Monthly Archives: July 2011

ASEAN Social Charter

VIENNA (AP) — Illegal immigrants working as domestics in the European Union are often subject to beatings, sexual abuse and overwork while being paid a fraction of what they would be entitled to if employed legally, an EU agency reported Tuesday. The Vienna-based EU Fundamental Rights agency interviewed 72 people working illegally in 10 EU…

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Energy has warned anew of possible power supply shortages in Mindanao next year, as the required power reserve level in the island remained precariously low at only 100 megawatts during peak hours.

THE International Finance Corp. (FIC) has slammed the delay in the implementation of the incentives provided for under the Renewable Energy Law. Jesse Ang, IFC representative to the Philippines, said in a briefing that foreign investors have been “disappointed” over the extended deferral in the issuance of the final feed-in tariff rates, urging the government…

Last of two parts ARE there in fact similarities between Arroyo and Aquino? PNoy has certainly continued several major programs of his predecessor. Thanks to her tax 2005 tax reforms, his administration has reaped the gains with continued growth and this year, credit rating upgrades.

MANILA, Philippines – Former President and now Pampanga 2nd District Rep. Gloria Arroyo and her son, Camarines Sur Rep. Diosdado ‘Dato’ Macapagal Arroyo, are pushing for a new law that could prove very popular to workers in the private sector. House Bill 1218 seeks to institutionalize the granting of an annual productivity incentive to all…

At least 7,000 household service workers have been barred from working in Saudi Arabia since last March when the Kingdom suspended processing their work papers, a Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) official said Tuesday.

Filipino seafarers are not threatened by a looming employment ban by the European Union against them for not complying with certain maritime standards, the Labor chief said Tuesday.

The debate on the amendment of the restrictive economic provisions of the Constitution will soon occupy the nation’s attention as the Enrile-Belmonte initiative on this issue enters the legislative stage. Despite a growing national consensus on the issue, powerful forces of opposition will put roadblocks to stop the momentum.

MANILA, Philippines – Amid threats of a hiring ban, the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) is adopting a comprehensive program to train more Filipino seafarers to be qualified for employment abroad. TESDA director general Joel Villanueva said the government is now working on a training and assessment program to upgrade the skills of…

MANILA, Philippines – The government is offering loan assistance for Filipino workers who may be displaced in Saudi Arabia because of the new hiring policy implemented in the Middle East kingdom. The Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), under the P2-billion reintegration program, is offering no collateral loans for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who would want…

MANILA, Philippines – Stakeholders in the mining sector yesterday urged the government to run after small-scale miners in line with efforts to impose additional tax on the mining industry. The Chamber of Mines of the Philippines said the government should go after those not paying taxes at all, like the small-scale miners, instead of picking…

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Education (DepEd) is estimated to need as much as P45 billion in additional funds if it will fully subsidize Grade 11 or Year 1 of the two-year senior high school to be set up under the ambitious K (Kindergarten) +12 Basic Education Curriculum (BEC) plan.

MANILA, Philippines – The Supreme Court (SC)’s decision on Hacienda Luisita drew condemnation yesterday from militant groups. “The Supreme Court’s cowardly act clearly demonstrates that it is an instrument of deception, oppression and exploitation. It subscribes to the politics of accommodation of the Aquino government,” Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas secretary-general Danilo Ramos said in a…

It’s back to square one for the hacienda workers. While the Supreme Court (SC) has turned down the petition filed by the Aquino-Cojuangco-family controlled Hacienda Luisita Inc. (HLI) over how to go about processing the sugar estate into the government’s agrarian reform program, upholding the 2006 revocation of the Stock Distribution Option during the Arroyo…

MANILA, Philippines – The Bureau of Immigration (BI) today ordered immigration officers at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport to tightly screen Filipino tourists bound for Bahrain following reports that many of them end up as undocumented workers.

BAGUIO CITY ,Philippines – Christian groups led by the Catholic Charismatic Christian Movement believes that the same sex marriage controversy is a “grand design” by some sectors to push House Bill 1483 (Anti-Discrimination bill) filed by Bayan Muna party-list Rep. Teodoro Casiño.

Downgrading the Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT) to a mere office could imperil the country’s gains in the IT-business process outsourcing industry, Sen. Edgardo Angara said on Monday. Angara added his voice to the clamor of the National ICT Confederation of the Philippines (NICP) to restore the agency to its former status.

MANILA, Philippines – President Aquino witnessed yesterday the signing of a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with Cordillera rebels. Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Teresita Quintos Deles, Cordillera Bodong Administration (CBA) president Marcelina Bahatan and Cordillera People’s Liberation Army (CPLA) chairman Arsenio Humiding signed the peace pact in ceremonies held at Malacañang.

Deployment of Filipinos abroad as overseas contract workers (OCWs) or overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) have been increasing in recent years. Based on a recent count, an average of 100 OFWs leave the Philippines every hour to find well-paying jobs abroad.

MANILA, Philippines – The beneficiaries of the P21-billion conditional cash transfer (CCT) program of the Department of Social Welfare and Development have already reached two million, boosting the anti-poverty agenda of the Aquino administration. Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda described the development as a “milestone” in government efforts to help the poorest of the poor.

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Education (DepEd) wants to implement its ambitious K (Kindergarten) +12 Basic Education Curriculum (BEC) plan as early as possible but is being prevented by “realities” such as the passage of an enabling law and other necessities.

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At the recent STV Auto Focus Industry Forum, various heads of car companies gave a brief overview of how their respective car companies were performing as well as an indication of the industry’s future, trends and general state of health. Despite the Fukushima incident in Japan where a variety of car companies have been affected,…

TUC Online 132/050711 Brussels, 5 July 2011 (ITUC OnLine): A new report by the European Union’s Fundamental Rights Agency http://www.fra.europa.eu/fraWebsite/home/home_en.htm has exposed serious loopholes in legal protections for undocumented migrants who are domestic workers. The survey of 10 EU Member States reveals that despite international legal requirements, employers largely control the extent to which the…

ITUC Online 133/050711 Brussels, 5 July 2011 (ITUC OnLine): Deutsche Telekom’s annual Corporate Social Responsibility Report, released yesterday, hides the truth about the company’s aggressive anti-union campaign in its T-Mobile USA operations, undermining its claim to leadership in the field of social responsibility. The report mentions Deutsche Telekom’s commitment to ILO, OECD and UN Global…

The human rights records of the Philippine Army in Negros continues to improve as shown by its record of zero “human rights violations” in the past six months of this year, compared to previous years, Commission on Human Rights records showed.

ABU DHABI // Recruitment agencies must ensure employers pay the minimum wage set by the Philippines government for its nationals working abroad as domestics, a labour official has said.

VIENTIANE,July 4 (KPL) — Representatives of Asean member nations met at the first meeting of the drafting group on Asean human rights declaration last Friday to discuss about the draft Asean human rights declaration. A two-day meeting was held at the Plaza Hotel in Vientiane Capital, which hosted by Lao PDR.

THE Philippines’ labor department will continue to support its $400 minimum pay rates for Filipino domestic workers in Saudi Arabia despite an employment ban in the Kingdom. “Yes (we will stand pat on it). Una, hindi naman sa Saudi lang applicable yan e. All countries employing HSWs [household service workers] are following that,” said Department…