Monthly Archives: August 2011

After pocketing P5 million in a government check handed out by the government’s chief peace negotiator Dean Marvic Leonen, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front negotiating panel flatly rejected yesterday the government’s counter-proposal on how to resolve the conflict between the government and the MILF, ending the resumption of the peace talks a day ahead of…

THE communists on Sunday accused the Aquino administration of “scuttling the peace negotiations” by rejecting their offer to hold formal talks in Oslo next month.

Two reports, released one after the other by financial and economic think tanks that have found Manila nearly the cheapest city worldwide when it comes to cost of living, come with a downside: they also disclose that Manila has low wage and purchasing power levels. They indicate that while Manila may be a boon to…

NEW YORK—Baby boomers heading into what used to be called retirement age are providing a 70 million-member strong market for legions of companies, entrepreneurs and cosmetic surgeons eager to capitalize on their “forever young” mind-set, whether it’s through wrinkle creams, face-lifts or workout regimens.

It takes a lot of courage and political will for politicians to embrace causes unpopular to the Catholic Church. Traditionally, most politicians have safely avoided antagonizing the Church for fear of losing votes.

THE country’s fish production may decline by 5 percent this year following the government’s imposition of conservation measures, an official said over the weekend.

THE congressional allies of President Benigno Aquino III are headed for a clash today with Social Welfare Secretary Corazon Soliman over when the government will end its multi-billion-peso dole program and how many recipients there should be.

SYDNEY, Australia – Australian scientists gazing billions of years back in time with powerful radio telescopes on Monday warned that the universe’s lights — the stars — were quite literally running out of gas.

MOBILE and fixed broadband service in Philippines remains a luxury for majority of Filipinos despite falling prices, according to Ovum.

The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) said on Monday the deployment ban of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Libya remains despite the possible end of hostilities there.

MANILA, Philippines – Philippine exporters are maintaining their 10-percent growth target for 2011 despite the financial crisis in the United States, as they bank on the rising share of the Asian emerging markets in the country’s total exports to improve revenues.

Flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) had started a company-wide information drive about the spin-off program after its workers’ union rejected management’s offer for a dialog.

MANILA, Philippines – The dramatic expansion of both the office sector and shopping and mixed-use developments in the Philippines in the last decade has attracted the interest of key investors attending a recent Asia Pacific Real Estate Association (APREA) Singapore chapter meeting in the island state.

The Bureau of Immigration (BI) reported yesterday more than 26,000 aliens are presently studying in various schools throughout the country, making the Philippines as the major education center for foreign students.

MANILA, Philippines – Malacañang has appealed to the Philippine Airlines Employees’ Association (PALEA) not to go on strike and instead go through the proper legal processes to settle their dispute with the national flag carrier.

House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte yesterday said that the House of Representatives is going to push through with the proposed amendments to the economic provisions of the Constitution even as an ongoing survey among lawmakers showed that there are currently 68 percent or 153 lawmakers who are in favor of amending the Charter.

MANILA, Philippines – Many workers in Metro Manila are now leaving their jobs to seek better ones. The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) said yesterday that employment opportunities remained bright in Metro Manila despite the closure of commercial establishments in the region. Labor Undersecretary Danilo Cruz said DOLE records showed more workers quit their…

About 85 percent of the total 17,000 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) working in Syria were undocumented and were illegally recruited and victims of human trafficking, according to Blas Ople Policy Center (BOPC).

A ranking member of the House of Representatives yesterday junked the results of a survey claiming that at least 90 percent of respondents believed that Congress and the Judiciary are not doing their best in the fight against corruption.

For continuously failing to solve our country’s poverty problem, some members of Congress and the Executive seem to be bent on intruding into, instead of protecting the more personal aspects of the citizens’ life — marriage and family. Aside from the RH bill, they are now proposing a Divorce bill.

MANILA, Philippines – President Aquino has issued an executive order strengthening the legal protection provided by the government to victims of abuse through the Committee for the Special Protection of Children (CSPC).

The trust fund containing P10 billion set aside to compensate alleged human rights victims during the 20-year regime of former President Ferdinand Marcos remains intact and has grown to P11.5 billion but its release remains uncertain since the bill which provides for its allocation was not included by President Aquino among his administration’s priority measures.

MANILA, Philippines – A bill has been filed in the Senate to lower the coverage of the Senior Citizens Act from citizens aged 60 years old and above to 55 years old.

Over 20,000 to 50,000 “green” jobs will be created once the Renewable Energy Act of 2008 is implemented, a power company executive said over the weekend. First Gen vice president Aloysius Santos said that the wind industry is expected to generate 5,000 to 6,000 jobs from 220 megawatts (MW) in wind projects. Lopez-owned First Gen…

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga, August 21 (PIA) — There is no denying it, the world is changing, and changing fast, foremost of which is, the world’s climate. Every nation, every nook in the world is gearing up to meet the challenge of climate change, and Pampanga is no exception.

Two sides report agreement on terms of hiring Filipina domestic workers Saudi Arabia is set to lift a ban on the recruitment of housemaids from the Philippines introduced early this year following tough terms imposed by Manila on sending domestic workers to the world’s largest oil exporter.

Bank of America-Merrill Lynch has tempered its growth outlook for Southeast Asia, including the Philippines, noting that the region was “resilient but not immune” to a US slowdown or recession. In an August 19 economic commentary titled “Asean: Recession Guide,” the investment banking unit of Bank of America projected a 35-percent risk of the United…

People are only just starting to understand new technological trends such as virtualization and cloud computing, when along comes a phenomenon called “Big Data.”

Empowering the Filipino People (First of Two Parts) MANILA, Philippines — LAST 18 August, FVR keynoted the 6th Pan-Beibu Gulf Economic Cooperation (PBGEC) Forum in Nanning, Guangxi Province, People’s Republic of China, upon the invitation of the People’s Government of Guangxi and the China Development Institute.

hen I first received the letter of “Furious Teacher” in my e-mail (published Aug. 14), what I wanted was to help a single, unwed, pregnant woman who I felt was being given a raw deal by her unenlightened superior.