Monthly Archives: July 2011

Saying there is a need for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to be represented in the crafting of major economic policies, the National Economic Protectionism Association (NEPA) called on the government to have a proactive stance for their development and growth.

HONG KONG – For more than two decades, the Catholic Church in the Philippines, Asia’s only predominantly Catholic country, has opposed a Reproductive Health Bill that seeks to give poor people access to free contraceptives. The issue, Archbishop Socrates Villegas said in a statement, should be decided by “faith not opinions”.

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MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines has lost one of its labor markets as Saudi Arabia implemented a freeze-hire order Saturday. Starting July 2, Saudi Arabia will no longer issue work permits for domestic workers from the Philippines and Indonesia due to new hiring guidelines set by the two nations.

DUMAGUETE CITY, Philippines (PNA) – An international human rights advocate asked the Commission on Human Rights to investigate human rights violations allegedly committed by elements of the 79th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army following an encounter between the New People’s Army and government troops last March 16 in Sitio Payaw-payawan, Nagbinlod, Sta. Catalina in…

WASHINGTON, D.C.: The ethnic Filipino population in the United States rose by 38 percent in 2010 compared to 2000, according to the latest US census. Recently-released US data showed that there are 2,555,923 Filipinos in America now, based on results of the 2010 census. This number represents an increase of some 750,000 compared to the…

Manila, Philippines – The Chamber of Mines, along with the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Australian-New Zealand Chamber of Commerce, the Australia Philippines Business Council and the Philippine Australia Business Council has come out with a consolidated position paper on mineral resource development.

As a popular saying goes, “better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.” In two previous columns, I endeavored to provide a macro perspective on the “dragon of delay our Courts have yet to slay” with loose analogies made between our Courts and the business sector. Let us now take a quick survey…

Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero yesterday expressed alarm over the impact on the country of Saudi Arabia’s labor policy prioritizing its nationals over foreigners in job opportunities.

The Aquino administration yesterday claimed that the marked improvement in the country’s self-rated hunger ratings is the best demonstration that the government’s conditional cash transfer (CCT) program is working.

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This column received feedback from a government agency involved in education, particularly the promotion of technical skills training. Ma. Susan Dela Rama, executive director of TESDA, shared with us some of the challenges that the agency faces, and how it is trying to cope. Please read on.

Saudi Arabia will stop issuing work permits to Filipino domestic helpers beginning July 2, adding pressure to the Aquino government to provide more jobs at home.

THE military has rescued three “child warriors,” aged 10 to 12 years old, following an encounter with members of the communist New People’s Army (NPA) in a remote village in the province of Surigao del Sur.

Amid the failure of revenue collection agencies to improve their tax take and the record budget deficit the past two years, the country’s outstanding external debt soared to $60.9 billion as of March, up by $900 million from end-December 2010’s $60 billion and by $4 billion year-on-year.

MANILA, Philippines – New cases of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in the country reached an all-time high in May, a party-list lawmaker said Thursday.

MANILA, Philippines — The Aquino administration will attempt to work out with the Saudi government to reconsider its ban on the hiring of Filipino maids, according to a Palace official. Deputy Presidential Spokeswoman Abigail Valte said Friday labor authorities are seeking a “viable solution” to the new labor policy in Saudi Arabia while finding alternative…

The possible effects of Saudi Arabia’s decision to stop granting work permits to domestic helpers from the Philippines were downplayed by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). BSP Deputy Governor Diwa Guinigundo told reporters Friday that the future displacements from the decision of the Kingdom to stop hiring domestic workers “would only be temporary.”

KIDAPAWAN CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / July 1, 2011) – The Associated Labor Unions – Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (ALU-TUCP) and the Cotabato Provincial Government Employees Association (COTGEM) signed a Memorandum of Agreement on Friday in Kidapawan City in Mindanao.