Monthly Archives: October 2011

THE government on Wednesday said it may offer at least two projects to investors under the so-called public-private partnership starting this quarter, scaling down from an earlier plan for 10 proposals this year.

THE extent of the damage by typhoons Pedring and Quiel to agriculture may have already exceeded the losses from two typhoons two years ago, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said on Wednesday.

BRUSSELS: Recession is a live risk next year, particularly in Europe, a senior IMF figure said Wednesday in Brussels as the eurozone toils with twin sovereign debt and banking crises.

MANILA, Philippines – Yokohama Tire Philippines Inc. (YTPI) is investing an additional $650 million to expand its facility in Clark. Clark Development Corp. (CDC) said the expansion will make Yokohama the largest tire manufacturer in the world.

MANILA, Philippines – Consumer prices went up slightly to 4.8 percent in September from 4.7 percent in August due to higher water and power rates as well as rising fuel prices, the National Statistics Office (NSO) reported yesterday.

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) sees a smooth implementation of the outsourcing program of flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL).

Prices of commodities and services continue its uptrend as the inflation rate inched up to 4.8 percent in September from 4.7 percent in August, according to the National Statistics Office (NSO).

A lawmaker said US Ambassador Harry Thomas Jr.’s claim that four out of 10 male foreign tourists come to the Philippines for sex does not augur well for the country’s fight against the predominantly sexually transmitted human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

MANILA, Philippines – Communist rebels in the Philippines should stop unlawful killings, abductions, and attacks that target civilians, a New York-based human rights group said Wednesday.

The Philippine delegation to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) round of talks in Panama said on Wednesday that Filipinos are fighting for survival amid worsening climate change, citing the two recent typhoons that battered the country consecutively in a span of just two weeks.

The disclosure of an almost P14-billion budgetary requirement being imposed by the Department of Health (DoH) and proposed to be included in the 2012 budget for the implementation of the Reproductive Health (RH) bill gave Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile another reason to strongly oppose the highly debated measure.

MANILA, Philippines – Minors won’t be given condoms, intra-uterine devices (IUDs), and other contraceptives even if the reproductive health (RH) bill is enacted into law.

MANILA, Philippines – A new study suggests that women who use hormonal contraceptives doubles their risk for acquiring HIV, and are twice as likely to transmit it to their partners.

Vice President Jejomar Binay returned home late Friday night after a lightning trip to Saudi Arabia where he attended the burial of Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz on behalf of President Aquino.

FILIPINO professors in state universities and colleges are the lowest paid in Asia, a lawmaker said Wednesday as the country marked World Teachers’ Day.

BANKING has never been better, stronger, more stable, more resilient and more profitable in the Philippines than now This comes as a surprise considering the euro and sovereign debt crisis in Europe; the unemployment, double-dip recession tendency and fiscal crisis in the United States; and the perceptible global economic slowdown this year and next.

MANILA, Philippines – Seven in 10 Filipinos, or 71 percent, believe that a peace agreement between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) would be reached, a latest survey by the Social Weather Stations (SWS) revealed.

The Labor Department has upheld Philippine Airlines over its refusal to start collective bargaining negotiations with the union.

MANILA, Philippines – Almost all Filipino workers in Syria are undocumented, making it hard for the Philippine government to repatriate them from the strife-torn country, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said.

SENATOR Ralph Recto on Tuesday demanded to know why the Government Service Insurance System failed to remit P2.3 billion in retirement benefits to its members.

Raids by communist rebels shut down country’s largest nickel producer and hurt government efforts to attract foreign investments PRESIDENT Benigno Aquino III on Tuesday ordered the security for mining companies beefed up after raids by communist rebels shut down the operations of the country’s largest nickel producer and sent its stock plummeting.

Local currency revisits 44:$1 for the first time in eight months on Europe’s worsening debt crisis; stocks extend slump The peso weakened further to an eight-month low Tuesday, falling past the 44 per dollar level for the first time in eight months, on concern Europe’s worsening debt crisis will encourage overseas investors to pull out…

A NEW York-based think tank said the Philippine economy would likely slow down until next year on expectations the Aquino administration’s public-private partnership (PPP) scheme would fail to take off in the near term.

The National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) has dismissed charges of unfair labor practices raised by PAL Employees Association (Palea) of unfair labor practice of PAL management for its alleged refusal to commence collective bargaining negotiations with the union early this year.

MANILA, Philippines – Malacañang said yesterday the issue involving the Philippine Airlines Employees’ Association (PALEA) was already with the Court of Appeals and that it was not aware of any request from the union to have a closed-door meeting with President Aquino.

Communist rebel attacks on three local mines have created a climate of fear for investors just as the sector is seeking to cash in on the global resources boom. Malacañang condemned the raids that forced one of the country’s leading nickel producers to shut down a major venture, warning that the New People’s Army (NPA)…

WASHINGTON – US Labor Secretary Hilda Solis on Monday announced a grant of $15 million for a project to combat exploitative child labor in sugarcane growing areas in the Philippines.

We can perhaps look at what’s happening at Philippine Airlines today as something like birth pain. Maybe all the unpleasantness happening are necessary so that a new Philippine Airlines can emerge that’s not only profitable but a worthy flag carrier of the Republic. But I am not that sure.

The National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) has junked the unfair labor practice case filed by the ground crew union of Philippine Airlines (PAL) against the airline’s management for its alleged refusal to start negotiation for a new collective bargaining agreement early this year.