Monthly Archives: April 2015

Would you rather take the bus or the MRT? Why not improve both? Metro Manila’s public rail system, the MRT, is dying. It hasn’t been maintained properly, and now every component – from the rails, to the passenger cars, to the signaling and switching system, even the elevators and escalators in the stations – need…

SANILA, Philippines – Unemployed Filipinos dropped by about 3.4 million in the first quarter of 2015, the Social Weather Stations (SWS) said in its latest report. The new SWS survey showed the country’s joblessness rate falling from 27 percent, or an estimated 12.4 million adults, in December last year to 19.1 percent, or about nine…

From the Department of Labor and Employment Labor and Employment Secretary Rosalinda Dimapilis-Baldoz yesterday said productive dialogue between the government and organized labor continues and transcends the time-frame of the Labor Day commemoration.

A 42-year-old helper was killed while his co-worker was injured in an industrial accident in Quezon City Tuesday. Reports reaching the Quezon City Police District-Criminal Investigation and Detection Unit identified the fatality as Bernardo Maraya of South Daang Hari, Taguig City.

MANILA, Philippines – Filipino business leaders were found to be the most optimistic in Southeast Asia and the third most bullish in the world as prospects for the economy remain bright, a Grant Thornton International business report showed. Punongbayan & Araullo, which released the results yesterday, said 86 percent of the Filipino businessmen who participated…

Statement of Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda on the first quarter 2015 SWS survey on adult joblessness: Joblessness down, optimism up [Released on April 29, 2015] The most recent survey released by the SWS, covering the first quarter of 2015, shows that adult joblessness in the country has fallen drastically to 19.1%, down from 27% last…

MORE FILIPINOS took their talents to overseas job markets last year, further highlighting the role remittances play in the Philippine economy, with lower-paid workers accounting for a larger share of the total year-on-year while the proportion of professionals and managers declined.

OUR COMMON UNDERSTANDING As leaders from diverse religious traditions, we share a compelling vision to end extreme poverty by the year 2030. For the first time in human history, we can do more than simply envision a world free of extreme poverty; we can make it a reality. Accomplishing this goal will take two commitments:…

What government services can I avail of? What requirements should I prepare and what procedures to follow? Follow the Official Gazette for more information on government services and procedures: http://www.gov.ph/services/ (This album is continually updated, so please check back for new content.) What government services can I avail of? What requirements should I prepare and…

An ITUC Briefing explaining why trade unions must globally mobilise to protect workers from hazardous substances, with key facts and figures.

ILO report shows huge differences in health care access between rural and urban areas worldwide. GENEVA (ILO News) – A new ILO report shows that 56 per cent of people living in rural areas worldwide do not have access to essential health-care services – more than double the figure in urban areas, where 22 per…

MANILA – The International Labor Organization (ILO) has recommended to the Philippine government to focus on the creation of decent and productive jobs in order to foster inclusive growth.

MANILA, Philippines – Socio-economic Planning Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan said growth in rural areas is being constrained by inefficient land markets and poor infrastructure. Speaking at the World Bank (WB)-International Monetary Fund (IMF)’s 2015 Spring Meetings held in Washington last week, Balisacan said there are serious land management and administration problems in the Philippines. Speaking…

BAGUIO CITY – The forthcoming integration of the 10-member ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) can increase the demand for high-skilled Filipino workers abroad. Ma. Victoria Españo, chairperson and chief executive officer of Punongbayan & Araullo, said there will be a free flow of professional services through mutual recognition agreements (MRA) due to AEC. “I think it…

The business community is forming a united front against attempts to scrap the K to 12 Program. Instead of stopping the implementation of the program, big business groups in the country want the government to help the private sector deal with the effects of the reform in the educational system.

Nepal’s devastating earthquake was the disaster experts knew was coming. Just a week ago, about 50 earthquake and social scientists from around the world came to Kathmandu, Nepal, to figure out how to get this poor, congested, overdeveloped, shoddily built area to prepare better for the big one, a repeat of the 1934 temblor that…

Seven local and foreign business groups have thrown their support behind the government’s K to 12 enhanced basic education program despite calls for its suspension. “K to 12 will foster the development of competent graduates who will join the workforce and contribute to national competitiveness. With this in mind, we the members of the Philippine…

This is the second time that the NEDA regional director is convicted of sexual harassment MANILA, Philippines – Anti-graft court Sandiganbayan affirmed the decision convicting a National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) regional director of sexual harassment. In a resolution dated April 14, 2015, the Sandiganbayan Fifth Division denied the motion for reconsideration of former…

TO begin with, let me set my assumptions straight. “Strictly foreign policy” is non-existent, anti-thesis and non-sequitur in a highly interdependent world in the 21st century. In fact, foreign policy is simply a function and extension of domestic policy in the pursuit of national interest and mobilization of national potential. In this regard, national interest…

Yolanda survivors transferred to a government resettlement project in Barangay Cabalawan, Tacloban, complain of poor quality houses TACLOBAN CITY, Philippines – Leaking roofs, poor quality jalousies, and substandard hollow blocks. These were allegedly used for the construction of housing units, according to the 16 families transferred to a permanent resettlement site in Barangay Cabalawan, Tacloban,…

STANDARD & Poor’s (S&P) has maintained its credit rating on the Philippines at a notch higher than the minimum investment grade, citing the country’s strong external payments position, improving state finances, and healthy prospects for economic growth.

CALAUAG, Quezon – An ice plant worker died after he accidentally slipped his left leg into an ice crusher machine in Barangay Biyan, this town, police reported yesterday. The victim, Ariel F. Pondevida, 51, was assisting his co-workers in pushing ice blocks into the crusher when his left foot slipped into the machine, mangling his…

MANILA—ASEAN members need to go beyond commerce and financial assistance to address factors that impede the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) as well as post-2015 development priorities, according to the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA). Economic Planning Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan, during his opening speech at the ASEAN Regional Assessment Workshop on…

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines has earned the dubious distinction of having the worst record in bringing wrongdoers to justice, according to a study of countries plagued by impunity. The country topped the list of 59 countries included in the first World Impunity Index drawn up by the Impunity and Justice Research Center of the…

Listed Phinma Corp. is expanding its education portfolio with the acquisition of Cebu’s Southwestern University, giving it a solid footprint in the region. Phinma said in a stock exchange filing Thursday that it had acquired a 56.83-percent stake in Southwestern University for P1.9 billion. The move will increase the company’s school enrollment by about 27…

In the world’s most dynamic region, family companies occupy the commanding heights of capitalism THE BUSINESS CAPITAL of the Philippines is a part of Manila called Makati. But it might be called Ayala, after the country’s most powerful company, which seems to dominate it. Ayala’s 35-storey headquarters stands in the heart of Makati, in Ayala…

THE Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) 7 yesterday announced that President Benigno Aquino III will launch the “school towards transition program” on May 1 at J Centre Mall in Mandaue City. Dole 7 Director Exequiel Sarcauga said Aquino will be accompanied by Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz, the Canadian ambassador to the Philippines, and the…

Spending on social protection programs has increased in countries with a vast labor force, such as the Philippines. A family planting crops at an ADB-supported project that supplies water for farm irrigation. Spending on social protection programs has increased in countries with a vast labor force, such as the Philippines. A family planting crops at…

If you are one of the unlucky people who must deal with a clueless colleague or a brutish boss, you’re not alone. Sadly, far too many people at work lack basic emotional intelligence. They simply don’t seem to have the self-awareness and the social skills that are necessary to work in our complicated multicultural and…

My company keeps growing. We add clients, revenue, profit, and of course, we need to add people when some of us are too busy to handle the added workload. But I’ve noticed a pattern over the past few hires: the very people who would benefit most from additional help at first resist the idea of…