Monthly Archives: July 2011

Some 150 overseas Filipino workers forced to flee strife-torn Libya earlier this year are getting a fresh start in Bulacan province, opening new businesses with an P11-million loan from the provincial government.

CEBU CITY, Cebu, Philippines — The Australian Federal Police (AFP) has signified its interest in putting up a high-tech crime center in the Philippines with the aim of combating cyber pornography in the country and training authorities to effectively monitor cybercrimes.

A RECENT column,“Saudization? It might be a blessing,” got flogged a lot, the negative reactions coming from here and elsewhere. The main point of the over-the-top criticism was this: that I was a clueless jerk who had no understanding of the level of pain and dislocation the Saudization program would inflict on domestic helpers and…

MANILA, Philippines – An increase in the average monthly pension of senior citizens would significantly help the sector cope with rising commodity prices, the National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB) said in a recent report on the situation of senior citizens in the country.

Listen up, Filipinos, because this concerns you. You have adopted bad English habits from us Americans for far too long. Yes, we Yanks are responsible. Our culture pushed our slangy ways upon you; we take full blame. Our version of the King’s English is sloppy, unkempt. It’s also very malleable and attracts more new words…

To sit with a dog on a hillside on a glorious afternoon is to be back in Eden, where doing nothing was not boring — it was peace. — Czech writer Milan Kundera Tension is who you think you should be. Relaxation is who you are. — Chinese Proverb Why is it that many of…

For every woman who breaks free from domestic drudgery, another takes her place. Since the boom, Irish families have hired thousands of women from the Philippines. One of them tells Kay Sheehy of her life of exploitation here — the low wages, the long hours and the terrible heartbreak of being forced to leave her…

MANILA, Philippines — A labor group has lauded the leadership in the House of Representatives for including a measure proposing a ban on the use of cancerous asbestos in the construction industry as one of the priority bills for the second term of the 15th Congress.

LOCAL CHAPTERS of a business chamber have expressed concern over policies and practices that hinder business activities at the local level, officials said in a business conference on Friday, even as the government has called for close coordination with officials to iron out differences.

MANILA, Philippines-Philippine and other Asian assets may rise if investors shift funds from the U.S. amid debt concerns in the world’s biggest economy, a local bank treasurer said.

BAGUIO CITY, Philippines — The AsianCitiesAdapt, a project that brings together science and policy to address climate change issues in four pre-identified cities each in the Philippines and India, was launched recently in this city.

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) has assured Filipino seafarers of more job opportunities abroad after the country retained its “White List” standing from the International Maritime Organization (IMO) amid the looming threat of an employment ban in Europe.

MANILA, Philippines—The absence of divorce in the country is a “point of honor for the Philippines,” according to the new papal nuncio, suggesting that the Vatican favored the Catholic Church’s opposition to legislation allowing divorce here.

I felt that President Benigno Aquino III’s State-of-the-Nation Address was well delivered. It made some good, important points. But I was concerned that there was no attention given to improving the business climate, despite the fact that this is where he will get the jobs to give the poor an income.

Filipino city-dwellers may not have gotten any richer in the past decade, but rather much more than a penny (or centavo) smarter. The socio-economic status of majority of Filipino consumers in urban areas may not have improved much over the past 10 years, but Filipinos are exhibiting wiser purchasing habits in the more recent past,…

CLARK FREEPORT, Pampanga, Philippines – The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) has junked its contract with the Korean Hanjin ship building firm in Subic that bars former shipyard workers from seeking jobs abroad.

THE number of Filipino nurses taking the United States licensure examination for the first time (excluding repeaters) is always considered a good indicator as to how many of them are trying to practice their profession in America.

MANILA, Philippines – Two children believed to be child warriors of the New People’s Army (NPA) have been turned over to the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) in Northern Samar, the military said yesterday.

MANILA, Philippines – The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) kept yesterday its key interest rates unchanged for the second straight policy rate setting meeting but decided to raise anew the reserve requirement on deposits and deposit substitute of banks and non-banks with quasi-banking functions in what it called as a forward looking move to better…

DAVAO CITY, Philippines—A government-sponsored protest rally against summary killings here on Wednesday was not just for show, the head of the regional office of the Commission on Human Rights in Southern Mindanao, said.

THE interest rates on credit card transactions must reflect the lending companies’ true annual charges of more than 40 percent—and not make consumers believe the rates they are paying are low—the Bangko Sentral says in its new transparency rules.

MANILA, Philippines—It will take more than a strong anti-corruption thrust – as highlighted in the President Aquino’s State-of-the-Nation-Address – to bring the Philippines to the level of growth that benefits more people, according to New York-based think tank Global Source.

THE MINDANAO Development Authority (MinDA) has taken a step towards the establishment of a body that will conduct scientific research to improve banana growing on the island, an official statement released on Thursday said.

CEBU, Philippines – For five consecutive years, the National Labor Relations Commission-Visayas is recognized as the best performing division among eight other divisions nationwide. NLRC-Visayas presiding commissioner Violeta Bantug said they will be again recognized during the Mid-year performance assessment ceremony in Manila on the first week of August with NLRC Chairman Gerardo Nograles to…

MANILA, Philippines – The European Union is extending the grant of its Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) to 2013 with special focus on countries in need.

MANILA, Philippines – The much-awaited launching of the Aquino government’s public private partnership (PPP) scheme would pave the way for the strong recovery in foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows into the Philippines, an official from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said.

The Philippines has taken advantage of opportunities offered by overseas migration probably more than have other developing countries. Thanks to its wide bench of human capital formed by prior decades of investment in education which, in turn, had been spurred by the importance Filipino families generally give to schooling. Unfortunately, however, migration has been dictated…

OFFICIALS from the Department of National Defense have been debating lately on the proposal to raise the current compulsory retirement age of soldiers from 56 to 58. The debates are in relation to the DND’s current effort to craft measures to reform the present military retirement system.

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines now holds the unenviable record of having the highest cost of electricity in Asia, beating Japan, Singapore and its more developed neighbors, House Deputy Speaker Lorenzo Tañada said yesterday.

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) yesterday warned young jobseekers against accepting a potentially deadly job in the fishing industry.