Monthly Archives: April 2012

WASHINGTON, April 18, 2012 (AFP) – The Philippines leads the world in the number of people who believe in God, while the elderly across all countries tend to be the most religious, according to a US study out Wednesday.

MANILA, Philippines – Policemen found to be HIV-positive or afflicted with AIDS will not be dismissed from the service, according to Philippine National Police (PNP) spokesman Chief Superintendent Agrimero Cruz Jr. The PNP has given assurance that information on policemen infected with the disease will remain confidential, even as it conducts programs aimed at increasing…

MONEY SENT home by Filipinos living and working abroad grew by 5.6% as of February compared to the same period last year, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) yesterday said in a statement, buoyed by a continuing demand for Philippine manpower abroad.

IT has been 44 years since the late Nobel Lauriate Gunnar Myrdal finished his monumental 10-year study Asian Drama: An Inquiry into the Poverty of Nations. That tome helped re-arrange the thinking of world leaders about poverty and in particular poverty in Asia. It boosted government policymakers in rich and poor countries alike, and in…

Two international groups —  Migrant Forum Asia and Human Rights Watch — urged the labor ministers of 19 Asian and Middle Eastern countries to endorse protections for migrant workers.

They should not be subjected to abuse while working abroad, labour rights groups say Manila: Domestic overseas workers must no longer be excluded in labour codes so that they would not be subjected to abuse while working abroad, labour rights groups said.

The Philippine National Police Health Service (PNPHS) has started a program to educate their 143,000-strong force in preventing the spread of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) in their rank and file.

MANILA, Philippines –  An estimated 1.4 million poor Filipino families nationwide are considered as informal settlers, and some 70,450 of them facing eviction.

With additional funds for public-private partnership (PPP) projects from three donors expected in the next few months, the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) said more projects may be rolled out this year.

The mining industry suffered a P10.4-billion foreign direct investment (FDI) outflow last year due to the suspended issuance of mining permits by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) for more than a year and uncertainties in the mining policy that will have shaped the industry’s development under the Aquino administration.

A BUSINESS branding campaign could be unveiled later this year by the National Competitiveness Council (NCC) as part of efforts to boost exports and attract investors.

Money sent home by up to 10 million overseas Filipinos exceeded expectations in February by growing 5.8 percent to $1.6 billion instead of 5.2 percent as forecast by experts at Barclays in Hong Kong, for instance.

AN increasing number of multinational companies are now abiding by the government’s implementation of protecting rights of workers to decent working condition, security of tenure through a labor rule that stops contractual work terms of six months less.

THE Department of Justice (DOJ) has endorsed a bill in the House of Representatives that seeks to amend Republic Act 8504, otherwise known as the Philippines AIDS Prevention Control Act of 1998, to strengthen the country’s comprehensive policy on the prevention and control of the disease.

MANILA, Philippines – Minimum wage earners in Central Mindanao are getting a much-awaited pay increase, the National Wages and Productivity Commission (NWPC) said yesterday.

MANILA, Philippines – It’s a story you hear every day. May it be in the concrete jungles of Manila, or in an impoverished far-flung area, the Pearl of the Orient has a few left opportunities for the struggling Filipino family to earn just enough for a daily decent meal.

The Philippines is on track in achieving the Millennium Development Goals particularly in education, health, women and children, President Benigno S. Aquino III told visiting Governor General of the Commonwealth of Australia Quentin Bryce on Thursday.

Young people from Maguindanao often leave their hometown to work in Manila, urban areas, or overseas due to limited opportunities. Maguindanao, a province in South Central Mindanao was the 6th poorest province in the Philippines in 2011 based on findings of the National Statistical Coordination Board. The unemployment rate of youth belonging to 20-24 year…

President Benigno Aquino III has signed Proclamation No. 362 declaring the 2010 Census of Population and Housing as official. As released by the National Statistics Office (NSO), the country’s population is now 92,337,852. The count was based on the NSO census conducted from May to June 2010 which shows that the population increased by 15.83…

With more foreign companies looking at cutting costs for their business operations through offshoring, the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) disclosed that the business-process outsourcing (BPO) sector may see a growth of not below 15 percent every year.

MANILA, Philippines – Unless the government supports policies that promote a more robust manufacturing sector, the Philippines has a long way to go to achieve inclusive growth, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said in a recent report.  

MANILA, Philippines – If only the Philippines can tap all of its vast gold resources and reserves, poverty would be completely eradicated, according to the National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB).

MANILA, Philippines – After a lackluster 3.7% economic growth in 2011, the Philippines would bounce back this 2012 with a 4.8% growth, the Manila-based Asian Development Bank (ADB) projected.

MANILA, Philippines – Developing Asia’s rapid growth in recent years has given rise to a widening rich-poor divide that threatens to undermine the region’s growth and stability, but governments can address the problem via shifts in spending priorities, the Asian Development Bank said.

If the Philippine government is serious in pursuing inclusive growth, relying on business-process outsourcing (BPO)-based growth alone will not help generate enough jobs and improve the lives of poor Filipinos, according to the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

THE PHILIPPINES will likely recover from last year’s sluggish growth amid increased public spending, investments and private consumption but “longstanding structural weaknesses” remain hurdles to achieving inclusive growth, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) yesterday said.

MANILA (Updated) — Fifteen million people have been added to the country’s population over the last 10 years, with the National Statistics Office (NSO) recording more than 92 million people as of May 1, 2010.

MANILA, Philippines – Filipino nurses should not to expect to get jobs in the United States until 2020, an administration lawmaker said yesterday.

A prominent lawyer has hit the recent statement of the International Planned Parenthood Federation that practically seeks to give the youth a right to reproductive health services.