Monthly Archives: February 2014

The economy may slow down this quarter from the previous on slacking imports, tourism, electricity consumption and volatility in financial markets, according to an index of 11 key data collated by the state statistics office.

Read Part 1 here MANILA, Philippines – Smuggling of agricultural commodities has become widespread in recent decades because some policies and procedures in the country’s importation system have become antiquated.

Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan on Monday said the government seeks to cut the poverty incidence in the Philippines to just 16.6 percent by 2016, the year President Benigno Aquino III steps down from office.

MANILA, Philippines – The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) has expressed support for a four-day school week in Metro Manila, which aims to ease traffic once the construction of 15 major road projects begins.

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Energy (DOE) is investigating a number of power generators, including the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM), for violating rules on trading and dispatch in the electricity spot market during the 30-day maintenance shutdown of the Malampaya natural gas platform, Energy Secretary Carlos Jericho Petilla said Saturday.

During the last Cabinet meeting, I understand that P-Noy was perplexed by the issue of persistent poverty. In his way of thinking, he might have thought that by making the CCT a flagship program of his administration and pouring billions into it, even a tiny bit of improvement would manifest by now.

THE ASSOCIATION of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) must continue to work on harmonization and convergence after it pushes through with market integration next year, a Cabinet official said.

COMMON TICKET: The use of a common ticket for all MRT and LRT train lines in Metro Manila is a great idea, but its adoption is being delayed as contentious issues surface involving some bidders vying for the ticketing contract.

The National Grip Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP), the private consortium that holds the franchise and is responsible for bringing the electricity produced by power plants to distribution utilities, has a lot of explaining to do.

LAL-LO, Cagayan—The New People’s Army (NPA) has taken responsibility for the Jan. 13 burning of vessels, heavy equipment and machinery belonging to a Chinese company that is conducting black sand mining operations along the Cagayan River.

(First of three parts) MANILA, Philippines – In the 1980s, smuggling of agricultural commodities had evolved into a big-time illegal trade, with the value of such products estimated at $6 billion a year.

SINGAPORE — Bapari Jakir’s employers wanted to see him off the job, but the welder was heavily in debt and didn’t want to go back to Bangladesh. So, he says, they encouraged him to leave — by hiring a company whose thugs held him captive in a room, holding a knife to his throat.

The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty. — Winston Churchill At the Feb. 5 conference of the 130-year-old multinational American Standard at Shangri-La Makati Hotel, I was invited to give a speech on the topic “How to have a winning attitude.” Here’s a condensed version of my…

MANILA, Philippines – With traffic jams expected to worsen this year due to infrastructure construction, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman Francis Tolentino is pushing for a four-day school week.

MANILA, Philippines – Most Filipinos do not see themselves entering into a relationship with someone of the same sex, according to a recent Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey.

There was slightly stronger-than-expected growth in Germany and France in the final three months of last year, helping the eurozone’s recovery.

MANILA, Philippines – Can you imagine your city with cars occupying only half of the roads, while all-weather bike lanes and sidewalks, bus rapid transit, and public trains have the other half?

The Philippine gaming industry will continue to ramp up materially over the next few years, Fitch Ratings said in a report released Friday.

The Philippine digital marketing industry is estimated to be worth P8 billion by 2016, requiring a surge of talent to meet the demand, said Michael Palacios, the newly inducted president of the Internet and Mobile Marketing Association of the Philippines (IMMAP), on Thursday.

MANILA, Philippines – Can you imagine your city with cars occupying only half of the roads, while all-weather bike lanes and sidewalks, bus rapid transit, and public trains have the other half?

MANILA, Philippines—The Philippine automotive industry continued to trudge behind its Southeast Asian neighbors, ranking last among five countries in terms of motor vehicle production as of end-December 2013.

MANILA, Philippines—President Aquino has created a club of 30 poorest provinces that will receive increased funding and national government support between now and the end of his term in 2016.

MANILA, Philippines – The Joint Foreign Chambers (JFC) support a proposed measure seeking to change the foreign investments law by removing restrictions on practice of professions and lowering the employment threshold for small and medium enterprises.

Despite big jump in November inflow MANILA, Philippines – Despite rising foreign direct investments, the research arm of Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co. said the country remains a laggard among Southeast Asian countries in terms of annual average FDI.

MANILA, Philippines – President Aquino ordered his Cabinet Tuesday to “intensify programs on job creation and social protection” amid the ballooning 12.1 million unemployed Filipinos.

The Millenium Development Goals (MDGs) are an unprecedented global effort to achieve human development goals that are identified collectively, achievable, and measurable. Globally, substantial progress has been made toward many MDG targets- including cutting in half the proportion of people living in poverty. Every region of the world has made progress.

MANILA, Philippines – Motor vehicle assembly in the Philippines rose by five percent in 2013 compared to a year ago but the country still lags behind its peers in the Southeast Asian region, according to the ASEAN Automotive Federation (AAF).

The Philippines is becoming one of the most notorious countries in the world for having the most number of coffins on wheels, specifically public transportation buses that people use when travelling on the roads.

BAGUIO CITY, Philippines – The Philippines slid to 149 in the 179-country World Press Freedom Index of the France-based Reporters Sans Frontiéres (RSF or Reporters Without Borders).

CABINET PRESSED TO EXPLAIN MANILA, Philippines—Baffled by the high unemployment rate, President Aquino on Tuesday quizzed the Cabinet on its “action plan for poverty reduction” as the benefits of a strong economy were eluding the country’s middle class and poor. Aquino presided over a rare full Cabinet meeting that included Vice President Jejomar Binay in…