Monthly Archives: August 2014

MANILA, Philippines – Some 600 million people stand to gain from the ASEAN Economic integration in 2015, a joint study of the International Labour Organization (ILO) and Asian Development Bank showed.The study stated that the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) offers “major employment, wage and productivity benefits if decisively managed.”

Report sees reduction in gov’t desire to invigorate economy The 2016 presidential election season may have inadvertently come early for the Philippines, putting President Aquino’s remaining reform agenda at “serious” risk, according to New York-based think tank Global Source.

An official of the Philippine College of Physicians (PCP) has underscored the need to enhance the Filipinos’ “health literacy” to improve the dismal health condition in the country.

The traffic nightmare in Metro Manila will not just go away as long as different government instrumentalities do not get their act together. The House joint committees on Transportation and Metro Manila Development the other day approved a draft resolution urging the city of Manila to implement a three-month moratorium on the truck ban in…

2014 jobs target to be attained by end-September Employment in the information technology-business process management (IT-BPM) industry has already hit the one million mark, or 1 percent of the population, as more and more foreign firms outsource work in the Philippines.

MANILA – The already long lines at the MRT3 during the morning rush have gotten longer after the government imposed a speed limit on its trains. At around 8:30 a.m., the queue of commuters waiting to enter the North Avenue station has reached all the way down to the street level of Edsa.

DAVAO CITY , Philippines – The Bureau of Immigration released on Friday 49 foreign workers of a P25-billion coal-fired power plant in this city who were earlier detained for lack of working permits.

MANILA, Philippines – Top Japanese automakers in the Philippines are threatening to shift production to cheaper Southeast Asian countries as the government drags its feet on a plan to rebuild its shrinking car manufacturing industry.

MANILA, Philippines – Hydropower opportunities in the Philippines are overflowing with potential, but so far have failed to wash away the country’s energy woes.

Further to my column of August 15th, I find it difficult to believe what Jochelle Mendonca of India’s Economic Times (ET) said that BPOs are moving back to India. She went further and noted that “pure voice is out of fashion.”

The Asian Development Bank has released a report, produced under the responsibility of its new chief economist, which takes issue with using the World Bank’s US$1.25 a day definition of the extreme poverty threshold for estimating the number of poor in Asia and the Pacific and for designing policy responses.

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine economy seems headed for long-term growth with the possibility of expanding beyond 7.2 percent even in the absence of election-related spending, the Department of Finance said.

MANILA, Philippines – The Court of Appeals (CA) has affirmed the dismissal of over 200 employees by Coca-Cola Bottlers Philippines in 2009, and absolved the firm from allegations of unfair labor practices.

The number of people living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) in the Philippines is projected to hit 32,379 by the end of 2014, according to the Department of Health (DOH).

Download the texts here.

MANILA, Philippines—The Philippines has the lowest Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) among the countries in Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), according to 2014 United Nations Human Development Report released Wednesday.

Finance Undersecretary Gil S. Beltran on Wednesday disputed a report by Standard Chartered Bank claiming the government’s target of 7-percent to 8-percent growth in terms of the gross domestic product (GDP) was “ambitious.” He asserted that growth arises from new capital investment and increases in productive efficiency, and therefore “growth in GDP can thus potentially…

The traffic nightmare in Metro Manila will not just go away as long as different government instrumentalities do not get their act together. The House joint committees on Transportation and Metro Manila Development the other day approved a draft resolution urging the city of Manila to implement a three-month moratorium on the truck ban in…

A person may have rights under our laws. But like all rights, they have limitations. So if one goes beyond these limitations he/she may be held liable for damages as demonstrated in this case of Karen.

The last time I asked DOTC Sec. Jun Abaya when government plans to complete the buyout of the private owners of MRT 3, he texted back: “we are awaiting DOF on the buyout. Hope we can execute within the year.”

MANILA, Philippines — By the end of 2014, the number of people living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) in the Philippines is projected to hit 32,379, according to the Department of Health.

MANILA, Philippines – Unemployed Filipinos increased by 300,000 in the second quarter of this year even as optimism on job availability fell by 10 points in the same period, the Social Weather Stations (SWS) said in its recent survey.

Inflation expected to remain within target MANILA, Philippines – While commodity prices are rising due in large part to congestion in roads and key ports in Metro Manila, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said the full-year average inflation will remain within the government’s target.

Over the past couple of decades, no one can deny that the Asia and Pacific region has represented a remarkable success story. Absolute poverty levels have fallen significantly and the region is on course to achieve a number of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

The Business Process Outsourcing industry has contributed much to the Philippine economy, growing by 46 percent since 2006. To date, the industry has the most number of employees in the country, accounting for around 400,000 jobs.

Year-to-date, cash sent in by workers totaled $11.4B Growth in cash from migrant workers continued its streak, rising in June to its highest level since last December as Filipino labor remained in demand overseas.

More than half the world’s young people live in Asia and the Pacific. This huge population of young people will be critical in shaping the future of the region. The quality of the healthcare, education, jobs and environment these young people experience will determine the region’s prosperity. The Asian Development Bank (ADB), working closely with…

I quote portions of an article written by Jochelle Mendonca of The Economic Times (ET): “Last year, the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry in India estimated that the country had lost over 50 percent of the international voice centre business to the Philippines. “But that may be changing as the Philippines grapples with rising…

MANILA, Philippines – The worsening traffic situation in Metro Manila can be attributed to too many public utility vehicles (PUVs) in the metropolis, Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) chair Winston Ginez said in a roundtable discussion with STAR editors and reporters Wednesday night.