Monthly Archives: February 2019

By Rea Cu, Business Mirror, Feb 14, 2019 BUSINESS applications will be deemed automatically approved if the government agency handling the application fails to assess it within the prescribed period. This will be a key feature in the proposed implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of the ease of doing business (EODB) law, the Anti-Red Tape…

By Cai Ordinario, Business Mirror, Feb 14, 2019 THE Philippines needs to spend an average of 3.48 to 5.58 percent of its GDP to fill its social protection gaps up to 2030, according to estimates by the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

by Vito Barcelo, Philippine Daily Inquirer, Feb 14, 2019 The Department of Labor and Employment advised employees of Hanjin Heavy Industries Corp. not to sign “voluntary resignation” papers for it would strip them of their rightful benefits.

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17 human trafficking victims rescued in Zamboanga ABS-CBN News, Leizel Lacastesantos Feb 12 2019 ZAMBOANGA CITY – Authorities rescued 17 victims of human trafficking in Zamboanga City Monday night. The Philippine Coast Guard, in coordination with law enforcement agencies, intercepted their motorboat en route to Taganak, Tawi-Tawi. Zamboanga Coast Guard Station commander, Lt. Cmdr. Jimmy…

In a survey conducted by Evolve IP, nine in ten respondents said they have planned to move to cloud. By Narayan Ammachchi, Feb 13, 2019 Call centers across North America are increasingly abandoning on-premise technologies and moving their service to cloud.

by Gerardo P. Sicat, The Philippine Star, Feb 13, 2019 Current disruptions that happen as a consequence of the US-China trade war or Brexit (or, the possible exit of Britain from the European Union) will not deter the economic integration that is happening within East Asia and ASEAN.

Conversations about rice are a national conversation by Anna Gabriela A. Mogato, Rappler, Feb 13, 2019 MANILA, Philippines – It will be like domino tiles falling one after the other. While the rice tarrification bill will directly affect the rice industry, other businesses which make use of byproducts from rice will inevitably also feel its…

Eighteen federations formed the National Trade Union Center (NTUC Philippines) on 18 August 2018.

Brother Rodolfo Capoquian was elected President. Other officers are General Secretary Roland de la Cruz, Treasurer Milagros Ogalinda, Deputy General Secretary Dave Diwa, Assistant Treasurer Jesus Exequiel (Exie) Nidea. The Chairs of the Women Committee (Sister Florencia Cabatingan) and of the Youth Committee (Brother Wilmark Ramos) were provisionally elected to the Executive Board.

13 February 2019 – INFLATION HAS SLOWED DOWN, BUT PRICES CONTINUE RISING! – Economic officials are acting as if prices paid in markets have really gone down. True, the rate of inflation went down to 4.4% in January 2019, the slowest year-on-year in the past 10 months, and economic authorities say inflation rates will go…

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The Philippine Statistics Authority says both imports and exports shrank in December 2018. Overall, the country’s trade gap is now at its widest in history. by Ralf Rivas, Rappler, Feb 12, 2019 MANILA, Philippines – The government said a weak peso would lift exports. It did not. The government said it is aggressively pushing infrastructure…

Paris city authorities demand a fine of 12.5 million euros ($14 million) against Airbnb for 1,000 properties without a registration number that were identified by local officials by Agence France-Presse, Feb 12, 2019 PARIS, France – Hotel groups in Paris on Monday, February 11, hailed a new legal offensive by city authorities against home-sharing group…

By: Julie Alipala, Inquirer Mindanao, Feb 12, 2019 ZAMBOANGA CITY — Forty-eight persons believed to be victims of human trafficking were rescued Monday night at the sea waters of this city.

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Most economists, as well as some the world’s business elite, agree that economic growth is slowing but policymakers have expressed some hope for a soft landing rather than an outright recession. Speaking at the World Government Summit in Dubai on Sunday, Paul Krugman said there are good reasons to be skeptical about this scenario.

—by Jovic Yee, Philippine Daily Inquirer, Feb 10, 2019 The Bureau of Immigration has arrested 30 Chinese nationals for working without permits in several establishments in Parañaque City.

by Panos Mourdoukoutas, Feb 10, 2019 The problem with President Rodrigo Duterte’s jobless booming economy in the Philippines isn’t the liberal economic policies his administration has been pursuing. It’s the persistence of corruption and cronyism and cultural populism that divide up Filipinos — and limit job opportunities for those on the wrong side of the…

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by ERWIN P. NICAVERA, Philstar, Feb 8, 2019 Having said that, the labor sector will campaign among their members not to vote for candidates who do not support the opposition against the proposed sugar import liberalization during the upcoming national and local elections in May.

By: Doris Dumlao-Abadilla, Philippine Daily Inquirer, Feb 07, 2019 Despite fast-rising consumer prices and interest rates, residential condominium takeup in Metro Manila hit a record high in 2018 and home buyers demanded for more aside from the new units brought to the market by property developers.

by Louis Volante, Feb 7, 2019 Classrooms in many parts of the world are increasingly diverse. International migration patterns have significantly changed the cultural make-up of many industrialized societies and, by extension, their school-aged populations.

by Louise Maureen Simeon (The Philippine Star), Feb 6, 2019 MANILA, Philippines — The local sugar industry has slammed anew the government’s economic team for pushing for the liberalization of sugar imports.

‘I thought my life is going nowhere. Thanks to JobStart, I got hope,’ says teenage father Stonelieh Constante of the DOLE’s program in Bicol by Mavic Conde, Rappler, Feb 6, 2019 LEGAZPI CITY, Philippines – For out-of-school youth (OSY) and those who were unable to finish their studies, landing a full-time job can be tough…

by ABS-CBN News, Feb 6, 2019 MANILA – Senator Manny Pacquiao on Wednesday pushed for higher taxes on alcoholic beverages, following a similar proposal to raise duties on cigarettes.

By: Daxim L. Lucas, Philippine Daily Inquirer, Feb 06, 2019 Did market analysts and business reporters make last year’s inflation spike worse by scaring the public into believing that consumer prices would continue rising for a prolonged period?