Monthly Archives: March 2017

By Cielito F. Habito, Philippine Daily Inquirer, Mar 31, 2017 Is the high cost of power holding the Philippines back from stronger industrialization? Almost no economic forum I’ve attended goes by without someone complaining that our high power costs—often described to be among the highest, if not the highest, in Asia—keeps us from attracting more…

By Louise Maureen Simeon (The Philippine Star), Mar 31, 2017 MANILA, Philippines – Beverage giant Coca-Cola Femsa Philippines has vowed to increase its local sugar procurement provided the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) allows its access to the export market which is significantly cheaper than the domestic one, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said.

(philstar.com), Mar 31, 2017 MANILA, Philippines — A group of journalists hit back after President Rodrigo Duterte described the reporting of media organizations as garbage, describing his mindset as that of a “petty tyrant.”

Read here.

The hardest activities to automate are those that involve complex interactions with people, such as managing and developing employees, or communicating with customers. By Cynthia Than, http://www.inc.com/cynthia-than/humans-are-still-better-than-robots-at-these-jobs.html

By Boo Chanco (The Philippine Star), Mar 31, 2017 Our largely American BPO industry is apparently on a roll. The BPO sector is expected to generate $40 billion in revenues, 7.6 million direct and indirect jobs, 500,000 jobs outside of the National Capital Region, and cover 15 percent of the total global outsourcing market by…

By Cai Ordinario, Businessmirror, March 30, 2017 Women returning to the work force are discriminated against by employers making it difficult for them to get employed, according to specialist professional recruitment consultancy firm Robert Walters.

Read more here.

The global shipping industry is experiencing rough seas pic.twitter.com/5jLu4LlU3D — The Economist (@TheEconomist) March 30, 2017

by Nick Haslam, Mar 30, 2017 It is well known that economic inequality is rising. In most industrialised nations the distribution of wealth and income is becoming increasingly concentrated. In the United States, the top 10% of earners make more than nine times as much on average as the remainder, and in Australia the ratio…

By Alex Magno (The Philippine Star), Mar 30, 2017 In an audacious move, urban poor group Kadamay moved in large numbers and forcibly occupied housing units in Pandi, Bualacan. They claimed the housing units for themselves, saying they were idle.

By Melissa Luz T. Lopez, Businessworld, Mar 30, 2017 THE PHILIPPINES yesterday got a shot in the arm amid nagging political noise, as Fitch Ratings, Inc. affirmed the country’s credit standing and S&P Global Ratings raised its growth forecast anew.

By Rey Gamboa (The Philippine Star), Mar 30, 2017 It’s summer, and with it comes the scorching heat – and brownouts. The country’s power supply situation continues to be in such a precarious state, so much so that a power disruption is highly possible if one big power plant in the national grid trips or…

By Krista A. M. Montealegre, Businessworld, Mar 30, 2017 CONSTRUCTION companies are experiencing an unprecedented “tightness” in the supply of skilled workers that threatens to derail the real estate sector’s growth momentum and the government’s ambitious infrastructure program.

Nick Haslam, Mar 30, 017 It is well known that economic inequality is rising. In most industrialised nations the distribution of wealth and income is becoming increasingly concentrated. In the United States, the top 10% of earners make more than nine times as much on average as the remainder, and in Australia the ratio approaches…

By Samuel P. Medenilla, Manila Bulletin, Mar 30, 2017, The deployment of newly-hired Filipino household service workers (HSW) abroad continues to increase even after the country lost one of its major markets in the Middle East.

By: Allan Macatuno, INQInquirer, Mar 29, 2017 OLONGAPO CITY — Six teenaged girls were rescued on Tuesday (March 28) by agents of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) from an alleged human trafficker operating at Subic town in Zambales province.

Businessworld, Mar 29, 2017 THE IMPLEMENTING rules and regulations (IRR) for the amended law on employment of students has been signed and issued by the Department of Labor and Employment, the government’s Philippine Information Agency reported yesterday. Under the Special Program for Employment of Students (SPES), contained in Republic Act No. 10917, the age qualification…

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By Alyana Cabral, Mar 28, 2017 Manila (CNN Philippines Life) — Sexual harassment happens everyday, everywhere, to everyone. It is sad to think that it may be as common as the cold. The virus of this crime comes in many forms — sexism, power relations, psychological factors, moral and cultural values — and depends on…

By Bon Cedrick Dela Cena Doroja (The Philippine Star), Mar 28, 2017 With the current administration capitalizing heavily on public spending mostly in infrastructure, rural development, and social services to drive growth of the country while catering to the Filipinos’ needs, the government relies on labor provided by its citizens to carry-out its reform goals…

By: Melvin Gascon, INQInquirer, Mar 28, 2017 TUGUEGARAO CITY, Cagayan — The New People’s Army on Tuesday (March 28) took responsibility for the burning of heavy equipment in Cagayan and Quirino provinces on March 26, five days before the communist rebels were expected to reinstall a unilateral ceasefire.

By Richmond Mercurio (The Philippine Star), Mar 28, 2017 MANILA, Philippines – Employers are keeping their fingers crossed that the new labor department order (DO) on contractualization will not worsen the current unemployment situation in the country as they try to live with more restrictive rules.

by Sarah Kessler, Mar 27, 2017 Automation often replaces human labor, but very rarely in the last sixty years has it eliminated an entire occupation.

by Lianna Brinded, Mar 27, 2017 Companies across the globe are starting to ramp up their hiring after a year of political uncertainty and upheaval. Over the last year, Britain voted to leave the European Union, Donald Trump became the new US President, and populism has been spreading across Europe. It has caused great uncertainty…

By IVY C. TEJANO, Mar 27, 2017 THE Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (Iacat)-Davao Region recorded 95 cases filed in court for anti-trafficking in persons since December 2016. Records obtained from the Iacat showed that of the 95 cases, 14 resulted to conviction, 14 were dismissed, four were withdrawn, 12 were archived, six were acquitted and…

The Straits Times/Asia News Network, Mar 27, 2017 SINGAPORE — A Singaporean couple who pleaded guilty to starving their Filipina maid were jailed and fined on Monday.

By: Raul J. Palabrica, Philippine Daily Inquirer, Mar 27, 2017 Finally, after several false starts, the Department of Labor and Employment (Dole) issued Department Order No. 174 which aims to fulfill President Duterte’s campaign promise to eliminate “endo” or illegal job contracting.

Rob Lever, Agence France-Presse, Mar 27, 2017 WASHINGTON – Are robots coming for your job? Although technology has long affected the labor force, recent advances in artificial intelligence and robotics are heightening concerns about automation replacing a growing number of occupations, including highly skilled or “knowledge-based” jobs.