Monthly Archives: July 2011

In spite of the current controversy surrounding the LTO and its technology partner, Stradcom, drivers’ licenses continue to be renewed in Land Transportation Offices located in malls and other public places. NBI clearances, prior to the current situation, were also issued in many satellite facilities around the country. Similarly if one needed an authenticated birth…

Having been Ambassador to the Commission of the European Communities in Brussels, I continue to have an interest in developments in the EU particularly in trade and investments.

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines has the highest income inequality in the Southeast Asian region, with roughly 10 percent of the country’s population accounting for a third of total income, according to a study conducted by Stratbase Research Institute.

MANILA, Philippines – The Board of Investments (BOI) is readying five measures which would make the country more foreign investment friendly and to counter provisions in the constitution which prohibits full foreign ownership.

Sen. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos has filed the proposed Special Protection of Children in Situations of Armed Conflict Act in the Senate which is aimed at providing comprehensive safeguard as well as the rehabilitation and reintegration of children involved in, affected by or displaced by armed conflict.

ILOILO CITY, Philippines — Workers in Western Visayas will have P12 emergency cost of living allowance (ECOLA) effective July 15 this year. Department of Labor and Employment-VI office-in-charge Crispin Dannug said the P12 ECOLA is contained in the new Wage Order No. 19 issued recently by the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board.

ANGELES CITY, Philippines – The 12-member council of Tarlac City has come out with a resolution, saying that the recent Supreme Court’s order for a referendum on stock distribution option (SDO) among farmfolk “will only obfuscate the real objective of land reform.”

MANILA, Philippines – A congressman today proposed a measure that prohibits schools from preventing students with delinquent tuition fees to take examinations. Manila 2nd District Rep. Carlo Lopez filed House Bill 4559, which declares as unlawful the act of prohibiting students from taking any examinations due to their failure to pay tuition fees.

The Philippines should produce more convictions of those responsible for extra-judicial killings of militants and members of left-wing groups to show the Aquino adminis-tration’s commitment in resolving the scourge, the European Union’s top diplomat to Manila yesterday said.

A year into the administration of Benigno Simeon Aquino III, “Aquinomics” is the buzzword of his economic team. At the heart of this, Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima told us the other night, is that “good governance is good economics.” The focus is not so much on the amount of government resources but how it is…

MANILA, Philippines – Five million jobs are expected to become available in the next five years because of government efforts to enable industries to create more jobs.

MANILA, Philippines – Malacañang will be coming up with a policy with regard to the so-called “blood money” that government – usually by force of circumstance – allocates for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who are facing legal cases abroad.

MANILA, Philippines – At least 25,000 members of the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS), the state-owned pension fund for state workers, are ineligible to apply for a loan and receive cash dividends as a result of the suspension of their respective agencies.

EU gives P 600 million more after praising result of P 234 million given in 2009 to end political killings in the Philippines Manila: The European Union (EU) has given P 600 million (Dh 50 million) more to the Philippine government after it has expressed satisfaction with the results of the P 234 million (Dh…

The Joint Foreign Chambers of the Philippines said Wednesday the Philippine economy is growing but noted the “slow arrival” of foreign investments in the country during the first year of the Aquino administration.

A PRIVATE SECTOR-LED tourism body and business group yesterday scored current government efforts to promote the industry, noting the lack of market research and promotions. The Tourism Congress and the Management Association of the Philippines (MAP) expressed dissatisfaction with Tourism department efforts since last year’s deadly hostage crisis involving Hong Kong nationals.

HIGHER economic growth can be achieved if the business climate improves and government tax efforts are intensified, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) yesterday said. “If there is a decisive expansion in public investment and private investment, growth will go up,” IMF Asia Pacific Department Assistant Director Vivek Arora told reporters.

MANILA, Philippines—The European Union sent a delegation to the Philippines to look into the progress of the country’s drive to stop extra-judicial killings, Philippine National Police chief Director General Raul Bacalzo said Thursday.

TAGAYTAY CITY, Cavite, July 21 (PIA) — The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) is currently holding its 2nd National Educators’ Congress on Human Rights Education (2NECHRE) at the Development Academy of the Philippines with the theme, “Human Rights Education: Changing Culture Towards Peace and Good Governance” which started July 20 and ends July 23.

With the health and safety of the country’s workforce as one of its paramount priorities, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) yesterday issued a call strongly supporting the bid against asbestos use as it pushes for its inclusion in the list of chemicals identified as hazardous to both health and environment.

The Democratic Independent Workers’ Association (DIWA) party-list representative is asking the House committee on overseas workers affairs to look into the recent sea piracy incidents involving Filipino seafarers.

CEBU, Philippines – The Home Development Mutual Fund (Pag-IBIG Fund) has extended an incentive program for housing loan borrowers who are up-to-date with their payments.

COTABATO CITY: The Regional Tripartite Wage and Productivity Board (RTWPB) approved a P10 increase in the cost of living allowance (COLA) of private sector minimum wage earners in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

PAST public-private partnership (PPP) projects in the Philippines were “unsuccessful” mostly because of lack of transparency, competition and preparation, according to a study by the Asian Development Bank.

AHEAD of President Benigno Aquino 3rd’s second State of the Nation Address (sona), foreign business executives lauded efforts to combat corruption in his first year in office, but admitted that a great deal of work remains to attract long-term investments into the Philippines.

MANILA, Philippines – The Joint Foreign Chambers (JFC) said yesterday the Philippines can still attract foreign investments in the Public Private Partnership (PPP) projects despite the constitutional limitation in foreign ownership because there are legitimate options around this impediment.

MANILA, Philippines – An estimated 5,000 Filipino workers in Afghanistan are set to send their third letter to President Aquino this week reiterating their request that the Dec. 31 deadline for them to finish their contracts be lifted so they would be allowed to extend their stay in the war-torn country.