank of the Philippine Islands are seeking stockholders’ approval to please grant them higher bonuses.

RISING global fuel prices resulting from unrest in Northern Africa and the Middle East are jacking up the costs of local electronics exporters, according to the Semiconductor and Electronics Industries in the Philippines Inc. (SEIPI).

THE Education department (DepEd) said on Friday that all current programs being implemented by the department are now being studied in preparation for the upcoming roll out of the Enhanced K+12 program.

A LAWMAKER has warned government agencies against blacklisting or committing any highly discriminatory acts against persons who are infected with or suspected to be infected with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) or Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome AIDS.

MANILA, Philippines –  Semiconductor and Electronics Industries in the Philippines Inc (SEIPI) reported yesterday that the industry attracted $2.318 billion or P102.5 billion worth of investments in 2010.

HIV/AIDS cases in the country has increased by more than 100 a month for the past 14 months, prompting the Department of Health (DOH) to reiterate its call against complacency towards the disease.

DAVAO City, Philippines (Xinhua) – Five miners buried by a landslide in a mining village in the south Philippines yesterday have been rescued, but one is still missing, police and officials said today.

SINGAPORE (via PLDT) – Contrary to public perception, Filipino professionals and highly skilled workers outnumber domestic helpers in Singapore.

TOKYO (Kyodo) — The Philippines is least-preferred by Japanese firms for their expansion plans in Southeast Asia and they cite inadequate infrastructure as the main risk doing business in the country, a recent Japan External Trade Organization survey shows. The Philippines lags Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam as the choice of Japanese firms in…

Chief Justice Renato Corona yesterday warned detractors of the Supreme (SC) who he referred to as “politicians forcing the justices to play their game,” that they are subverting the democratic process.

THE Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) on Thursday appealed to the public to refrain from panic-buying, as it assured that there is a stable supply of commodities despite escalating global and domestic prices.

SC critics abhor legal decisions – Chief Justice SUPREME Court Chief Justice Renato Corona on Thursday said that “politicians” are endangering democracy in the country by practically coercing the High Tribunal to render political, not legal, decisions.

I attended the first Senate committee hearing on Charter change a couple of weeks ago. It was interesting in that each of the speakers, who were experts on the Constitution, focused on a change in the political system—with a strong bias to going parliamentary. The economic sections were dismissed out of hand; changes there are…

THE Philippine Airlines Employees’ Association (Palea) wants the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to order the management of Philippine Airlines (PAL) to start negotiations for a collective bargaining agreement (CBA).

Vice President Jejomar Binay has expressed the need to review the government’s contingency plans for overseas Filipino workers amid increasing tensions in the Middle East and North Africa.

FILIPINO homes are generally safe from earthquakes as long as they follow the prescribed guidelines of the National Building Code, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said Thursday.