Monthly Archives: November 2011

MANILA, Philippines – Bank’s real lending rate eased to two percent in the third quarter of the year from 2.5 percent in the second quarter due to the reduction in the average nominal lending rate while inflation remained steady, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported over the weekend.

There is an adage that if you want to help the poor you do not give them fish but teach them how to fish. Suddenly this adage has been turned upside down by a new approach to how to alleviate poverty. You give them cash.

MANILA, Philippines – Decrying alleged harassment by “tax enforcers” of its members, the Philippine Medical Association (PMA) is partnering with the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) to ensure that doctors pay the right taxes.

(Last of a series) Even the Rolls Royce of England’s Queen Elizabeth is fitted with an LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) conversion kit. Or so the LPG conversion industry leaders claim as they protest against what they say are the “unscientifically proven” claims of cab drivers and passengers concerning the allegedly harmful effects of LPG.

MANILA, Philippines — The recruitment industry urged the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Sunday to withdraw its certification on the 41 banned countries.

The Aquino government must show stronger action in providing justice to human rights victims and addressing impunity by state security forces for it to receive the pending American military assistance withheld by Washington in 2009 due to the Philippines’ failure to account for the spate of extra-judicial killings.

The Philippines affirmed before the United Nations its commitment to reduce armed violence and enable development during a recent review conference in Geneva, Switzerland from Oct. 31 to Nov. 1.

MORE than six million young Filipinos are out of school because of the high cost of education, according to the National Statistics Office (NSO).

DESPITE opposition from various groups and local communities, the development of cleaner coal power plants may be the answer to a looming power crisis in the next four years.

One of the signs that prove a government office is efficient is that people don’t fall in line to get their documents or papers or anything of that sort. Long queues at a government office are bad omen as people thought that something fishy is going on inside that office.

THE Philippine Medical Association on Friday slammed the “Gestapo tactics being used by tax enforcers against its members when checking if they were paying the correct taxes.

The Philippine Embassy in Saudi Arabia questioned the veracity of reports that many undocumented Filipinos had been selling blood in Saudi Arabia to survive, saying only legal workers are allowed to do so as residence permits must be presented before the procedure is permitted.

MANILA — The Philippines must do more to stop human rights abuses especially extra-judicial killings if it wants to receive more US aid, the US ambassador to the country said on Friday.

MANILA, Philippines – A total of 253 Filipinos, or an average of 8 Filipinos daily, tested positive for the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in September, data from the Department of Health National Epidemiology Center revealed.

(Third of a series) For several years now, the Department of Health (DOH) has been hearing stories of taxi drivers supposedly falling ill due to extended exposure to liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) fumes.

MANILA, Philippines – Earnings of banks operating in the Philippines surged 28 percent to P51.9 billion from January to June this year from P40.6 billion in the same period last year, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported yesterday.

Laws and ordinances are enacted primarily to cover more specific and detailed aspects of the ever changing situations in our society that cannot be covered by the Constitution which is broader, briefer and more or less permanent but not self-executory. These laws and ordinances are supposed to implement and thus, must conform to, the provisions…

The Chamber of Mines of the Philippines (COMP) on Thursday expressed deep concern over the passing of a provincial ordinance banning open pit mining in Zamboanga del Norte, saying that it will send conflicting signal to all potential investors.

Last of two parts Ric Saludo’s colleague Verbo Bonilla contributed this column. If the P72-billion stimulus package could go some way to addressing government under-spending, other factors slowing GDP growth are tougher to cover. Aside from delays in public spending, the key immediate concerns,according to NEDA headPaderanga, are “weak industry output, and timely recovery from…

Amid criticism for funding rebel groups, government peace negotiators say two groups are ‘armed but not dangerous’ THE communist splinter group with which the government is seeking peace has split into two factions, but an Armed Forces official said Thursday that would have no impact on the ongoing efforts to disarm the rebels.

The quality of life in the Philippines, as measured by the Human Development Index, slightly improved compared to last year, according to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

THE number of HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) cases in the country has increased by 65 percent mainly because of unsafe sex practices,the Department of Heath (DOH) said on Thursday.

The Employers Confederation of the Philippines (Ecop) has joined the snowballing call for government action against violent abuses of outsourced employees of Philippine Airlines (PAL).

In 2009, amid looming water and power shortages, alarm bells rang over the threat of El Nio to Mindanaos hydro-electric plants. At that time, state holding firm Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (Psalm) sold off the states Power Barges (PB) 117 and 118 to the Aboitiz group for $30 million.

The ongoing strike by members of the Philippine Airlines (PAL) Employees’ Association (Palea) which has turned rowdy and even out of control of late is getting to be more of a burden to the riding public than to the airline itself.

Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario yesterday asked Labor officials to delay the imple-mentation of an unprecedented ban on the deployment of Filipino workers in 41 countries without adequate work protection to give Philippine diplomats time to dialog with those states to prevent any backlash.

There are many ways for liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) to leak out of tanks, almost all of them the result of procedural shortcuts and inappropriate use of materials.

QUEZON CITY, Nov. 4 (PIA) — The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), through its attached agency, the Occupational Safety and Health Center (OSHC) launched today (Nov. 4) the e-OSH, to enable more workers to have access to occupational safety and health (OSH) courses.

MANILA, Philippines — Last Monday, Oct. 31, the world’s population reached a stunning seven billion, and the latest addition to the burgeoning number of humanity came from the Philippines.

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Health (DOH) recorded an all-time high of 253 new HIV/AIDS cases on a monthly basis in September, bringing to 7,684 the number of Filipinos known to be infected with the virus, a report showed yesterday.