Monthly Archives: September 2011

MIGRANTE CLAIMS MANILA, Philippines—At least two “mysterious” deaths of Filipino workers abroad are being reported every month, Filipino migrants rights group Migrante said Saturday.

The budget cuts, which some students of state universities and colleges (SUCs) alleged and have protested against, are the opposite of what has been proposed to Congress, according to Budget Secretary Florencio Abad, who noted that SUCs will get 10.1 percent more next year.

PRIVATE SECTOR groups on Friday urged the government to address continuing power rate hikes and an impending electricity shortage, claiming that existing laws and current policy have failed to serve consumer interests.

Vice President and Pag-IBIG Fund Board Chairman Jejomar Binay reported that the fund has disbursed almost P24 billion in multipurpose loans for the first seven months of 2011, benefitting 1.2 million Pag-IBIG members.

Some 1.1 million small-scale farmers and fisher folk have received some P2.86 billion in rice subsidies since May 2011, the Department of Social Welfare and Development has said.

An inter-agency body has been created by President Benigno Aquino III to deal with transport strikes and mass actions, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority has said.

Two other known advocates of the controversial Reproductive Health (RH) bill in the Senate have raised the possibility of withdrawing their support from the measure if potential risks on artificial birth control methods would include the possibility of an abortion.

Philippine labor officials reiterated their call to employers to adopt a green or environmentally-friendly job policy to expand job opportunities. Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said there will be new demand for labor from “green” investments, a scenario that will benefit everyone.

MANILA, Philippines – The government needs to boost spending to fuel the economy, economists agreed during a recent forum concluded jointly by the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) is now taking steps to help senior high school students prepare for the right courses they should take in college.

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Education (DepEd) has acquired some P330-million worth of science equipment, instruments and learning tools that will be distributed to public high schools in a bid to improve the quality of science education for public school children.

BACOLOD CITY, Philippines – Party-list group 1-United Transport Koalition (1-UTAK) led transport groups and several organizations here in filing a petition Thursday seeking to nullify the Oil Deregulation Law.

MANILA, Philippines – The United Kingdom lauded yesterday the Philippines for putting open government at the heart of its agenda. British Ambassador Stephen Lillie also urged governments worldwide to put transparency and accountability on top of their agenda.

Speculations are rife that Philippine Airlines is for sale. The business sections of Manila dailies are replete with stories of tycoons and taipans casting a covetous eye on PAL.

A week before it spins off its non-core businesses on Oct. 1, flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) said on Saturday that it will temporarily reduce the number of selected domestic flights by 30 percent and international flights by 12 percent.

GOVERNMENTS need to put in place appropriate policies not only to address job loss and income inequality as economies worldwide become more interdependent, but also to ensure “wider distribution of gains from trade,” said a study jointly conducted by the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the International Labor Organization (ILO) and released last Sept. 20.

MANILA, Philippines – A government think tank has urged the Aquino administration to pursue regulatory reforms that can increase trade in services such as the removal of infrastructure bottlenecks in transportation, communications, energy, water and other services.

(Updated 6:09 pm.) While President Benigno Aquino III declared that foreign capitalists are “lining up” to invest in the Philippines, the United Nations’ World Investment Report (WIR) 2011 shows that the lines are much longer leading to Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand.

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) said a total of 866 provinces, cities and municipalities made it to the list of local governments that passed the criteria of the Seal of Good Housekeeping (SGH).

A climate change coalition has called on President Benigno Aquino III to make drastic steps and take immediate actions to lead the Southeast Asia in its efforts to quell the effects of climate change.

Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo reportedly advises the Philippine Airlines Employees Association (PALEA). Was it on his counsel that they blocked the roads leading to the Manila International Airport last Monday? That planking inconvenienced not only passengers of PAL, but of other international and domestic airlines as well. Traffic snarled for hours in southern Metro…

MANILA, Philippines – A political analyst has criticized lawmakers for filing “silly bills ” in the national legislature. This, after Quezon City Rep. Winston Castelo drew flak for filing House Bill 5316 or the anti-planking bill the other day.

MANILA, Philippines – Women farmers and fisherfolk are the worst hit in terms of lack of maternal health care and infant mortality and should be given a chance for a better future through a reproductive health (RH) law, a female party-list lawmaker said yesterday.

MANILA, Philippines – Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo called on lawmakers yesterday to fast-track approval of the Freedom of Information (FOI) bill.

MANILA, Philippines – Militant government employees, most of them teachers and health workers, yesterday announced that they are intensifying their campaign for a P6,000 increase in the minimum pay of state workers.

WASHINGTON – World Bank President Robert Zoellick on Wednesday praised President Aquino for taking on the challenge of creating more transparent and accountable government to benefit the poor.

First of three parts THE Philippine Government aims to transform People Power from a nonviolent form of street protest to a means for citizens and workers in government to collaborate in the halls of government to ensure that the benefits of governance reaches the poor in a direct, immediate and substantial way.

TUCP: 11% of income goes to electric bills MANILA, Philippines — The Trade Union Congress Party (TUCP) Friday called for drastic reforms in the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC), pointing out that the Philippines now has the highest power rates in Asia.

THE Philippines is one of the best places for women, according to Newsweek magazine. A survey done by the American publication showed the Philippines as among the 20 best countries for women, ranking 17th out of 165 countries.

While the Reproductive Health (RH) bill failed to make the hurdle during previous session of the 14th Congress, it seems to be making some headway in the current session owing to a more favorable disposition of the new national leadership. Still, public debate remains heated. It’s time to take stock of the arguments contra and…