Monthly Archives: January 2014

Less than three months after the Saudi government started cracking down on illegal workers, many of these expatriates, including Filipinos, have returned to Jeddah to resume their trade in the streets, a Saudi news site reported Thursday.

MANILA, Philippines – With 23 million students and only 600 health personnel in public schools, how will the Department of Education (DepEd) make sure students are fit for school?

MANILA, Philippines – Sustained high economic growth, investment upgrades, and healthy macroeconomic fundamentals attracted a large amount of portfolio investments in 2013, bringing annual inflows to US$28.4 billion, the highest in 14 years.

Philhealth sits on top of the list of GOCCs that gave fat bonuses to their officials … The Palace defended bonuses granted in 2012 to employees of government-owned and controlled corporations after the Commission on Audit (COA) found that the P2-billion incentives released lacked basis.

Malacañang clarified on Thursday that a proposal to hire foreigners for certain job vacancies in the country is still being studied.

MANILA, Philippines – “Betrayal of trust and confidence…grave abuse of authority.” This, according to state auditors, is what Philippine Health Insurance Corporation committed against its members when its officials and employees paid themselves a total of P87.79 million in bonuses, allowances, and reimbursements in 2003 and 2004.

THE NUMBER GAME. What makes the Filipina shine? Photo from AFPTHE NUMBER GAME. What makes the Filipina shine? Photo from AFP MANILA, Philippines – In anything that they do, women could show greater strength in numbers. But what if the numbers are oddly against them sometimes?

MANILA – The economy is expected to be robust at above 6-percent growth until President Aquino steps down in 2016, according to the latest report released by the World Bank.

MANILA – More business executives in the country said they saw “a lot” of corruption in the government last year, more than in 2012, a recent Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey revealed yesterday.

An agency overseeing the compensation in government-owned and -controlled corporations (GOCCs) said the Commission on Audit (COA) had not issued a final notice of disallowance to 31 GOCCs that gave a total of P2.313 billion in bonuses and allowances to executives and employees in 2012.

More top execs see a lot of corruption More than half of the executives from about 1,000 enterprises in Metro Manila and six other urban areas in the country said last year that there was “a lot” of corruption in government, a Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey has found.

Are protected areas in the country secured from threats? A new study conducted by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources in cooperation with the Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) revealed that conservation efforts within Philippine protected sites are severely inadequate.

MANILA, Philippines—Children whose human rights have been violated can now seek international justice through the United Nations.

DAVAO CITY, Philippines – Suspected members of the communist New People’s Army torched at least 3 heavy equipment in a road construction in Malapatan town, Sarangani Province on Tuesday morning, January 14.

Growth outlook sensitive to US taper in 2014 WASHINGTON, January 14, 2014 – The world economy is projected to strengthen this year, with growth picking up in developing countries and high-income economies appearing to be finally turning the corner five years after the global financial crisis, says the World Bank’s newly-released Global Economic Prospects (GEP)…

‘It is not just the cost of power Meralco buys from generators that explain its high electricity prices. As significant has been Meralco’s “distribution charges,” which actually includes such a cost as that for your electric meter. These account for 30 percent of the bill for a middle class consumption of 450 kilowatt-hours in a…

MANILA, Philippines – How prepared is the Philippine business sector for the economic integration of member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in 2015? Senator Grace Poe wants government agencies to brief Congress on the country’s preparations for ASEAN 2015 so it can pass laws that will protect the local industry.

MANILA – The Philippines has jumped eight notches up a global ranking based ont the amount of freedom an economy enjoys. In its 2014 Index of Economic Freedom, the Washington-based Heritage Foundation said the Philippines ranked 89th out of 178 countries, up from the previous year’s 97th.

INFLATION FORECASTS for this year and the next will likely be revised next month, a senior Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) official said, given the suspension of a hefty Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) rate increase.

DOLE hopes to forge bilateral agreements with 9 countries Filipino companies may soon be allowed to hire foreign skilled workers.

MANILA, Philippines – Foreign stock brokerage houses dominated local stock trades last year, signifying healthy foreign investor appetite for Philippine equities despite volatility in global financial markets.

MANILA, Philippines – Remittances reached a monthly record of $2.286 billion in November, supported by the sustained deployment of Filipino workers abroad, according to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).

COA issues order to 31 GOCCs Officials and employees of 31 government-owned and -controlled corporations (GOCCs) have been ordered to refund the government all bonuses and allowances totaling P2.313 billion whose payment in 2012 was deemed unauthorized by the Commission on Audit (COA).

MANILA – The society magazine Town&Country has listed 50 of the most influential and inspiring families in Manila. Leading the list is the Zobel de Ayala family, with a vintage photograph of businessmen brothers Jaime Augusto and Fernando with their mother, Beatriz, on the cover of Town&Country’s latest issue.

DALIAN, China — Japanese business people here tempered their New Year’s greetings with talk of the less-than-festive subject of “getting out,” underscoring a shared sense that soaring labor costs and a weaker yen have left little benefit to running plants in this northeastern port city.

MANILA, Philippines – The inflow of remittances from Filipinos abroad expected to remain strong this year on the back of continuing global and local economic growth, Standard Chartered Bank said in a research note.

Retirement laws aim to assist retirees in their old age, and hopefully not to punish them for having survived. This has been one of the underlying principles in granting significant benefits and income tax exemptions to retirees.

Last week, we were warned to brace for another round of electricity price hikes as the Malampaya natural gas field has fallen short to fill requirements of power suppliers of the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco). The first time Malampaya natural gas plant in Palawan underwent scheduled preventive maintenance shutdown from Nov. 11 to Dec. 10,…

(Conclusion) MANILA, Philippines – The outrage over rising electricity prices has prompted energy stakeholders to call for amendments to the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA) of 2001, a landmark law that promised reforms in the power sector.

WASHINGTON – Are people with kids happier than people without? In the United States, those with and without kids rate their lives about the same, but globally children tend to diminish well-being, said a study Monday.