Monthly Archives: June 2011

After calling the Philippines its “strategic treaty ally,” the United States retained the country in its list of “dangerous or unstable” territories when it re-issued a damaging travel warning against Manila, citing heightened concerns on possible terrorist attacks.

FILIPINOS are one of the world’s most health-conscious in terms of food choice, a survey conducted by an international anti-poverty group showed.

MANILA, Philippines—Seven new species of mice have been found by local and US scientists in the mountains of the Philippines, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources has said.

Washington D.C.—A new study by the Independent Evaluation Group (IEG) spotlights the impact of World Bank-supported programs in protecting the most vulnerable during the last decade. The study shows that the majority of social safety nets (SSNs)—programs designed to protect the poor from shocks and contribute to reducing chronic poverty—achieved their objectives. In several countries…

Amid growing concerns among Filipinos in New York about the city government’s plans to lay off teachers and other workers, Philippine officials there started a series of human rights education seminars for Filipino communities.

While HIV infection rates have dropped globally over the last decade, recent predictions warn that the Philippines will see a five-fold increase in infections before President Benigno Aquino finishes his current term.  But last week’s UN High Level Meeting on AIDS offers the administration a chance to reset policy and commit to reversing recent trends.

THE COUNTRY’S unemployment rate slid to 7.2% in April from 8.0% a year earlier and 7.4% in the previous quarter, data from the National Statistics Office showed. A total of 2.9 million jobless Filipinos were recorded out of the 39.7 million-strong labor force in April.

OFFICIALS are hopeful of a competitiveness ranking boost for the Philippines given a recent reform simplifying processes for firms doing business in the country.

MANY private schools would have started classes only this Monday. I heard that even in private schools a lot of parents were making frantic efforts to have their kids avoid being covered by the K+12 program of the Department of Education, unsure as they are when exactly the new system would take effect in private…

Labor officials from the Philippines and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) discussed recent reforms in the Saudi labor system that will benefit overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) there.

MANILA, Philippines (UDPATE) – Debt watcher Moody’s Investors Service has upgraded the Philippines’ sovereign rating, with a stable outlook, on the country’s improved fiscal position and sustained macroeconomic stability.

The National Secretariat for Social Action, Justice and Peace of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP-NASSA) on Tuesday appealed to President Benigno Aquino 3rd to resolve the work safety issues brought to its attention by workers of a Korean ship-building company based in Subic. Fr. Edu Gariguez, CBCP-NASSA executive secretary, said the government…

LAST week marked the 10th anniversary of the Electric Power Industry Reform Act or Epira, passed into law with the objective of reducing electricity costs for the Filipino people and which was forced on the Philippines as a “necessary structural reform” in order to continue to qualify for development assistance, by the International Monetary Fund…

THE Aquino administration plans to conduct lifestyle checks on doctors, lawyers and other self-employed individuals to ensure they pay their taxes.

There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.

There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.

At this time, the word from the chairman of the Senate finance committee, Sen. Franklin Drilon, a staunch ally of President Aquino, is that he isn’t quite buying the appeal of the social services secretary for an additional P2 billion for the already controversial conditional cash transfer (CCT), although bets are on that when Aquino…

For almost two decades now, Philippine domestic output has been moving forward but has been behind the growth of total income. In 2010, national income was 1.33 times the size of real domestic output! Thus, more income gets into the economy but real production is considerably less than income by almost a third of income.…

MANILA, Philippines –  The Philippine services sector has been growing dramatically over the past years, narrowing the employment gap while pushing export growth.

MANILA, Philippines –  `President Aquino formally launched yesterday the government’s National Renewable Energy Program (NREP) aimed at addressing the spiraling cost and insufficiencies in the supply of electricity, especially in rural areas.

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THE rate of new HIV infections has seen a 25 percent drop in the last decade. However, in the Philippines, the number of people infected has risen – particularly among call-center workers.

15 June 2011, Quezon City— Philippine unions Associated Labor Unions-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (ALU-TUCP) called on the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to vote for the inclusion of hazardous Chrysotile asbestos in trade watch list of the Rotterdam Convention for the sake of the victims of asbestos cancers and of the…

State-owned Land Bank of the Philippines and Development Bank of the Philippines have committed P2 billion in loans to help returning migrant Filipino workers start their own businesses.

My column last Monday (Independence Day 2011) triggered a spirited discussion among friends on whether the current generation is less nationalistic than, say, the generation of our parents or if the concept of nationalism has simply taken on a different meaning today.

CIVIL conflict and political violence have dragged down the Philippines in the global ranking of economies in terms of providing justice to its citizens, the World Justice Project says.

Caring for the environment and good corporate citizenship are priorities for many large companies and multinational firms. However, these priorities are also important for diplomatic organizations which must carefully consider the impact of their actions on their host country.

MANILA, Philippines –  The International Finance Corp. (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, said its $75-million loan to Energy Development Corp. (EDC) will help lower power rates in the country.

MANILA, Philippines –  The Philippines is eyeing a three-fold increase in the share of renewable energy (RE) sources in its energy mix by 2030, the country’s top energy official said.

MANILA, Philippines –   Senate President Pro Tempore Jose “Jinggoy” Estrada expressed his concern yesterday over the increasing number of Filipinos jailed for committing “love crimes” in Qatar.