Monthly Archives: July 2012

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine economy, as measured by gross domestic product (GDP), could grow anywhere from 4.8 percent to 5.9 percent this year, the Congressional Policy and Budget Research Department (CPBRD) said yesterday.

A toxics watchdog has revealed that toys containing health-damaging chemicals are being sold to public school children right at their doorstep.

Scientists in the United States said Wednesday they had used a cancer drug to flush out the AIDS virus lurking dormant in trial patients’ white blood cells — a tentative step towards a cure. The ability of the HIV genome, or reproductive code, to hide out in cells and be revived after decades poses a…

Investigators are looking into two main paths toward a cure for AIDS, based on the stunning stories of a small group of people around the world who have been able to overcome the disease. Despite progress in treating millions of people globally with antiretroviral drugs, experts say a cure is more crucial than ever because…

DAVAO CITY, Philippines – Large-scale mining operations are the only way to solve the alarming child labor problems in illegal small-scale mining activities in the country, according to the Junior Chamber International (JCI) Philippines during a gathering of business groups held here last week.

A new ILO-backed report launched by the Global Network of People living with HIV at the International AIDS Conference in Washington, DC. shows that HIV-related stigma and discrimination is still widespread in the world of work. WASHINGTON, DC (ILO News) – Over 30 million people living with HIV old enough to work still face a…

There is great concern about China’s real-estate and infrastructure bubbles. But these are just short-term challenges that China may be able to spend its way out of. The real threat to China’s economy is bigger and longer term: its manufacturing bubble. By offering subsidies, cheap labor, and lax regulations and rigging its currency, China was…

The role of public-private partnerships in response to HIV and AIDS and the relevance of action at the workplace are being highlighted at the 19th International AIDS Conference. WASHINGTON, DC (ILO News) – The Head of the ILO Programme on HIV/ AIDS and the world of work has called for “more involvement from the private…

The last two years have been deadly for government forestry workers and environmental advocates. According to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), 20 of its employees, contractual workers and civil society partners have been killed since 2010. The latest figures added to the death toll were recorded on Friday in Surigao del Sur…

Appointed only two months ago by President Aquino as the chief of the National Economic and Development Authority, former UP School of Economics dean Arsenio Balisacan seems to have fast caught the yellow I-hate-Arroyo bug that afflicts this administration.

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines exceeded its sugar production target for the current crop year at the end of the million season, according to the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA). The SRA said that domestic sugar production reached 2.243 million metric tons (MT) as of July 8, slightly higher than the target production of 2.242 million…

MANILA, Philippines – Ayala-led Manila Water Co. Inc. has lined up wastewater facilities covering the environs of the Pasig, Marikina and San Juan rivers among its projects for implementation in its next five-year business cycle.

The subject of amending the restrictive economic provisions of the Constitution took center stage in the public media recently. These economic provisions have an impact on the country’s policies toward foreign investment.

Nowadays and for the past several years, we have been experiencing more frequently and severely the wrath of nature that has caused so much devastation in this part of the world. We may consider these disasters as “acts of God” but they happen because of our own fault. We have not only harmed but also…

CEBU, Philippines — In the Philippines, English language courses come with poolside classrooms, field trips to the beach, and instructors doubling as tour guides.

Zambales Rep. Ma. Milagros “Mitos” Magsaysay yesterday chided President Aquino for trumpeting economic progress when the truth of the matter is that investors are pulling out their investments in the country because the government cannot protect their businesses.

Bayan Muna party-list Rep. Teddy Casiño and retired Archbishop Oscar Cruz yesterday branded as “degrading to human dignity” the administration’s conditional cash transfer (CCT) program. Casiño told the weekly Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) forum that the CCT had been utterly useless in addressing poverty and hunger and it was not what the…

Contrary to what President Aquino has been trumpeting as his administration denying officials of state agencies fat allowances and bonuses, the Commission on Audit (CoA) in a recent report said officials of the Philippine International Convention Center Inc. (PICCI) which runs the state-owned Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) are receiving “irregular” per diems and reimbursable…

Thirty years into the AIDS epidemic, a cure remains elusive but a growing arsenal of drugs could someday help end new infections, the World Health Organization’s HIV/AIDS chief says. The key is figuring out how to best manage the latest advances, Gottfried Hirnschall said in an interview with AFP during a visit to Washington this…

MANILA, Philippines – “Normina,” a Filipina domestic worker in Saudia Arabia, ran away years ago from her employer after she was abused, but still works in the country as an illegal “maid for rent.” With no contract and therefore no rights, she is employed by two Saudi families, has no days off and makes 800…

Next week marks the two-year anniversary of the passage of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. Dodd-Frank is the bill President Obama signed into law to protect consumers and rein in risky Wall Street behavior after the housing and financial crisis made clear that the world of finance is rigged to benefit…

17 July 2012 – The United Nations is providing training for young people to become entrepreneurs in the Philippines as a way to reduce poverty and stop the labour force from migrating to other countries.

ELEMENTS: Let us add a fourth element to the Three E’s discussed in our July 12 Postscript on restoring order and sanity to the 23.8-kilometer Epifanio delos Santos Avenue.

One third of the Philippines population live in poverty, and thousands head out every day to work abroad. The ILO is promoting entrepreneurship as an alternative to hard-to-get wage jobs and migration. SIBAGAT, Philippines (ILO News) – Jayson Canete wanted to pursue a degree in engineering after he graduated from high school, but he had…

Ten million Filipinos labor overseas, often in horrendous conditions, to earn a few dollars. Even more Filipinos, almost 20 million families, labor each day in various conditions of difficulties to eke out a living to pay for food, water, electricity and other basics. Over and above all that, they also pay for one thing that…

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE PRESS STATEMENT TUCP lauds ILO for acting on complaint, assails DOLE Former Senator and Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) President Ernesto F. Herrera has commended the International Labor Organization (ILO) for acting swiftly on the complaint lodged by TUCP concerning the nomination of a workers’ adviser in the 2012 International…

The Office of the Ombudsman has reactivated the Environmental Team which will primarily handle cases involving violation of environmental laws or those that concern environmental protection.

The Teachers’ Dignity Coalition (TDC) challenged President Aquino to take action on several bills for teachers’ compensation pending before the houses of Congress. Benjo Basas, the group’s chairman said “this is the high time to discuss the pending bills on teachers’ salaries and this is far more important than the proposed K+12 program of the…

MANILA, Philippines – Amending the economic provisions of the Constitution might just delay economic progress, according to President Aquino. “Changing the Constitution changes the rules of the game which might only delay the progress,” he said.