Monthly Archives: February 2014

CEBU, Philippines – Two people died while two others were hospitalized because of alleged gas poisoning yesterday afternoon in Talisay City.

MANILA, Philippines—A Constitution where the economic provisions could be amended by law and subject to the whims of Congress could lead to instability, according to local employers and private school associations opposed to the mode of Charter change being proposed by House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte.

MONEY, investments and almost every other decision we make in life are based on our perception of reality, not on reality itself. You married your spouse because of your perception that he or she is the best person to spend the rest of your life with. You bought that new shirt and pair of shoes…

MANILA, Philippines – Private schools turned down yesterday the proposed four-day school week that was seen to help ease traffic congestion in the metropolis during the construction of major roads this year.

Four mining companies may have their operations suspended over nickel contamination in the town of Sta. Cruz in Zambales since last year.

Marriage is not always “happy ever after” in the Philippines. Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority indicated that one out of five married couples in the country are in splitsville, GMA News’ 24 Oras reported Thursday.

MANILA, Philippines – UN-sanctioned International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will send a team to the Philippines next month for a workshop on the prospects of developing nuclear power plants in the country and help power regulators craft a bill on nuclear energy, a Department of Energy (DOE) official said.

NEW YORK (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Economic growth and more widespread education – their impact often blunted by cultural constraints – have not proved to be the silver bullets once expected to end the inequality of women in the world of work, according to a study released by the World Bank on Thursday.

MANILA – Taxpayers are no longer required to disclose their passive incomes when they file income tax returns in April. The Bureau of Internal Revenue on February 11 issued Revenue Memorandum Circular No. 9-2014, making optional the disclosure of information pertaining to taxpayers’ passive income for calendar year 2013.

CONGESTION: The road network of the metropolis can be likened to the plumbing of a building and the circulatory system of the body. At some point and for various reasons, the flow of vehicles, of water and of blood could be impeded, causing traffic or flow problems of varying degrees and consequences.

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, Philippines (UPDATED) – With Malaysia tightening its policies on immigrants, at least 1,113 Filipinos working and residing in Sabah were deported and are presently staying in an evacuation center in Bongao, Tawi-Tawi.

PARIS – Growth in advanced economies slowed down slightly in 2013 from output in 2012, the OECD said on Wednesday. These latest statistics on OECD-member countries bear out the struggling and fragile nature of recovery from recession in many countries which analysts have been underlining for several months.

SC says Internet libel in cybercrime law constitutional The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) on Wednesday said the Philippine Supreme Court’s (SC) decision to uphold the constitutionality of the law on online libel could stifle freedom of expression.

MANILA, Philippines—The Philippine electronics sector will push for more value-added activities, develop new growth areas and further enhance the industry’s competitiveness, as it targets to hit $37 billion in export revenues by 2016.

Walter Friedman, director of the Business History Initiative at Harvard Business School, on the pioneers of market prediction. For more, read his book, Fortune Tellers: The Story of America’s First Economic Forecasters.

MANILA, Philippines – Earth Hour Philippines and the World Wide Fund for Nature – Philippines (WWF-Philippines) has launched a campaign to deliver 600 fiberglass fishing boats to fishing communities in Palawan and Leyte that were hit by supertyphoon Yolanda.

Every few years, the city of Hong Kong is rocked by news that another foreign domestic worker has been badly abused by her employer. Last month, 23-year-old Erwiana Sulistyaningsih told authorities that she had been beaten daily, hit with mops, rulers, and clothes hangers until she could no longer walk.

(Last of three parts) The Electric Power Industry Reform Act (Epira) will probably be amended, but it is unlikely that the amendments will cure what ails the system. The interest groups are just too powerful. The law’s imperfections are not the only reason for the soaring power rates in the country.

Philippine President Benigno Aquino said there is no danger of the economy overheating, downplaying the risk of asset bubbles forming even as annual growth exceeds 7 percent. The central bank is on guard to contain inflation and asset prices, Aquino, 54, said in an interview yesterday at the presidential palace in Manila. The Philippines is…

From the Department of Labor and Employment The Handbook on Workers’ Statutory Monetary Benefits provides a comprehensive outline of minimum legal requirements and mandatory monetary and non-monetary benefits workers are entitled to receive under the Labor Code and other existing laws. The 2014 version was launched this February in English [PDF] and Filipino [PDF]. Below…

Convoys of trucks transport magnetite to port under cover of darkness GONZAGA, Philippines— At first glance, the processing plants that dot coastal communities in Cagayan province show no sign of activity, backing local officials’ claim that black sand mining has stopped.

(Reuters) – Advanced economies, including the United States, must avoid pulling back stimulus too quickly given the weak global economic recovery and recent market volatility highlights key risks in some emerging markets, the International Monetary Fund said on Wednesday.

The oldest profession in the world can count students as laborers. These are girls who moonlight as prostitutes or escorts to pay their way through school. Prosti-tuition, as it is called, has earned its own entry in the urban dictionary. Typically, peak season for this tuition-payment scheme is during enrollment period or right before final…

MANILA, Philippines—The Philippines was listed as the third most dangerous place for journalist in the world following Syria and Iraq, a report from the International News Safety Institute’s said.

A central component of Philippine agricultural policy is tied up with the agrarian reform program. After many years of implementation, the program is nowhere near the objective that land reform in the country was set out to fulfill. The comprehensive agrarian reform program (CARP) failed to concentrate on the job because it took on too…

This case is about RA 9262 protecting women and children against violence and abuse. The case involves a husband and father who raised the issue of whether it violates the guaranty of equal protection of the laws considering that it is intended to prevent and criminalize spousal and child abuse which could very well be…

The 7.2-percent GDP rise in 2013 is meaningless to most Filipinos. Government leaders know it, but can’t bring themselves to change it. In money terms, the economy gained P12 trillion in services and goods last year. Divided by the 100 million Filipinos, that’s P120,000 per capita income for every man, woman and child. Meaning, P10,000…

MANILA, Philippines – Netizens will now have to be careful with what they post online. The Supreme Court (SC) yesterday upheld the constitutionality of a key provision in the controversial Republic Act No. 10175 or Cybercrime Prevention Act that criminalizes online libel.

MANILA, Philippines – Around $16.2 million is required to address the reproductive health needs of some 3.5 million women in areas battered by Typhoon Yolanda in Eastern Visayas, according to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).