Monthly Archives: June 2011

CAMP EMILIO F. AGUINALDO, Quezon City — The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) and other participating agencies and nongovernment organizations (NGOs) have agreed to adopt and incorporate the measures on how the national monitoring mechanism will operate as proposed by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) during the meeting held at the CHR building…

MANILA, Philippines (Xinhua) – Reforming the tobacco tax system may be the key to discouraging cigarette consumption and reduce the growing incidence of tobacco-related illness such as lung cancer and heart disease.

MANILA, Philippines—Operatives of the Philippine National Police’s Criminal Investigation and Detection Group rescued a 16-year-old girl during a raid on a factory in Sucat, Parañaque City, where workers were allegedly being locked up and subjected to forced labor to pay off their debts.

Vehicle and auto parts makers affected by the March 11 earthquake in northern Japan are starting to resume normal operations, with the affected plants now mostly up and running.

MANILA, Philippines – A party-list lawmaker cried foul over the power tariff hike proposal of the Visayan Electric Company (VECO), while criticizing the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) for not providing more public hearings in the affected power consumer in Cebu City.

MAYBE REPRODUCTIVE health advocates are going a little overboard, I thought to myself when I read the press release about an activity today billed as: “Cherish Rizal’s Heritage: Pass the Reproductive Health Bill.”

JAYSON WAS ABROAD when he learned he contracted HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) because of his numerous sexual dalliances. He broke up with his foreign partner and decided to live the rest of his life back home.

ILOILO CITY, June 1 (PIA) — George Bartolome said he and other people living with Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immuno Deficiency Syndrome (HIV/AIDS) continue to reach out to people for their compassion and understanding about their plight even as they seek for a cure to their ailment.

ASIPULO, Ifugao: In the hinterlands of the famous Ifugao Rice Terraces nestles a young and modest-sized town, Asipulo which has been implementing its version of Reproductive Health since 2007.

About 350,000 overseas Filipino workers OFWs) in Saudi Arabia are on the verge of losing their jobs after the oil-rich kingdom announced a six-year work permit cap to facilitate the employment of its own citizens, an alliance of migrant workers said on Tuesday.

The two major components of total demand in any economy are consumption and investment. The rebased national income accounts using prices in year 2000 provides us with revised data to assess the real economic performance of the Philippine economy.

MANILA, Philippines – Mindanao needs coal-fired power plants to ensure the sustainable supply of power in the island group, an industry executive said.

Underspending by the government and the slow-down in global trade constricted the economy to a lower growth in the now 2000-based GDP of 4.9 percent in the first quarter, from the election stimulated 8.4 percent last year. The industry driven growth [was] tempered by the lackluster trading activities and the second consecutive quarter of decline…

MANILA, Philippines – Investment bank Barclays Capital now sees a slower growth in the amount of money sent home by Filipinos abroad this year despite the projected pick up in the second quarter of the year in light of the scheduled school opening in June.

Last Monday’s editorial in The Philippine STAR entitled “Encroachment” struck a raw nerve on the issue of squatters building illegal structures along the Manggahan spillway. Let me print that portion for clarity: The encroaching structures were supposed to include not only shanties, especially those along riverbanks, but also real estate development that blocked or covered…

Illegal injections of a cancer-treating chemical pose a risk of death to legions of Filipinos who use them to try to whiten their skin, health authorities warned on Tuesday.

MANILA, Philippines –  The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) has sent out cease and desist orders (CDOs) to higher education institutions (HEIs) offering courses that do not comply with quality standards and whose graduates fare miserably in licensure examinations.

MANILA, Philippines –  A total of 324 colleges and universities have raised their tuition for school year 2011-2012. Data from the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) showed the average tuition hike was 14.37 percent, up from the 10 percent posted last April.

MANILA, Philippines –  Senators want to resolve debates on the Reproductive Health (RH) bill first before tackling the divorce bill. Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, Senators Joker Arroyo and Panfilo Lacson said there is a need to study the proposals to allow divorce in the country and put on hold any discussions at least until…

Investor accounts in the local bourse neared the half a million mark as it grew 4.8 percent to 498,838 last year from 476,194 accounts a year ago, according to a study conducted by the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE).

Critics of President Aquino said the economy is headed on a straight path to disaster after the first quarter growth skidded to 4.9 percent that was almost half of the 8.4 percent expansion a year ago while Malacañang put up a brave face, saying the economy can still achieve the seven to eight percent growth…

A party-list representative last Monday night accused the Commission on Elections (Comelec) of conspiring with a losing party-list candidate to unseat and have him replaced.