Monthly Archives: July 2011

Private sector workers in Central Visayas can expect an increase in the minimum wage this year. “Our closest timeline is within this year,” said Exequiel Sarcauga, chairman of the Regional Tripartite Wage and Productivity Board in Central Visayas after a meeting yesterday.

The Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) approved the extension of trading hours at the bourse to be implemented in two phases starting October explaining the move was timely as the global economy is improving while it is expected to improve liquidity at the Exchange.

First of two parts (Ric Saludo’s colleague Bill Huang contributed this guest column.) WITH the successful auction of Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) bonds in April— $416 million in three-year and five-year bonds with dollar and euro denominations—the government has taken an important first step in mobilizing OFW remittances for investment. And in the nick of…

LONDON: Attacks on the world’s seas are soaring as armed and dangerous pirates become increasingly emboldened, seizing more ships than before and taking even bigger risks, an international body said on Thursday. In the first six months of 2011, there were 266 piracy attacks compared with 196 incidents over the same period last year, and…

Dear PAO, I am a teacher in a private school for about 2 years. I would like to ask how many sick leave days an employee is entitled to. The school said that we are only entitled to a service incentive leave. Ms. Mars

THE Aquino administration plans to create nearly 10 million jobs by 2016 under the country’s three-year export development agenda, according to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). The Philippine Export Development Plan for 2011 to 2013 forecasts a doubling of Philippine exports to reach $120 billion by 2016.

President Aquino has approved a three-year export strategy for the country called the Philippine Export Development Plan (PEDP) 2011 to 2013 that was presented by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) after a series of consultations with the private sector and other stakeholders through the DTI’s Export Development Council (EDC).

In Tacloban, Leyte, Vice President and Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) Chairman Jejomar Binay yesterday said the housing sector could help prevent tragedies resulting from natural calamities through proper land use planning.

CEBU, Philippines – The Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board-7 finally decided yesterday that there exists supervening conditions in the region, namely inflation and high fuel prices, which will now justify entertaining two wage hike petitions filed by two labor unions.

MANILA, Philippines – The Social Security System (SSS) is planning to open this year a savings window for members so they can look forward to more benefits on top of their retirement pension, a top official said. While this will be voluntary, SSS said this would encourage members to better prepare for their retirement.

MANILA, Philippines – Toyota Motor Philippines Corp. (TMP) together with locators of the Toyota Special Economic Zone (TSEZ) appealed yesterday to the government to improve the competitiveness of local parts suppliers.

MANILA, Philippines – The inflow of foreign portfolio investments or “hot money” more than tripled in the first half of the year on the back of strong investments in shares listed at the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) and peso-denominated government securities, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported yesterday.

In 1987, the world population was estimated at five billion. Twelve years later, another billion people were added, and experts say that by this year, the population of the world will reach, a number that is supposed to take 200 years for somebody to count out aloud.

A study by the Asian Development Bank found that the Philippines has one of the highest tax rates in Asia, but the country’s untaxed underground economy is also among the largest in the world.

The Philippine government has set aside P2 billion in business loans under its re-integration program for migrant workers including those who may be displaced by a new policy being enforced by Saudi Arabia, one of the richest markets for Filipino manpower.

Administration and opposition lawmakers have decried the long delay in the release of their pork barrel funds and urged Budget Secretary Florencio “Butch” Abad to give priority to funds intended for scholarships, medical assistance and infrastructure projects.

MANILA, Philippines – Thirty-two party-list representatives, accompanied by Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr., paid a courtesy call on President Aquino in Malacañang yesterday.

Saudi Arabia has started to ban vacationing OFWs from reentering the country. According to Migrante International, outgoing workers’ passports are being stamped with a “Final Exit” mark. Many countries including China have adopted a policy of prioritizing local citizens in hiring workers.

MANILA, Philippines – One hundred twenty Filipinos face deportation after they were arrested and detained for illegally working in Dubai, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said yesterday.

A COUPLE of weeks from now, President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino 3rd will deliver his second State of the Nation Address. He gave a preview of it when he commemorated his first year in office, and expectedly he touted his effort to fight graft and corruption. There would be no poverty if there was no corruption,…

MANILA: Cautious investors’ attitude and sluggish economic performance in the Philippines’ major trading partners have slowed down the inflow of foreign direct investments (FDI) in the country from January to April. The FDI infused into the Philippines in the first four months decreased to 552 million US dollars, or a 15.1 percent drop from 650…

ACADEMICIANS, experts and local government executives on Wednesday called for localized implementation of projects attuned to the framework of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), some four years before the 2015 deadline set by the United Nations.

As ambassador not only to Greece but also Cyprus, I was bothered by reports that Filipinas were being unwittingly lured into prostitution to Cyprus’ then-booming nightlife districts. Reports were that they were exiting the country without the papers required by government, and they were able to do so as they were being escorted through the…

UNITED NATIONS: The UN Security Council on Tuesday (Wednesday in Manila) unanimously adopted a resolution against recruitment of child soldiers, pressing nations to halt the abuse of children including rape and attacks on schools. The signatories “call upon member-states concerned to take decisive and immediate action against persistent perpetrators of violations and abuses committed against…

OVER 432,000 families in the country’s remote areas received P2 billion in cash under the government’s Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) program, officials said on Wednesday. Paolo Baltao, the president of G-Xchange Inc. (GXI), the mobile commerce subsidiary of Globe, said that the P2 billion cash grants went to the 432,510 households in 300 far-flung municipalities…

LONDON — AIDS drugs designed to treat HIV can also be used to reduce dramatically the risk of infection among heterosexual couples, two studies conducted in Africa showed for the first time on Wednesday.

Dear PAO, My father died a month ago. Three years prior to this, my mother died. I am the eldest among 5 siblings. I am 28 years old. My sister is 27 and my brothers are 21, 17 and 11. Are they entitled to death benefits and lump sum from the SSS? RY

THE Armed Forces of the Philippines Retirement and Separation Benefits System (AFP-RSBS) wanted to reduce the pension increases of retired soldiers to 10 percent every five years from 11.5 to 16.4 percent to arrest its ballooning arrears that is expected to reach more than P1 trillion by year 2040.

TWO multilateral institutions on Wednesday said they would accelerate their loan assistance to the Philippines for the next three years. “We are almost coming to an end in our discussion with the government on the medium term strategic direction of the ADB program and the tentative pipeline of our assistance from 2012 to 2014,” Neeraj…

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