Monthly Archives: October 2012

AT least 5,000 Filipino children under the age of five die every year of diseases spread through dirty hands, according to an official of the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef). Worldwide, about 3.5 million children lose their lives because of these preventable diseases.

The Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2012 of the K-to-12 bill, which would add two more years to basic education cycle has hurdled the House Basic Education panel on Wednesday. Via an overwhelming vote of 25 to two, the House Committee on Basic Education voted for the approval of the still unnumbered Substitute Bill to…

The Philippine economy may have a full-year growth of 5.7 percent to 6 percent if domestic demand, remittances and exports will further increase in the remaining months of the year, according to the latest issue of The Market Call.

The Department of Trade and Industry has earmarked a total of P21 million—P8 million in 2012 and P13 million in 2013—for its Local and Regional Economic Development program to promote competitiveness in local government units in Luzon and Mindanao.

In a move which confirms existing laws are sufficient to go after cyber criminals even without the controversial Republic Act 10175 or Cybercrime Prevention Act, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima confirmed that her agency will be pursuing a case which would have been the first to be prosecuted under the said law.

NO LINK SEEN BETWEEN GROWTH, POVERTY REDUCTION The local economy may be growing but not enough jobs are being created “to link economic growth to poverty reduction,” the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said in a report released yesterday.

MANILA, Philippines – Local car assemblers reported a six-percent rise in sales in the first nine months of the year, riding on the back of strong economic growth and launch of new models.

MANILA, Philippines – Foreign direct investments (FDI) breached the $1-billion mark in the first seven months of the year – nearing official forecast – on the back of the country’s good macroeconomic environment, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported yesterday.

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MANILA, Philippines – President Aquino signed an executive order that activates the practical guide to organized government response during emergencies for both national and local crisis management committees.

MANILA, Philippines – Filipinos are becoming healthier due to improved social conditions and health system boosted by modern technologies, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported yesterday. In its Philippine Health in Transition (HiT) report launched yesterday, WHO said the health of Filipinos has improved considerably during the second half of the 20th century, and these…

MANILA, Philippines – The United Nations has reported that an estimated six million Filipino children are malnourished, 60,000 of them are vulnerable to sexual exploitation, while at least 66 percent under the age of six do not have childcare

MANILA, Philippines – The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has added two more party-list representatives to the growing membership of the House of Representatives. The Comelec qualified the two even as it tries to trim down the list of legitimate party-list groups that it would allow to participate in the May 2013 congressional-local elections.

MANILA, Philippines – A frontrunner in the 2010 party-list elections has been barred from taking part in next year’s polls by the Commission on Elections (Comelec), which ruled that it does not represent any marginalized sector.

The ILO Director-General says G20 countries should stand by their commitment to take new, urgent measures in the face of deteriorating global economic conditions. GENEVA (ILO News) ILO Director-General, Guy Ryder, has called on G20 nations to act on their pledge to take urgent action if the global economic crisis worsened.

THE PHILIPPINES must rationalize its fiscal incentives since many overlap, officials of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said. Kiyoshi Nakayama and Selcuk Caner of the IMF Fiscal Affairs Department last week warned of “double-dipping” since incentives are granted to investors depending on the law they invoke.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) head, Christine Lagarde, has warned the global economic crisis has started to hurt growth in emerging economies. She said that uncertainty surrounding the global economy was hampering policymakers’ ability to take measures to boost growth. Earlier this week, the IMF warned that the global economic recovery was getting weaker.

The Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) submitted to President Aquino on Thursday its 14-page wish list made up of policy recommendations that would address top concerns of businesses in the country today.

To readers who want to understand more comprehensively the Framework Agreement between the Government of the Philippines (GPH) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), I offer this initial textual analysis in two installments. This first installment covers the nature of the agreement, the concept of the Bangsamoro as the new autonomous political entity, its…

Free legal assistance for PWDs – NCDA QUEZON CITY, Oct 11 (PIA) — Persons with disabilities (PWDs) may now avail of free legal assistance through the Sub-Committee on Access to Justice and Anti-Discrimination for PWDs (SCAJA-PWDs) of the National Committee on Disability Affairs (NCDA).

The European Union continued to express its objection to the Philippines’ “unfair” sin tax bill, as it warned it would be forced to “retaliate” through the World Trade Organization (WTO) if both houses of Congress fail to amend the measure.

ORIGINAL revenue and health targets under planned “sin” tax reforms should be restored, the Department of Finance (DoF) yesterday said, as it prepares to push amendments at the Senate where legislators have also come out to criticize a committee-sponsored measure. Palace to back changes to ‘sin’ tax billSenate ‘sin’ tax open to amendmentsAt odds over…

THE AQUINO ADMINISTRATION has issued an executive order establishing an educational and training system to address the jobs-skills mismatch in the country. DepEd pitches more support for classroomsDepEd taps Google for educators’ toolsTeaching Martial LawToshiba, Ayala Foundation support education projectDeal to settle DepEd arrears with GSIS Executive Order (EO) 83, which took effect yesterday, created…

ROME – One out of every eight people in the world is chronically undernourished, the United Nations’ food agencies said on Tuesday, warning that progress to reduce hunger has slowed since 2007/08 when high food prices sparked riots in several poor countries.

TACLOBAN CITY, Leyte, October 10 (PIA) – Teenage pregnancy has increased by 65 per cent over a 10-year period from 2000-2010 despite the decline in teen marriages. The issue will be highlighted during the observance of the International Day of the Girl Child on Thursday October 11. Lead organizations are the United Nations Population Fund…

The number of units of donated blood contaminated with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) rose by 18 percent this year, according to data from the latest Philippine HIV/AIDS Registry.

The Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (Philhealth) said over 2,000 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) have been found positive for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). In a news release, Philhealth said the 25 new cases detected in August brought to 2,010 the number of OFWs with HIV, which kills or damages the body’s immune system cells.

MANILA – The Genting Group of Hong Kong will hike its investments in the Philippines, which the company said has reached its “inflection point” amid government reforms, favorable macroeconomic fundamentals and a skilled labor force.

MANILA, Philippines – Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) founder Nur Misuari yesterday warned of possible unrest in Mindanao if the government pushes through with its Bangsamoro agreement with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

“The first victory of the people and of freedom of expression.” That was how Sen. Teofisto Guingona III described the Supreme Court’s issuance Tuesday of a temporary restraining order (TRO) suspending implementation of the Cybercrime Prevention Act for 120 days while the high tribunal decides whether the law violates civil liberties.