Monthly Archives: July 2013

MANILA, Philippines – Attracting foreign direct investments (FDI) to the country rests largely on the ability of local government units (LGUs) to cut red tape, according to Malacañang.

Public satisfaction with the Aquino administration remains “very good” despite a drop in its ratings from the last quarter, a recent Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey has found.

MANILA, Philippines – Six more winning party-list groups may have to wait a little longer to be officially proclaimed by the Commission on Elections (Comelec).

MANILA, Philippines – More than 10,000 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Taiwan have lost their jobs after their contracts were not extended due to the diplomatic row spawned by the fatal shooting of a Taiwanese fisherman in disputed waters, a lawmaker said Monday.

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Labor (DOLE) is giving P11.9 million worth of livelihood assistance to parents of poor families to keep their children from working.

THE Business Process Outsourcing Industry Employees Network or BIEN Philippines hails Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago for refiling the Magna Carta for Call Center Workers Act.

MANILA, Philippines — The United Nations’ International Labor Organization has launched a drive to have five million workers undergo voluntary HIV counseling and testing by 2015 amid concerns that as many as 7 million people currently eligible for treatment are not accessing it.

MANILA, Philippines — Alarmed by reports that business processing industry discourages the formation of unions, Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago has resurrected the bill on “Magna Carta for Call Center Workers Act” which aims to protect the interest and welfare of call center workers particularly their rights to association and assembly.

MANILA, Philippines – Malacañang is open in principle to the proposed Magna Carta for Call Center Workers bill refilled by Sen. Miriam Santiago, who had earlier noted that workers in such a robust sector as the business process outsourcing deserve full benefits and rights under the law .

As of this writing, the issue between the Petroleum Distributors and Services Corp (PDSC) and Chevron is still brewing. PDSC filed a petition before the Department of Justice to hold the officers and directors of Chevron criminally liable for organizing themselves and subsequently engaging in the retail business through the so-called COCOs.

Roxas Boulevard is going to be revitalized but Manila Bay is threatened and the CCP has no budget to create its internal network of green cultural spaces.

Neda chief cites Jica study for dev’t road map P2.4-BILLION TRAFFIC Congested streets and traffic jams cost the country as much as P2.4 billion a day in lost productivity and potential income, according to a study by the Japan International Cooperation Agency. Jica has been tapped by the government to come up with a transportation…

MANILA, Philippines – Johnny Revilla has been ousted as second nominee in Congress of the OFW Family Club (OFWFC) party-list for his refusal to renounce his US citizenship and failure to help in the political campaign.

Creating better jobs for Filipinos and reducing the underemployment rate by half to about 10 per cent over the next two years would help the Philippines achieve the nearly impossible 2015 Millennium Development Goal on poverty reduction, the country’s top economic manager said.

MANILA, July 6 (Bernama) — Despite having glossy economic indicators, the Philippines has lagged behind other member-countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) in attracting foreign direct investments (FDIs) in the year of 2012, according to a report of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).

MANILA, Philippines – An economist stressed that the Philippines needs to double its efforts in pushing infrastructure projects and developments to sustain high economic growth and make it inclusive.

TRADE UNION CONGRESS OF THE PHILIPPINES (TUCP) (An affiliate of the International Trade Union Confederation) PRESS RELEASE 06 July 2013 Reference: Rafael E Mapalo (09472812811) Manuel Portus (09196191206) TUCP-ITUC’s Herrera and Umali file charges versus DOLE’s Baldoz, et al., with Ombudsman The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines-International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) filed a graft…

TRADE UNION CONGRESS OF THE PHILIPPINES (TUCP-ITUC) PRESS RELEASE (for immediate release) Fmr. Senator Ernesto F. Herrera, PhD President ( 09175471717; 09198621717) Gen Sec Jun Umali (09178977182) Juan Manuel Portus (09196191206) Rafael E Mapalo (09472812811) TUCP deplores DOLE leadership The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP), an affiliate of the International Trade Union Confederation…

Last week, the Monetary Board—the country’s policy-making body on money, banking and credit—changed the legal rate of interest for loan and credit agreements.

Anyone reading the news cannot be faulted for being alarmed by the grisly HIV-AIDS situation in the country. For one thing, the number of HIV-AIDS cases reported has been rising at an exponential rate since 1984. Figure 1 below — using latest data from the HIV and AIDS Registry of the National Epidemiology Center of…

The Department of Health announced that 415 new cases of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) were reported last May. This showed a 52% increase compared to the figures showed in 2012. This is also the highest number of cases reported in the Philippines.

The Philippines faces tough challenges of reducing poverty, raising investments in the country and generating quality jobs for its people even as it enjoys impressive economic figures starting last year, the government’s chief socio-economic planner said Friday.

The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) has filed a petition for an P83 across-the-board minimum wage hike in Metro Manila.

The number of new HIV cases in the Philippines in May this year is highest monthly rate since 1984, the Department of Health said in an advisory.

From the Department of Labor and Employment Secretary of Labor and Employment Rosalinda Dimapilis-Baldoz yesterday enjoined would-be overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), especially Household Service Worker (HSW) applicants, to honor their commitments based on their employment contract to be worthy of the better conditions and standards assured by host countries and overseas employers.

Because the Philippines had flunked the first time, a second time would have dire consequences. We’re talking here about the second audit made by the European Maritime Safety Administration (EMSA) last April on the reported deficiencies of the Philippines on the international Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW).

Last April, German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle delivered a speech at a conference on “German Businesses: Pioneers of the Dual System of Vocational Training Abroad.” In that speech, he called the German dual-tech system “a real export hit Made in Germany.”

GENEVA — Global warming accelerated since the 1970s and broke more countries’ temperature records than ever before in the first decade of the new millennium, UN climate experts said yesterday.

A scientist from Sumitomo discovered presence of scandium from nickel being refined by Nickel Asia. It is a rare mineral that sells $10,000 a pound. The by-product is largely used to further strengthen the alloy of nickel plated specialty steel products. (upper right picture) LME warehouses are filling up with 188,000 tons at the end…

More job opportunities are being presented to Filipinos in Europe as the European Union (EU) needs about 2 million migrant workers who will augment the region’s sagging work force due to its aging population.