Monthly Archives: January 2012

Corruption by lawmakers in the use of their so-called pork barrel continues to take place even under the stewardship of President Aquino, a political ally in the Senate bared yesterday.

Hacienda Luisita farm workers petitioned the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) to revoke a 15-year-old land-use conversion order it issued to Hacienda Luisita Inc. and called for the distribution of the lands to farmworkers.

Majority of Filipino workers in Syria have rejected the Philippine government’s offer to repatriate them to the Philippines for free amid the worsening political security situation in the troubled Middle East state, citing scant employment opportunities back home, Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario admitted yesterday.

Government officials shrugged off fears of a possible displacement of thousands of call center agents in the country as a result of a proposed bill in the United States seeking to stop America from engaging in business process outsourcing (BPO) while the Palace seems totally in the dark about it.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) gave a five to six percent growth forecast this year but warned that the local economy may be affected by a prolonged political conflict in the country involving the branches of government, highlighted by efforts to oust Chief Justice Renato Corona.

A lawmaker is strongly pushing the provision of assistance to first- time job seekers by waiving government fees and charges collected in connection with requirements for employment.

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) said yesterday there is no need for another stimulus package at this time to spur economic growth given the available budget for various projects to be released immediately.

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) is closely watching over the possible slowdown in the operations of American-owned business process outsourcing (BPO) firms in the country.

Last December 28, 2011, STAR’s Paolo Romero reported that UP (University of the Philippines) Assistant Professor Marivic Raquiza had questioned the prioritization and budget allocation that the DSWD (Department of Social Welfare and Development) has placed on the CCT (Conditional Cash Transfer) program, to the alleged detriment of the department’s other programs.

THE Aquino administration plans to accelerate the implementation of its public-private partnership (PPP) program, targeting to bid out eight to 16 projects this year. In a briefing, Cosette Canilao, PPP Center executive director, told reporters on Wednesday that the indicative cost of the eight to 16 projects to be rolled out this year amounts to…

MANILA, Philippines—The Commission on Audit (COA) has uncovered several irregularities, such as fictitious training sessions and the double entry of names, in the Pangulong Gloria Scholarship program implemented by the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda).

The country’s attention in the last few days has been riveted on the casualties from the New Year revelry. Cameras focused on the grimacing faces of the victims while medical professionals ran around trying to do what they could given the dire situation; and I refer not only to the seemingly endless stream of victims…

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines has the inherent attractiveness and ability to seize upcoming business opportunities as it steps up as the next favored destination in ASEAN.

THE head of state-run Philippine Health Insurance Corp. on Tuesday said the government had neutralized a syndicate that had been siphoning off as much as P100 million in premium payments.

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines will have to remove two to three sections of the “cut and sew” portion of the Save the Industries Act to reduce the waived duties of the United States to $200 million, a ranking government official said.

PRESIDENT Benigno Aquino III approved a four-year good governance and anti-corruption plan during a Cabinet cluster meeting Tuesday, which will focus on transparency, accountability and citizen engagement, Budget Secretary Florencio Abad said.

The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is targeting to create more export-related employment in the next five years despite the global economic uncertainties.

MANILA, Philippines – The military yesterday belied a report by a New York-based human rights watchdog which claimed that the Philippines has made little progress in addressing human rights violations.

THE PHILIPPINE National Police has announced yesterday that the crime rates dropped by 23 percent compared to last year’s record.

THE Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) had delisted 165,651 non-compliant, undeserving and unqualified beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino program, the Philippines’ conditional cash transfer (CCT) program, as of December 15 last year.

A lawmaker from Eastern Samar yesterday warned that a House bill filed in the United States Congress could affect some 400,000 call center employees here.

MANILA, Philippines — The country’s ship crewing sector has called for the immediate ratification of the Maritime Labor Convention (MLC) of 2006 in which the ILO introduces a number of major amendments to existing international regulations involving ships crews’ welfare.

MANILA, Jan 4 (PIA)– The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), Philippine National Police (PNP), and the labor sector recently signed a Manifesto of Commitment, which outlines future actions for the promotion of the fundamental freedoms of association and collective bargaining.

AS 2011 closed, I completed my usual review of my family’s finances, especially our spending patterns given our income sources. What struck me was the increasing size of my credit card bills compared to those of previous years.

The remittances of overseas Filipino workers in October rose 6.2 percent to $1.77 billion, the highest attained in any month, according to the most recent figures released by the Banko Sentral ng Pilipinas.

THE administration of President Benigno Aquino 3rd has lined up almost P142-billion worth of infrastructure projects that are scheduled for implementation beginning this month, Budget Secretary Florencio Abad revealed on Monday.

MANILA, Philippines – The New York-based Human Rights Watch said yesterday that the Aquino administration has made little progress in addressing impunity for serious human rights violations despite promises of reform.

Women have stronger money management skills than men in areas such as everyday financing and planning but struggle around more complex financial concepts, according to results of the latest MasterCard survey on Consumer Purchasing Priorities-Money Management.

The Board of Investments (BoI) registered P368.9 billion in investments for 2011, up by 22 percent from the P302 billion the previous year. According to the BoI, the figure was also 35 percent higher in terms of number of projects approved.

Hans Leo Cacdac, Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) undersecretary for labor relations, formally assumed office on Monday, as the new administrator of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA), replacing former administrator Carlos Cao, Jr.