Monthly Archives: June 2014

Some teachers in Rodriguez, Rizal also struggle to reach a school that is on top of a mountain. And, it appears their difficult journey will continue for some time because the road that has been planned has yet to become a reality.

62 of 80 provinces are reportedly using outdated basis for real property tax assessment MANILA, Philippines – The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) called the attention of provincial governments in the country in its latest print ad, saying many of them were losing revenues due to an “outdated” valuation system for real property tax (RPT)…

Around six minors were rescued by National Bureau of Investigation agents and Department of Social Welfare and Development officials during a Wednesday morning raid on a bar at the corner Roosevelt Avenue and Quezon Avenue Quezon City.

The Chamber of Mines of the Philippines (COMP) reiterated on Tuesday that the proposed revenue-sharing measure being pushed by the Mining Industry Coordinating Council (MICC) will render future legitimate mining projects uncompetitive.

WATCHING an action movie with many plot twists and turns can be very enjoyable. You never know who to trust and, sometimes, the bad guys are really the good guys. If it is really done well, it can be like a roller-coaster ride.

Usual backlog of classrooms, teachers remains, says Luistro (First of a series) SOURCES: DEPED AND CHED / COMPILED BY: SCHATZI QUODALA, INQUIRER RESEARCH The birth pains that marked the launching last year of K + 12—a bold program meant to align the Philippines with the global 12-year basic education cycle—are not going away soon, along…

MANILA, Philippines – President Aquino has approved the increase in funeral and disability benefits for both public and private sectors for as long as government financing institutions can finance them.

MY good friend Manong Max Edralin, a well-known pillar in the public-relations industry, once asked me how come he was getting a modest retirement pension from the Social Security System (SSS), considering that he was once a high official of Citibank N.A., where he worked for almost 20 years before retiring in 1991.

The Supreme Court (SC) has issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) enjoining the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) from enforcing regulations mandating lawyers and other self-employed professionals to disclose their standard service fees to the tax authorities.

From P10,000, the fine is now at P1 million. A joint administrative order from the DOTC, LTFRB, and LTO also covers rude drivers who overcharge, refuse services, and are reckless

The Makati Business Club (MBC) has echoed the call of other business groups pushing for proper implementation of the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (Epira), similarly advocating for changes within the regulatory framework without amending the said law.

AS the expiration of the law extending the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) draws near, farmers are gearing up for simultaneous protest actions to express their sentiment over the issue of agrarian reform. One group of farmers is calling for the junking of the law that gave birth to CARP while another group is calling…

MANILA, Philippines – Leading telecommunication companies, including Philippine Long Distant Telephone Company, are supporting a bill filed by Senator Ralph Recto providing free Wi-Fi access in public places in Metro Manila, but experts noted it can only apply to key areras where infrastructure is readily available. ”We really support the measure. We do not see…

The Monetary Board is allowing banks to extend operating hours and services even without securing regulatory approval, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said Tuesday.

(Updated 12:27 p.m.) Despite registering a double-digit growth in the first four months, the number of cars produced in the Philippines remains the smallest in Southeast Asia.

MORE investors from the United States are now seriously considering doing business in the Philippines after hearing leading Filipino private-sector figures talk about a country brimming with numerous investment opportunities.

MANILA, Philippines–Foreign and local business groups bucked proposals to amend the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (Epira), or the Republic Act No. 9136, saying that proper implementation is the better answer to power industry issues.

SUPERTYPHOON “Yolanda” survivors continue to be housed in tents that were donated by United Nations relief agencies. An overnight fire razed a tent that was being used as temporary shelter by the survivors, killing a woman and six of her children. AP CEBU CITY—The Office of the Presidential Assistant for Rehabilitation and Recovery has approved…

MANILA, Philippines–While modern gadgets have become almost basic necessities for an ever growing number of people, technology appears not to have broadened much the reach of banking institutions and services.

MANILA, Philippines – Businesses are against amending the power reform law under the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA) or Republic Act 9136, the country’s business groups said in a position paper.

A “denial” is not necessarily true; a “clarification” does not always clear things up. So the Letter to the Editor of Transport Sec. Joseph Emilio Abaya on the MRT-3 mess, published in The STAR yesterday, needs rebutting.

(Updated 11:14 a.m.) In the last three years, Grade 7 students of Caloocan High School had to buy workbooks for their Filipino subject as there were no learning materials issued by the Department of Education delivered to their school.

The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) has slammed the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) for being remiss in its job that caused the death of eight female workers in a padlocked warehouse in Pasay City last May 29.

MANILA, Philippines—A total of 393 new cases of the human immunodeficiency virus or HIV, which could lead to the fatal Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), were reported in April, according to the Department of Health (DOH).

THE country’s gross domestic product (GDP) rate slowed to 5.7 percent in the first quarter of this year, a development ascribed to the effects of Supertyphoon Yolanda (international code name Haiyan).