Monthly Archives: July 2011

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.

MANILA, Philippines – The New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) had cited the failure of the government to investigate and prosecute cases of unexplained killings and enforced disappearances that have remained unsolved during the first year in office of President Aquino.

MANILA, Philippines – Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. yesterday bared an additional list of 23 priority measures for the House of Representatives during its second regular session that opens on Monday. Belmonte said the measures would cover the areas of good governance, agriculture, human rights, cultural communities, land administration and ecology, education and anti-terror policies.

The government should now start considering a gradual phaseout program on the use of gas and diesel for its public transport system such as buses, jeepneys and tricycles by re-fitting them with natural gas converters or completely replacing them with electric vehicles.

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) yesterday branded as “unfair” the report issued by Human Rights Watch (HRW) saying the administration of President Aquino has failed to curb extra-judicial killings and other human rights abuses by the military.

The entry of former Agrarian Reform Secretary Nasser Pangandaman representing “AA Ka Sosyo party-list” in the House of Representatives was questioned yesterday on the ground that Pangandaman had deceived the Commission on Elections (Comelec) and the government when he continued to be at the DAR when he should have left the agency when he joined…

Foreign investors remain reluctant to put money on the Philippines, particularly into the flagship Private-Public Partnership (PPP) projects of President Aquino, locally based western and Asian business leaders said yesterday. A year into Aquino’s six-year term, the US, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and South Korean chambers said investors want stronger assurances that laws and…

The Philippine Embassy in Riyadh has offered help to Filipinos who were terminated by their employers in Saudi Arabia as the Middle East state implements its Saudization labor policy. Filipino workers who received termination notices from their employers or who have been terminated without valid cause are advised to get in touch with the embassy…

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, Philippines—Biotechnology, including genetically modified organisms, could help ensure food security for the country, according to the head of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources’ Ecosystems Research and Development Bureau (DENR-ERDB).

MANILA, Philippines—Eleven members of the Aquino Cabinet have signed the Integrity Pledge, effectively joining a private sector-led effort to institute control measures to help curb corruption in the country. Henry Schumacher, vice president for external affairs of the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, which spearheads the Integrity Initiative along with the Makati Business…

It was worth looking at how Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) program works in Mexico, why it has been able to help so many people, and how the program ensures proper use of the resources which are given to the beneficiaries. This, in a nutshell, sums up Leyte Governor Carlos Jericho L. Petilla’s insight on the…

A lawmaker is pushing for a special local jobs plan for the growing number of unemployed Filipino nurses, estimated by the Department of Health at more than 200,000. In House Bill 4582, LPG Marketers Association Rep. Arnel Ty proposed the creation of a jobs plan would be expanded version of the Nurses Assigned in Rural…

MANILA, Philippines – Aside from Caloocan City, nearly 300 other local government units (LGUs) have been delinquent in payment of employee contributions to the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS). In an interview over dzMM, GSIS general manager Margie Jurillo said these agencies and their heads are facing penal sanctions for violating Republic Act 8291, also…

A GROUP of banana growers on Tuesday said the government should lobby for lower tariffs on locally grown Cavendish banana among the country’s trading partners. In a statement, the Pilipino Banana Growers & Exporters Association Inc. warned that it may lose market share if the government fails to negotiate for tariff cuts in traditional exports…

THE Employers Confederation of the Philippines is bucking a Senate bill aimed at reclassifying employment arrangements. Senate Bill 858 proposes to change the existing classification of employment into two broad categories: from regular employment and non-regular, to work arrangements based on contracts for indefinite period and contracts for definite period.

OVERSEAS Filipino workers (OFWs) in Saudi Arabia who are being terminated because of the Nitaqat system under the new Saudization policy can refute the grounds of their termination, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said on Tuesday. An advisory from the Philippine Embassy in Riyadh clarified that Filipino workers in the oil-rich kingdom who were…

PUBLIC transport operators will be filing their petitions for fare adjustments following a series of fuel price hikes implemented by oil companies—19 price spirals for this year alon. But their request will only be attended to after President Benigno Aquino 3rd delivers his second state-of-the-nation-address (SONA) next week.

MANILA, Philippines – A ranking administration lawmaker questioned yesterday the decision of the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) to allocate billions of pesos for “renovations” of existing ports instead of constructing more modular ports badly needed in many parts of the country.

MANILA, Philippines – The country’s balance of payments (BOP) surplus jumped 53 percent in the first half of the year on the back of the central bank’s robust earnings from its investments abroad and foreign exchange operations as well as higher foreign borrowings by the government, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported yesterday.

Changing times in the face of unchanging laws defines the conflict of the ages: reform vs. status quo, a more prosperous future vs. prosperity for the few, have-nots vs. haves. The restrictive economic provisions of the constitution represent the unchanging laws. The demands for economic reform constitute the pressure to adjust to the needs of…

MANILA, Philippines – Fitch Ratings said yesterday the Philippines needs to grow its economy faster and attract more investments to receive the much-awaited investment grade rating from the global rating agency.

MANILA, Philippines – The government’s conditional cash transfer (CCT) or 4Ps program significantly improved the health, nutrition and education of children of low-income families, Social Welfare Secretary Corazon Soliman said yesterday, citing studies conducted by the Social Weather Stations (SWS) and Ateneo de Manila University.

MANILA, Philippines – Government employees who have retired from public service will now get their retirement benefits and gratuities a month after they relinquished their posts, thanks to a law President Aquino signed recently.

Fitch Ratings, one of three closely-watched international ratings firms, conceded that the Philippines had achieved notable fiscal and monetary improvements under the Aquino administration but an upgrade is still far-fetched.

“Leadership without vision is treachery to the governed. Integral leadership also means setting the path toward the future.” Thus intoned youthful Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates “Soc” Villegas, the incoming Vice-President of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), in a speech he delivered before members and officials of the Rotary Clubs of Pangasinan last week.…

President Aquino has failed to curb extra-judicial killings and other human rights abuses by the military during his first year in office, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said yesterday.

Yes, the title is meant to be a pun, but whether it is pera (Filipino term for “money”) per se or the real subject matter of this article — the Personal Equity and Retirement Account (PERA) — both seem to invariably elude us. Since the PERA’s introduction in 2008, the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR)…

THE PRIVATE SECTOR remains “less than healthy” and “continuing weaknesses” should be resolved if the Philippines wants to accelerate development and reduce poverty, a report published by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said.

Faced with a shallow skilled talent pool, the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) industry has begun collaborating with the government and various schools to ensure the graduates joining the labor force have competencies aligned with the needs of the industry.