Monthly Archives: September 2011

MANILA, Philippines – A survey conducted by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed that beneficiaries of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) are saving less in the third quarter of the year due to the continued appreciation of the peso against the dollar.

MANADO, Indonesia – What used to be an overwhelming $420-million worth in the early 2000s, the country’s tuna industry is now pegged at 30 percent lower than what it used to be when it was at its peak.

The ratings of countries in the region, including the Philippines, are threatened as a result of weaker-than-expected global growth, sovereign debt concerns in Europe, and potential tightening in funding conditions, credit watchdog Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services said in a report.

Malacañang rejected yesterday persistent appeals made by members of the Senate for the administration to defer until next year the implementation of its plan to cut its subsidy on the Metro Rail Transit (MRT) and Light Railway Transit (LRT) Systems and increase fare cost.

MANILA, Philippines – Despite a weakening global economy, demand for services of Filipino sailors remains high, and a leading labor center expects this to be reflected in the money they send home for the entire 2011, projected at $4 billion.

Quezon City Representative Winston Castelo shot to national prominence the other week when his bill, the “Four Day Work Week Act of 2011” got picked up by media. Employer groups and the labor sector took turns lambasting the proposal. It was one of the few times employers and the labor sector were on the same…

MANILA, Philippines – At least 7,500 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Northern Marianas stand to lose their jobs and may be deported due to a new visa rule by the US Department of Homeland Security, Vice President Jejomar Binay said yesterday.

Three different crises are simultaneously taking place and we are helplessly watching as bystanders. Yet, these developments have an impact on us. These dramas are the US economic recovery slowdown; the European debt crisis; and the Arab spring of revolutions across the Middle East. (In previous columns, I have discussed the US economic issues).

The International Monetary Fund had joined other multinational lenders in slashing its forecast on economic growth in the Philippines this year to 4.7 percent from an original five percent, while next year’s growth is expected at only 4.9 percent as the IMF expects the global economy slowdown to persist.

MANILA, Philippines – Officials of the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) defended yesterday the agency’s disbursement of P93.65 million for the salary increases of its officers and employees from June to December last year.

Education Secretary Armin Luistro yesterday clarified the Department of Education’s (DepEd’s) proposed K+12 program will give high school students a chance to work or gain immediate work experience.

BUSINESSES in Midnanao are clamoring for solar energy projects to ease the region’s tight power supply situation. In a position paper, various business groups from Mindanao called on the government to increase the volume of solar power that would qualify for tariff incentives.

CASTILLA, Sorsogon: Armed Forces Chief of Staff Eduardo Oban identified five areas in the country where New People’s Army rebels have established footholds.

Dear PAO, I want to seek for your advice regarding the situation of my uncle. He has been in the hospital for almost two months. He was rushed there early part of May because he was complaining about pain in his abdomen. There were gallstones found in him; doctors took them out. He recovered after…

Anakpawis Rep. Rafael Mariano is seeking a probe into numerous planned and ongoing construction of privately owned and operated coal-fired power plants in the country.

MOST just drive mindless of the mayhem or murder they can inflict on the road after all, nine of 10 bus drivers in the metropolis totally lack moral values.

According to a recent ILO study, 2 billion people will be aged 60 or over by 2050. While most discussions about population ageing turn around the sustainability of pension systems, a forthcoming ILO meeting to be held in Geneva on 21-22 September, will focus on the impact of the greying of societies on labour supply…

THE monthly government dole to poor families in its conditional cash transfer program has done little to reduce the elementary school dropout rate, Education Secretary Armin Luistro said Monday.

No to Violence – Department of Education is now getting serious at eliminating violence in schools, which include corporal punishment and bullying. MANILA, Philippines — he Department of Education will soon come out with a more comprehensive child protection policy to shield the child against abuse, exploitation and discrimination including bullying and other forms of…

FACTORY PRODUCTION growth is expected to end this year slower than in 2010, as effects of debt crises in the West and consequent market uncertainty weigh on trade and private consumption, a United Nations (UN) agency reported earlier this month.

No one else among our Southeast Asian neighbors saw poverty worsen in the last 10 years the way we did in the Philippines, in the face of record economic growth at that. Ours is a classic case of growth that has failed to be “inclusive,” now the favored term to describe economic growth with widest…

A GROUP of local banana growers on Monday expressed alarm over the resurgence of a fungal disease that can wipe out banana plantations in Mindanao.

MANILA, Philippines – The transport strike by militant groups yesterday fizzled out as authorities said it was generally peaceful and hardly felt in Metro Manila and other provinces nationwide.

In a letter dated September 13, 2011, SAMAHAN, the association of workers at the $1.6-billion shipyard project of Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction-Philippines Inc. in the Subic Bay Freeport Zone, have called attention to the fatal accidents in Hanjin shipyard, which are reminiscent of the series of accidents that happened there from 2008 to 2009.…

MANILA, Philippines – The Supreme Court (SC) has declared as illegal the Philippine Airlines’ (PAL) retrenchment of 1,400 flight attendants in 1998.

The proposal to impose a four-day, 10-hour work week nationwide, both for government and the private sector is both assailable and laughable.

The Philippines is now 20 years behind dynamic neighbors in Asia in creating wealth and new jobs and solving its chronic poverty problem.

Malacañang expressed dismay over the refusal of some transport groups to heed warnings for them to forego with their transport strike while claiming that the protest was a big failure and has not disrupted public transport.

BANGKOK, Thailand – If Philippine companies’ non-participation in the World Business Council for Sustainable Development is any indication, then it seems like sustainable development is not a priority.

Ten Filipinos die every hour from illnesses caused by smoking while the country loses nearly P500 billion annually from healthcare costs and productivity losses, according to an anti-tobacco group.