Monthly Archives: December 2012

THE STRENGTHENING Philippine peso has dealt a serious blow to the local outsourcing sector, eroding the competitiveness of the industry, the Business Processing Association of the Philippines (BPA/P) said in a statement yesterday. BPA/P cited a survey of 59 executives conducted from Dec. 18-21, in which almost half of respondents claimed that the strong currency…

The Department of Labor and Employment has earmarked P2.97 billion of its P8.12-billion budget for 2013 to skills training and retraining programs, to prepare the workforce for the ASEAN’s integration into a single market in 2015.

LABOR RELATIONS remain “peaceful” and “stable” as only three strikes occurred in 2012, the National Conciliation and Meditation Board (NCMB) said in a statement yesterday.

Which is more effective in improving life for women: economic development or specific programs aimed at increasing equality? While the developed world discusses the glass ceiling, the end of men and whether women can really ever have it all, activists in developing countries tend to focus on more basic issues like combating violence against women…

The President of the Philippines Benigno Aquino has signed a new human rights law on the abduction of individuals by state officials. It is the first major human rights legislation passed by Mr Aquino, who came to power three years ago promising to address such crimes.

The Philippines’ shopping mall chains have virtually taken over the provinces, branching toward every urbanizing town or city to offer products that provincial customers used to buy only from Metro Manila stores.

MANILA, Philippines – Thousands of jobs await Filipinos this Christmas season, the Department of Labor and Employment announced Thursday.

THE JOBLESS RATE eased to 6.8% in October from July’s 7.0% but the ranks of the unemployed remained the same, which analysts described as a failure of economic growth to translate to more jobs.

Technical and vocational education training (TVET) must be grounded in the Philippines’ sustainable development framework for it to truly contribute to poverty reduction in the country, a book published by the Asian Development Bank said.

MANILA, Philippines – Safety in the operations of renewable energy (RE) projects should be a priority of the private sector, the Department of Energy (DOE) said.

ABU DHABI // Recruitment agencies who provide Filipino domestic staff to employers for less than the minimum wage of US$400 (Dh1,470) a month face being suspended or blacklisted.

MANILA, Philippines – A guidebook for public prosecutors handling cases of human rights violations has been launched. It is a project of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR), the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the University of the Philippines Law Center’s Institute for the Administration of Justice (UP-IAJ).

The Philippine population will grow by 85 percent in the next six decades, according to a forecast of a United Kingdom-based international accounting and finance firm.

(CNN) — Lawmakers on Monday approved legislation calling for government-funded contraception and sex education classes in the Philippines, a first in the heavily Catholic nation.

GENEVA – A sluggish global economy hit world wage growth hard last year, taking an especially harsh toll on workers in developed countries, who saw their salaries shrink, the International Labour Organization said Friday.

After two and a half years, President Aquino’s “Kung walang corrupt, walang mahirap” mantra, loosely translated as good governance and good economics, has gained traction. Reason to smile, but not yet to celebrate.

“GETTING TO ZERO” new HIV infections and zero deaths from AIDS-related illnesses may sound difficult to achieve but significant progress in the prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS is providing hope for patients and their families.

Four groups at the forefront of the country’s car sector said on Tuesday that the Philippines is poised to be the next automotive growth market in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), paving the way for more jobs for Filipinos.

The study has been released to coincide with World Aids Day A clinical trial had shown benefits of antiretroviral (ARV) treatment before. But this trial, reported in the Lancet, is the first “real-life” public health programme of its kind.

MANILA, Philippines – The last time I saw Sarah Jane Salazar was weeks before her death at the National Center for Mental Health where she was confined for a psychological disorder emanating from her HIV infection. She was delirious, but she remembered who I was. She asked if I was there to interview her, and…

In the Philippines a proposed new law would prosecute parents whose children are drafted into armed conflict as child soldiers. It’s believed there are thousands of child soldiers in the country, but there are concerns that the new law will criminalise parents whose children fall prey to militants.

CONSUMPTION and infrastructure spending can sustain the country’s stellar growth well into next year, economic managers claimed. Given the momentum from three straight quarters, and with the July to September period particularly surpassing expectations, Budget Secretary Florencio B. Abad said the outlook for the rest of the year was bright and would extend to 2013.

MANILA, Philippines – The government is prepared to sustain the country’s economic growth which reached a record 7.1 percent in the third quarter, President Aquino told a gathering of his party-mates in Cebu City Friday night.

INVESTORS continue to pour money into the Philippines in the form of portfolio investments no matter that such, also called “hot” or speculative money, slowed by 16 percent to only $3.16 billion on net basis as of mid-November.

CAGAYAN DE ORO — The regional office of the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) has started to implement a child labor monitoring system in sugar plantation areas in Bukidnon.

MANILA, Philippines—The United Nations (UN) warned on Friday that the Philippines was not on target to meet its Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of stopping the spread of human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immune deficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) in the country.

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