Monthly Archives: November 2011

A strong fiscal position is crucial for long-term growth. It also serves as a shield against future economic crises. Countries with robust fiscal space are able to pursue countercyclical fiscal policy when warranted, spending more when the economy is contracting, and generating large surpluses when it is booming. Sadly, Mrs. Arroyo left behind a fiscal…

New HIV infections and deaths from AIDS-related illness are falling worldwide, except in the Philippines and Bangladesh, where the number of new HIV cases continues to rise.

Microinsurance in the Philippines could become as successful as microcredit as it is expected to gain ground amid increasing number of providers and rising demand, Finance Undersecretary Gil S. Beltran said Tuesday.

PRESIDENT BENIGNO S. C. Aquino III has approved a comprehensive plan to address the impact of climate change that will be submitted to a United Nations forum by the end of the month in a bid to access global aid, an official said yesterday.

MANILA, Philippines – The head of the European Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines praised leaders of Congress for working on constitutional reforms but lamented that President Aquino was not prioritizing amending the 1987 Constitution that could boost the country’s economic standing.

The World Bank (WB) cited the need for the Aquino adminis-tration to speed up public spending to strengthen the local economy’s ability to withstand external shocks mainly as a result of the debt crisis in Europe and the still weak US economy even as it said the country remained well-positioned to absorb any new financial…

RETIREMENT tourism is expected to double in the next five years as a foreign business group pushes for integrated destination management ahead of the Tourism department’s medium-term development plan due next year, an official said yesterday at a forum.

DEVELOPING ECONOMIES are slowly growing their share of intellectual assets as multinational firms and increased public spending drive up patent filings and research, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) reported last week.

Charges for large scale illegal recruitment and child abuse is set to be filed by the Department of Labor and Employment and the Bacolod City Police before the city prosecutor’s office today against the three persons nabbed Friday at the Banago wharf.

THE Department of Education (DepEd) insists that the literacy rate in the Philippines is quite high compared to other Asian countries over the past two years and country has succeeded in expanding its education in quantitative terms despite recent studies that showed that the education system has been challenged by different emerging trends.

LEGAZPI CITY: Ten years from now, the Philippines’ climate shall have gone from bad to worse which imperil food security, livelihood, infrastructures, peoples’ lives and limbs as the adverse impact of global warming has reached the tipping point according to the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical Astronomical and Services Administration (PAGASA) officials here.

Two of the hottest topics on nutrition today are the raw vs. the cooked diet and the practice of eating meatless meals. Each one has its own proponents who cite the significant health benefits of these two nutritional practices. What is the real score? Here’s what you should know about raw food and vegetarian diets.

This Christmas, make sure that the gift you give will not harm the receiver. The EcoWaste Coalition on Monday said that it had discovered that popular gift items usually given to children such as painted toys, glasses and mugs contain toxic chemicals that could damage the brain.

Davao City — The operation of some 40 hectares of cavendish banana farms in Monkayo, Compostela Valley Province of the Dizon Farms Inc. will be shut down as the area has been infected with Fusarium Wilt, or the Panama disease.

The Philippines along with China and Taiwan were given the biggest chance of escaping unscathed from the global financial turmoil brought about by the European debt crisis mainly as a result of internal liquidity among the three economies, a study released yesterday by credit watchdog Fitch Ratings.

Sensing that the Reproductive Health (RH) bill is not going to get the nod of the House of Representatives before the Christmas break, supporters of the measure yesterday urged House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte to intervene and rev up the legislative mill for the controversial bill.

MANILA, Philippines – The ranks of poor Filipinos have risen by more than three million despite the reported economic growth over the past several years, as the government continues to be influenced by politicians and businessmen with vested interests, according to advisory and research group Stratbase Research Institute.

THE government is looking at adding the bulk of this year’s unspent budget to next year’s budget to make up for its weak spending in 2011, Budget Secretary Florencio Abad said Friday.

THE Aquino administration is eyeing to re-align the bulk of its unused budget this year to 2012 to make up for weak spending.

THE Contact Center Association of the Philippines said it is sticking to its growth forecast this year amid the US and Europe crises. “The forecast for the full year is still the same. We actually did a mid-year check and the full-year forecast is still sitting around 15 percent to 20 percent,” Benedict Hernadez, CCAP…

A network of Southeast Asian fisheries organizations has expressed dismay at the results of the recently concluded Asean Summit 2011 in Bali, Indonesia.

Although that they had already served their respective jail terms, they are still staying in jail instead of being free and spend their Christmas back in the Philippines with their loved ones.

The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) has branded the surrender of 80 New People’s Army (NPA) rebels, including 19 minors, in Bukidnon province to government authorities as military “psychological warfare” smacks of coercion and fakery.

The Philippines went through its transition from a dictatorship to an open democratic society in 1986. The road of transition has not been easy; it has not been short.

THE LABOR department has revised the implementing rules and guidelines on job contracting and subcontracting arrangements in a bid to provide greater protection to workers.

MANILA, Philippines — Senate President Pro Tempore Jose “Jinggoy” Estrada yesterday said he is supporting the provision of fixed monthly salaries for bus drivers and conductors, noting that the new system upholds the rights of workers to decent wage conditions and promotes road safety for commuters.

The more you age, the more you should exercise. This is the gist of fitness professional and former Inquirer Lifestyle columnist Tina Juan’s message to the country’s growing number of senior citizens in their 60s, 70s and even 80s.

Vicky’s story began like those of many wives whose husbands leave to seek jobs overseas—full of hope for a better future.

DAVAO CITY—Marino Lactao woke up one morning in October to find dozens of his banana plants wilted.

MANILA, Philippines – President Benigno S. Aquino recently instructed the Department of Agriculture (DA) and the Department of Department of Budget and Management (DBM) to allot at least two percent of the DA’s annual budget for national organic agriculture program.