Monthly Archives: May 2014

MANILA – The Philippines slipped one rung from last year’s ranking in the annual State of the World’s Mothers Index, international aid agency Save the Children reported Tuesday, as it expressed worry that with only half of the facilities restored six months after typhoon Yolanda, the state of mothers and children in devastated areas could…

MANILA, Philippines – The country’s ranking in a global index measuring the well-being of mother and newborns has slipped four places to 105 out of 178 countries, one spot below Iraq which is facing significant violence and conflict.

(Updated 8:50 a.m.) A new survey taken by pollster Social Weather Stations in the first quarter of 2014 found that 53 percent of Filipinos, equivalent to 11.5 million households, considered themselves poor.

MANILA, Philippines – The Commission on Elections (Comelec) expects around three million new voters to sign up during the voters’ registration that starts today for the 2016 elections.

MANILA, Philippines – Metro Manila has the highest homeless population in the world, according to an online site that compiles what it describes as “lesser-known intriguing information on a variety of subjects.”

MANILA – Following media reports saying that the Philippines has the highest unemployment rate in ASEAN, Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz on Monday said the numbers used were incomparable.

MANILA, Philippines—The militant labor group Partido ng Manggagawa (PM) challenged President Aquino to uphold and protect workers’ rights at the giant Hanjin shipyard in Subic, Zambales, after another worker died in an accident on May 1.

Communist rebels set heavy equipment on fire at a road clearing site in Nasugbu town, Batangas province, in retaliation for the supposed property dispute and rights abuses in Cavite and Batangas provinces.

MANILA, Philippines – More Filipinos outside of Metro Manila are finding employment opportunities in online freelancing websites according to an industry manager.

Washington, May 5 (ANI): Researchers have found that the world is indeed getting warmer, but historical records show that it hasn’t happened everywhere at the same rate.

Saudi Arabia has set up grievance committees where household service workers (HSWs) there, among them Filipinos, could file their complaints.

Leading up to Labor Day on May 1, the Philippine Embassy in Riyadh held refresher courses and seminars over the past month for all Embassy and attached services personnel on various laws and regulations affecting Filipinos in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

(Updated 2:48 p.m.) Saying the road to recovery will be long, the International Federation of Red Cross, which includes the Philippine Red Cross, and Red Crescent Societies are now laying out a three-year recovery plan costing 320 million Swiss francs (P16 billion) for victims of super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan).

MANILA – Jueteng whistle-blower Sandra Cam has a list of lawmakers who benefited from the P10-billion pork barrel scam and 80 percent of the names on her list are allies of President Benigno Aquino.

Arab states comprising the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) are tightening their medical screening process for newly arriving expatriates to prevent the entry of communicable diseases, a Saudi Arabian news site reported Monday.

NAGA CITY, Philippines—They were only selling perfumes and books online and earning commissions from it, protested the 84 workers and managers of Digital Minds, who were arrested when police swooped down on their company on Thursday.

‘Sextortionists’ in PH blamed for Scot’s death MANILA, Philippines—The leaders of the international “sextortion” ring that has victims all over the world have been identified, but Philippine authorities will not disclose their identities just yet as they are still being hunted down.

MANILA, Philippines—The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has put up women-friendly spaces (WFS) in evacuation centers in Roxas City, Capiz, to make women evacuees productive.

TORONTO – Bugan Wigan could handle the hard work packing fruit and cleaning hotel rooms, and the crushing debt she owed recruiters who found her jobs. But a backlash against the foreign worker program that brought her to Canada means the clock is ticking on her ability to support her family in the Philippines.

The Philippines has long been known as the Catholic Church’s Asian stronghold, but a new birth control law highlights an increasingly liberal shift that could next see divorce legalized, activists and religious leaders say.

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines would have to ease restrictions in the economic provisions of the Constitution for it to be able to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), an emerging trade bloc that accounts for a third of world trade, foreign business leaders said yesterday.

MANILA, Philippines – Foreign portfolio investments have started returning to the country in early April, data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas showed.

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, antibiotic resistance has been called one of the world’s most pressing public health problem and has become the office’s top concern.

SUBIC, Zambales , Philippines– A worker died from burns in the latest accident that occurred at the Hanjin shipyard here, hospital sources said yesterday.

MANILA, Philippines – An organization looking after the welfare of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) has started an online petition in Change.org asking Congress to enact a law that will ban age discrimination in workplaces nationwide.

MANILA — A worker was hurt after the newly constructed flood wall in Casilik Creek in Juan Luna Bridge in Gagalangin, Tondo in Manila collapsed Sunday.

THE SUPREME COURT (SC) has upheld a Manila court’s ruling which ordered the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR) to allow two casino operators to resume normal operations whose licenses were revoked for its alleged failure in fulfilling investment commitments.

THE INTERNATIONAL Monetary Fund (IMF) has made a renewed push for legislated fiscal measures, citing the need for reforms to widen the Philippine government’s revenue base.

DAVAO CITY — Businesses in this city are losing an estimated P46 million daily from the six-hour rotational brownout currently applied by Davao Light and Power Co.

THE NATIONAL Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) urged its partner institutions to align their programs with the Philippine Development Plan (PDP) 2011-2016 to help the country achieve its goal of inclusive growth.