Monthly Archives: July 2011

THE Aquino government is looking at allocating P22.1 billion of its P1.816 trillion national budget to fund the pubic-private partnership (PPP) program next year.

MANILA, Philippines – Almost all construction sites in Metro Manila are not adopting occupational safety and health standards (OSHS) and considered hazardous workplaces, the labor department has learned.

Mona Valisno’s forthcoming book, “The Nation’s Journey to Greatness: Five Decades of the Philippine Educational System,” contains a proposal to solve one of the vexing problems with the K-12 program, namely, the spectre of private Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) not having incoming first year students for two straight years (with a ripple effect in later…

The Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP) and other members of the business community aired fears yesterday over the agitation for new wage increases, saying these could jeopardize the survival of the companies and their workers.

The Bureau of Internal Revenue has required companies planning to list their shares through the Real Estate Investment Trust Act to distribute at least 90 percent of their respective earnings to shareholders before they could enjoy tax perks from the law.

FOREIGN direct investment (FDI) in developing Asia set new records in 2010 for both inflows and outflows but the Philippines received the lowest flows compared with its peers, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) said on Tuesday.

MANILA, Philippines – Malacañang remains convinced there is no need at the moment to amend the economic provisions in the 1987 Constitution to spur economic growth as proposed by Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile.

Output of local factories had flattened out in May compared to a year ago after a 2.2 percent growth the previous month reflecting a slowdown in the industrial sector which bodes ill for economic prospects for the year.

The United Kingdom is encouraging exceptionally talented nationals, including Filipinos, who excel in the fields of science, humanities, engineering and the arts to come and live in Britain.

LONDON – The government of the United Kingdom will implement new retirement rules that will allow its citizens to work even after the age of 65. Starting October of this year, the default retirement age of 65 in this country will be scrapped. This means that those who are close to retirement will not have…

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MANILA, Philippines – The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad) has warned the Philippines and other developing countries against too much dependence on the non-equity modes (NEMs) of foreign direct investments (FDI), such as business-process outsourcing (BPO) and contract manufacturing owing to their “footloose” nature that makes them easy to get but also…

Manufacturers wanting to make their products more environment-friendly are slowly coming to terms with the high cost of recycled materials and its patent inflexibility, leaving them no choice but to pass on the burden to consumers.

It is now up to Congress to make the next move on the national budget. This, after Malacanang broke tradition by submitting the proposed P1.816-trillion budget to Congress a month early to give lawmakers enough time to scrutinize the measure. The Palace hopes the President can sign the measure into law before Christmas.

The government is keen on increasing corn production for 2012 in order to ease the rice demand, according to President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III’s 55-page budget message to Congress.

One of the strongest thrusts of the administration has been its anticorruption campaign. But the campaign has been seen in some quarters as slowing down the economy.

At least two countries have placed orders to buy Philippine sugar, the Sugar Regulatory Administration said Monday. “Japan has ordered for 37,000 metric tons and Indonesia for 8,500 MT,” SRA manager for planning Rosemarie Gumera said in an interview.

ONLY overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who are and were members of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) are qualified to apply for enterprise loan under the P2-billion OFW-Reintegration Program (OFW-RP), a labor official clarified on Monday.

According to its ostentatiously unrevealing Web site, the Makati Business Club was founded by the late Don Enrique Zobel in 1981 as a “forum for constructive ideas”. Today it boasts the membership of hundreds of “captains of Philippine business”, who intersperse their professional networking and social schmoozing with periodic manifestos on the state of the…

Dominant power distributor Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) seeks to obtain the entire output of Redondo Peninsula Energy Inc. (RP Energy), which is building a $1.28-billion 600-megawatt coal-fired power plant in Subic Bay Freeport Zone, Zambales.

The hybrid cars built by teams from the University of the Philippines and Mapua Institute of Technology won awards in the recently concluded Shell Eco-Marathon Asia 2011.

The Senate on Tuesday approved on third and final reading a bill seeking to define and penalize the crime of enforced or involuntary disappearances. With 15 affirmative votes, the Senate approved Senate Bill 2817 (Enforced or Involuntary Disappearance Act of 2011) authored by Senators Francis Escudero, Manny Villar, Miriam Defensor-Santiago, Francis Pangilinan, and Ramon Bong…

AFTER scaling new heights in less than a year, Philippine stocks have become expensive, according to an expert on emerging markets.

ONLY eight out of the 1,712 measures filed were approved during the First Regular Session of the Fifteenth Congress, the House of Representatives reported on Monday. In their Performance Report, the House said that of the eight measures approved, one was a House joint resolution.

THE Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) on Monday said it aims to create more jobs in the countryside by strengthening micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

To improve the country’s low standings in competitiveness surveys, Trade and Industry Secretary Gregory Domingo said pollsters should include firms located in economic zones.

Proponents of the controversial Reproductive Health (RH) bill have geared up for tough and long debates with colleagues on the passage of the measure, practically saying that they are prepared to meet head-on those opposing the proposed law.

Senator Loren Legarda and Rep. Gina de Venecia have filed bills to help children with disabilities and special needs. Senator Legarda’s bill seeks to provide free and suitable public education for children with disabilities to promote their integration to society and provide them opportunities afforded to other Filipinos.

MANILA, Philippines – Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile pitched anew yesterday the need to amend the economic provisions of the 1987 Constitution to “spur growth in our industries and businesses” and provide more jobs for Filipinos.

MANILA, Philippines – The Aquino administration maintained a “good” net satisfaction rating in the latest survey by the Social Weather Stations (SWS). The SWS poll, conducted from June 3 to 6, found 62 percent of respondents satisfied and 17 percent dissatisfied with the performance of the administration for a net score of +45 percent.