Monthly Archives: September 2012

MANILA, Philippines – Only six percent of those who engage in sex use condoms as a form of contraception, which is one of the reasons why cases of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections in the country continue to rise, according to Health Secretary Enrique Ona.

Young Filipino walks away with $130,000 for championing the rights of street children Manila: A teenage boy won a prestigious children’s award for his efforts in helping promote the rights of street children in the Philippines.

U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown has sponsored legislation that would require companies to disclose when customers’ telephone calls are being transferred to overseas call centers. According to a Communications Workers of America (CWA) analysis of May 2011 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data, 198,450 Ohioans were employed in call center occupations such as switchboard operators, telephone…

MANILA, Philippines – Fewer Filipinos seem interested in looking for a job nowadays. The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) reported yesterday that only a few applicants are using the government’s online job facilitation system in looking for jobs.

The world is not organised to deal with the climate change problem. Climate change is a global problem, but there is, of course, no global government with the interests of the earth as a whole at heart. Rather, there are sovereign states, the interests and concerns of which are very different.

Is it possible for banks to devote themselves to the financial welfare of workers and still survive financial crises? The ILO looks at the Rokin Bank, a union-led cooperative in Japan.

DELANO, California—Dozens of Filipino hospital workers in California will share a nearly $1 million settlement in a lawsuit claiming they were targeted by a rule requiring English only at work, federal officials said Monday.

“To promote the well-being of mankind throughout the world” and “to promote the advancement and diffusion of knowledge and understanding”. Two bold visions from two men who wanted to use their vast wealth to do good.

MANILA – (UPDATED 11:19 a.m.) The number of unemployed Filipinos dropped slightly in July, but those looking for additional jobs were on the rise, the National Statistics Office said on Tuesday. In a report, the NSO said the jobless rate fell to 7 percent of the country’s labor force, or to 2.82 million Filipinos, from…

SHANGHAI/BEIJING – Some major Japanese brand-name firms announced factory shutdowns in China on Monday and urged expatriates to stay indoors ahead of what could be more angry protests over a territorial dispute between Asia’s two biggest economies.

The demonstrations against Japan have turned violent in some places There are fears over the economic impact of the dispute between China and Japan if the row over islands in the East China Sea is not resolved soon.

MANILA, Philippines – Growth in remittances from overseas Filipinos remains on track to meeting this year’s target with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) saying yesterday it will not revise its remittance projection once it commences with a review of official forecasts next month.

The Philippines can be “competitive” in exporting agro-based products as its exports base continues to diversify, the National Economic and Development Authority said.

ECONOMIC managers and business leaders see a strong finish to 2012 across all sectors despite the persistent global slump, with their attention now turning to the creation of a sustainable growth path for following years.

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine economy could grow by almost six percent this year, thanks to improving business optimism despite a series of destructive storms in recent months, a top official of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) said yesterday.

MANILA, Philippines – Almost 70 Filipino hospital workers are set to receive a nearly $1 million settlement, in a case they filed against an “English only” rule in a hospital in California.

The Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) in the Philippines, particularly the voice-based call center services, are sustaining their phenomenal performance. The government cites the 24% year-on-year growth rate in 2011, when the original target was only 15%. The industry will become a key employer with target of about 1.3 million direct jobs by 2016. At the…

The Aquino administration is focused on eradicating extreme poverty and hunger, achieving universal primary education, and improving maternal health, in order to meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015, the National Economic and Development Authority said.

SHANGHAI – Major Japanese firms have temporarily shut factories and offices in China after angry protests flared across the country, the result of a territorial dispute that has triggered one of China’s worst outbreaks of anti-Japan sentiment in decades.

MANILA, Philippines – Personal remittances — the cash and non-cash items or goods carried across borders coursed through formal and informal channels — reached US$13.3 billion in the first 7 months of the year, reflecting a 5.4% increase.

Although the macroeconomic indicators proved better than expected, the government kept the forecast remittance growth at 5 percent for the year, regulators said on Monday.

Despite a five-percent pick-up in the first half of the year, the country’s manufacturing sector needs help to recover after nearly 30 years of “stagnation,” says an economic expert.

THE PHILIPPINES is ready for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ (ASEAN) planned integration in 2015, despite reports that ministers have called for a one-year deferment.

Confidence in the Philippine economy, whether from within or from outside, appears to be catching on. Various analysts are consistently coming out with positive predictions on how our economy will shine among others in the years ahead. We haven’t seen this level of confidence in our economic outlook since the 1990s, when President Fidel V.…

A platform of the Aquino administration is to achieve “inclusive” growth, but an official of the International Finance Corporation (IFC) told an economic forum Monday the Philippines has a long way to go before it can reach this goal.

The Philippines should focus on reviving local manufacturing as the sector provides the most number of jobs, according to Aurelio Montinola, president of the Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI). To which Economic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan concurred saying that manufacturing has stagnated and has been neglected for three decades.

MANILA, Philippines – The top executive of one of the biggest universal banks in the Philippines compared the performance of the country to that of a “triathlete,” then shared a thought: “Is the [performance] sustainable?”

MANILA, Philippines – Leading Filipino-Chinese Businessman Washington Sycip asked for an assurance from the President’s economic managers not to extend the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP).

MANILA – (UPDATED 11;54 a.m.) The Philippine economy is likely to grow at the upper end of the government target this year, the National Economic and Development Authority said on Monday.

MANILA – The Philippines is getting “closer” to achieving shared growth for all Filipinos as governance reforms are paying off, the country’s economic managers said on Monday. During the Philippine Economic Briefing, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Baliscan said the improved economic performance in the first semester is an indication that the Aquino administration’s commitment to…