Monthly Archives: August 2011

When you run out of arguments to bolster your position, you resort to what, in Logic class, is called “poisoning the well.” It means throwing mud at your opponents, flinging suspicion and innuendo at them without offering to provide proof or evidence to prove these true, all with the intent to derail the discussion and…

Economic officials within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) cited the strategic role small and medium enterprises (SMEs) play in the region’s economic integration bid.

After unearthing recently the distribution of P2.4 billion worth of scholarships by former Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda) officials sans any appropriations in the budget, another discovery was made showing more than half of them were allegedly granted to “ghost” students and vocational schools.

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine Wood Producers Association (PWPA) is urging the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to start the evaluation of operations of all wood producers to enable a more realistic review of the wood industry’s request for the lifting of the total log ban.

MANILA, Philippines – The Retirement & Healthcare Coalition (RHC) together with German certifying firm TUV Rheinland will jointly undertake a program that will develop and install an internationally acceptable quality management and accreditation system among healthcare providers in the country.

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines is among the countries in Southeast Asia less likely to feel the pinch of the economic woes in the United States and the European Union, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said yesterday.

MANILA, Philippines – Schools and universities in the Philippines have been included in the list of beneficiaries of the foundation of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair for religious and cultural awareness as well as education programs.

THE number of Filipinos working in the informal sector fell over the past decades but poverty reductions remained stagnant because of low wages of employed workers, according to an Asian Development Bank (ADB) study.

ORMOC CITY, Leyte, Philippines (PIA) — The International Labor Organization (ILO) and the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) are embarking jointly on a new project seeking to at least halve incidents of child labor by 2016.

WASHINGTON—Some 8.7 million different species exist on Earth, though a tiny amount of those have actually been discovered and catalogued, researchers said Tuesday.

MANILA, Philippines—Eight lawmakers have sought an investigation into what they considered as questionable and disadvantageous policies and practices of airline companies with respect to flight cancellations and delays, among others.

Many also waiting to get gratuity pay, says PH labor attaché MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine Embassy in Libya is still encouraging more Filipino workers to avail of the offer of repatriation from the conflict-torn country, but lack of jobs back home is holding them from returning.

Asia’s economic growth will likely be hurt by the slowdown in the United States and Europe, but the impact should be minimal, an Asian Development Bank (ADB) official said yesterday.

The Philippines was listed among Southeast Asian countries less likely to feel the pinch of the economic woes in the United States and the European Union, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said citing a report of Bank of America Merril Lynch.

CEBU, Philippines – All drivers of public utility vehicles will soon be required to undergo and pass a competency assessment by the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA).

MANILA, Philippines – The National Government is partnering with the Business Processing Association of the Philippines (BPAP) for projects that would entail half a billion pesos in investments annually, Budget and Management Secretary Florencio Abad said yesterday.

MANILA, Philippines – Philippine Airlines (PAL) said yesterday it is ready for any threat by its labor union as Transportation and Communications Secretary Manuel Roxas III reminded PAL to prepare a contingency plan in view of a possible strike by members of the Philippine Airlines Employees Association (PALEA).

The Philippines needs to bring more competition into the economy to increase both high-quality employment opportunities and wages, an Asian Development Bank (ADB) report said.

INSTEAD of a wage increase, Bohol businessmen pushed for benefits like medicines and tax incentives to workers. The Bohol Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) made the proposal during a public hearing on the wage hike petition held by the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB) in Montebello Hotel, Cebu City.

The United Nations is helping the Philippines tackle the mounting number of new HIV cases by putting local governments in the vanguard of the battle, mobilizing more than 1,000 officials and over 250 activists so far across 17 regions in the South-East Asian country.

SINGAPORE — A scheme training Filipino women to efficiently run neighborhood stores grabbed top prize at an global UN-sponsored contest aimed at empowering impoverished women in Africa, Asia and the Middle East.

NEW YORK — Outsourcing of services has been a persistent cause of panic and protectionism in recent years, especially in the United States since the 2004 presidential election. Back then, the Democratic candidate, Sen. John Kerry, upon hearing that digital x-rays had been outsourced from Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston for examination by radiologists in…

Banana exporters in Mindanao are worried over the rising value of the peso against the US dollar, saying it is making them less competitive in the world market.

As the world awaits what happens in Libya and seeks diversion from gloomy predictions about the global economy, it preoccupies itself with the most recent development in the Dominique Strauss-Kahn saga. This week, prosecutors from the Manhattan District Attorney’s office moved to drop rape charges against the former chief of the International Monetary Fund.

REAL wages in the Philippines have stagnated over the past two decades as the monopolies have been taking advantage of the large supply of job seekers fighting for a few jobs in the country, the Asian Development Bank says in a report.

LAWMAKERS on Monday night urged the government to impose family planning on the recipients of government handouts under its P39.8-billion dole program after Social Welfare Secretary Corazon Soliman said the average number of children among the poor beneficiaries was five.

MANILA, Philippines – Japanese firms are looking at the Philippines as an alternative manufacturing site following the disasters that hit Japan months ago, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said yesterday.

MANILA, Philippines – Some groups backing the Reproductive Health (RH) bill are for abortion and are part of a movement seeking to eliminate the world’s poor people. Senate Majority Leader Vicente Sotto III expressed this concern on Tuesday, the second day of Senate debates on the controversial measure. In particular, Sotto mentioned the Family Planning…

MANILA, Philippines — Beginning September 1, the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) will apply a new rate payment according to illness in 11 medical and 12 surgical cases in all accredited healthcare institutions nationwide.

ALU News Release Ban asbestos campaign gathers students’ signatures to hasten approval of Ban Asbestos Bills HB 896 & SB 89 23 August 2011, Quezon City— The Associated Labor Unions’ (ALU) advocacy on asbestos begins today to hold a series of lectures to senior public high school students in Quezon City about the risks of…