Monthly Archives: April 2014

IT’S summertime once again: time to enjoy the sand, surf and sun! But it’s also a time to watch out for heatstroke, food poisoning, sore eyes, prickly-heat rashes and many other ailments associated with this season. For some of us, being unable to go to work because of an illness could mean financial difficulties. Thank…

GENDER experts said yesterday that women in the Philippines, on the average, earn less than their male counterparts yearly.

MANILA, Philippines — (UPDATE 2 – 6:41 PM) The Supreme Court on Tuesday indefinitely extended the temporary restraining order it issued preventing Meralco from implementing a questioned P4.15-per-kilowatt-hour power rate hike. The high court voted 14-0 for the indefinite extension on the day the original TRO was supposed to expire. Also covered by the injunction…

(Second of two parts) As I explained in my column on Monday, the Supreme Court’s ruling on the Reproductive Law, rather than a victory for President Aquino, is not only a calamitous defeat for this administration. Perhaps more seriously, it also portends the High Court’s rejection of his two other policy monsters—the Disbursement Acceleration Program…

I AGREE with Mr Lawrence Loh Kiah Muan that “a happy retirement requires mental preparedness and financial adequacy” (“What’s needed for a happy retirement”; last Thursday).

Meanwhile, in Catbalogan City in Samar, 20 employees of the Department of Education (DepEd) were hospitalized after they complained of chest pains due to fumes coming from a generator set on Wednesday.

Why the rich now have less leisure than the poor FOR most of human history rich people had the most leisure. In “Downton Abbey”, a drama about the British upper classes of the early 20th century, one aloof aristocrat has never heard of the term “weekend”: for her, every day is filled with leisure. On…

MANILA, Philippines—Sixteen workers inside a Batangas sugar cane factory were injured after a toxic chemical was poured accidentally into the water system that burned their skin.

BATANGAS – Sixteen factory workers were hospitalized after they were accidentally showered with a toxic chemical while inside a pipe at the Central Azucarera Don Pedro plant in Nasugbu town on Good Friday, police said.

Advocates say the decade-long wait allowed for the mobilization of the public – the ‘strongest method’ to ensure implementation MANILA, Philippines – It’s all systems go for the Reproductive Health (RH) law, and advocates now look to the Department of Health (DOH) and local government units (LGUs) to ensure its proper implementation.

Personal remittances by overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in February rose from a year earlier, but marked a second monthly slowdown since December 2013.

A new decree will take effect in May, requiring employers to cover insurances for domestic workers, give them weekly rests and pay them no less than minimum wages. Most of domestic workers are rural women. © ILO HANOI (ILO News) – Detailed regulations on domestic work have been issued by the Government of Viet Nam,…

MANILA, Philippines – Manila is among the world’s emerging cities likely to progress in the next two decades, according to a study by US-based consulting firm A.T. Kearney Inc.

The Philippines once again ranked as the third most deadly country for journalists in the world, based on the report of the international watchdog Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).

The number of retrenched workers in the country ballooned by 42 percent to 45,208 in 2013, from the 31,778 recorded the previous year as more businesses decided to let go of people, citing “economic reasons.”

The world needs to triple the energy it gets from renewables, nuclear reactors and power plants that use emissions-capture technology to avoid dangerous levels of global warming, United Nations scientists said.

To gauge the efficiency and effectiveness of the national government’s Gender and Development (GAD) program in addressing gender issues, a lawmaker has called for a congressional inquiry into the allocation and utilization of the GAD budget of different agencies.

THE Philippine National Police (PNP) conceded that it faces a lot of challenges as far as Internet law enforcement is concerned. One of its problems is the lack of knowledge on cybercrime-related policies by some members of the judiciary, Senior Supt. Gilbert C. Sosa, Anti-Cybercrime Group director, said.

A careful reading of the statistical picture of income inequality among countries leads to the conclusion that income inequality is partly, but strongly a consequence of growth and development. (See last week’s column.)

MANILA, Philippines – Remittances continued to rise in February amid sustained demand for Filipinos abroad, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said yesterday.

You’ve all heard of the soaring dropout rate among elementary and high schoolers. But did you know that the dropout rate of teacher trainees is just as bad?

MANILA, Philippines – Manila is among the world’s emerging cities likely to progress in the next two decades, according to a study by US-based consulting firm A.T. Kearney Inc.

In this July 6, 2012 file photo, candles are lit at the very spot where Dutch environmental activist Wilhem Geertman, a former religious missionary who helped poor farmers affected by illegal logging and mining, was killed allegedly in a robbery attempt in San Fernando city, Pampanga province, north of Manila, Philippines. AP MANILA, Philippines —…

In a bid to save millions of newborn lives, Save the Children is calling on world leaders, civil society, and the private sector to commit to five promises

At the April 10 Asean Economic Community (AEC) Forum, Alyansa Agrikultura leaders felt that the government needed to give more attention to Philippine agriculture.

THE Philippines is now classified under World Health Organization (WHO) standards as an aging population, with 7.5 million elderly citizens now and an estimated 14 million elderly by 2040.

Today being the last day for filing income tax returns, and given the pinch (bite?) that comes with this annual ritual, perhaps a great many of us would readily answer the above question in the affirmative. Interestingly, even our tax authorities may actually agree, as Internal Revenue Commissioner Kim Henares has recently been quoted as…

ROME—The United Nations warned on Monday of the potential “massive destruction” of the world’s $5.0-billion (3.6-billion euro) a year banana crop as a plant disease spreads from Asia to Africa and the Middle East.

MANILA, Philippines – The economy will be able to absorb any adjustments in monetary policy settings as potential capacity has already gone up, a Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas official said.

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