Monthly Archives: December 2020

by Ben O. de Vera, Philippine Daily Inquirer, 11 Dec 2020 Amid weak recovery in consumer confidence and spen­ding, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) further downscaled its outlook for the Philippines, saying the economy will suffer from a steeper drop of 8.5 percent this year.

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By: Consuelo Marquez, INQINQUIRER.net, 10 Dec 2020 MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Education on Thursday said it is addressing the education quality by investing in educational facilities and reviewing its curriculum after a 2019 study showed the country’s poor performance in math and science tests.

by Daxim L. Lucas, Philippine Daily Inquirer, 10 Dec 2020 MANILA, Philippines—Long tern investments in the Philippines declined by over a tenth last September after four consecutive months of double-digit year-on-year growth as the lockdown in the preceeding month curtailed investor activity, according to the central bank.

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By CNN Philippines Staff, 10 Dec 2020 Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, December 10) – Filipino Grade 4 students finished dead last in an international study assessing their mathematics and science proficiency.

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By Cai Ordinario, 9 Dec 2020 People from different walks of life buy basic necessities at a covered court in Sta. Lucia, Pasig City. The World Bank said a large share of breadwinners remained jobless even after the government started easing community quarantines.

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by Ben O. de Vera, Philippine Daily Inquirer, 8 Dec 2020 MANILA, Philippines—The COVID-19 pandemic will make 2.7 million more Filipinos poor this year on top of a record slide in the Philippines’ gross domestic product (GDP) or economic output in what could be the worst outturn post-war, the World Bank said Tuesday.

by Ben O. de Vera, Philippine Daily Inquirer, 8 Dec 2020 MANILA, Philippines—The influx of K to 12 graduates into the job market by the time the economy is seen still recovering from this year’s pandemic-induced slump will bloat the jobless rate to 7-9 percent in 2022, the country’s chief economist said.

by Ben O. de Vera, Philippine Daily Inquirer, 8 Dec 2020 MANILA, Philippines—The COVID-19 pandemic will make 2.7 million more Filipinos poor this year on top of a record slide in the Philippines’ gross domestic product (GDP) or economic output in what could be the worst outturn post-war, the World Bank said Tuesday.

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by Ben O. de Vera, Philippine Daily Inquirer, 7 Dec 2020 MANILA, Philippines—Despite the COVID-19 pandemic that shed millions of jobs and shuttered thousands of businesses, the state-run pension fund Social Security System (SSS) on Monday (Dec. 7) said the scheduled increase in contribution rate to 13 percent from 12 percent at present will push…

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by Cecille Suerte Felipe (The Philippine Star), 6 Dec 2020 MANILA, Philippines — Learning outcomes of Grade 5 students showed that a large number of Filipino learners are not proficient enough in reading, writing and math to advance to secondary school, a Southeast Asia-wide study showed, according to Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian.

December – month of overseas Filipinos, human rights and youth in the Philippines. Monthly Observances: Month of Overseas Filipinos Energy Consciousness Month Weekly Observances: Dec 4-10 National Human Rights Consciousness Week Week 1: Family Week National Government Employees’ Week Week 2: Linggo ng Kabataan Daily Observances: First Monday: Parents’ Day Mother’s Day and Father’s Day…

December 6 is National AIDS Sunday National Sunday of PWDs! Nov 25 to Dec 10 is 16 days of activism against gender-based violence! #RatifyC190 #StopGBV #OrangeThe World #16Days #GenerationEquality https://bit.ly/39aWa2g

by Mary Grace Padin (The Philippine Star), 5 Dec 2020 MANILA, Philippines — The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has released the guidelines for the establishment of digital banks as it seeks to promote innovation in the banking sector and improve the accessibility of financial products to Filipinos.

by Mary Grace Padin, Czeriza Valencia (The Philippine Star), 5 Dec 2020 MANILA, Philippines — Growth in the prices of basic goods accelerated to a 21-month high of 3.3 percent in November after supply disruptions caused by recent typhoons pushed up food prices, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said.

by Catherine Talavera, Louella Desiderio, (The Philippine Star), 5 Dec 2020 MANILA, Philippines — Starting this Christmas season, the conduct of group events in hotels, restaurants and malls located in areas under general community quarantine such as Metro Manila will be allowed, the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) said…

by Ben O. de Vera, Philippine Daily Inquirer, 5 Dec 2020 Food supply stalled by the damage wrought by recent strong typhoons and the African swine fever in the case of pork products pushed inflation up to 3.3 percent year-on-year in November.

by Ben O. de Vera, Philippine Daily Inquirer, 5 Dec 2020 The country’s factory output volumes and their values further contracted in October as 15 industries posted lower year-on-year production, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported on Friday.

by Ben O. de Vera, Philippine Daily Inquirer, 5 Dec 2020 The damage to be inflicted by the COVID-19 pandemic on the Philippine economy will be like a “long scar” that can take longer to heal, according to UK-based Oxford Economics.

By: Dona Z. Pazzibugan, Philippine Daily Inquirer, 4 Dec 2020 MANILA, Philippines — Nearly 5,000 minors below 15 years old are employed as domestic workers in violation of the Batas Kasambahay of 2013, according to a government survey.

by ABS-CBN News, 4 Dec 2020 MAYNILA — Mas mainam kung itataas sa 18 anyos ang minimum age na maaaring payagang maging domestic worker o kasambahay ang isang indibidwal, mula sa kasalukuyang 15 anyos, sabi ng isang child welfare group.

by Louella Desiderio (The Philippine Star), 4 Dec 2020 MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines is capable of attracting $50 billion worth of foreign direct investments (FDIs) and generate three million jobs over the next decade, foreign businessmen said.

by Romina Cabrera (The Philippine Star), 4 Dec 2020 MANILA, Philippines — Over 119,000 public utility vehicle (PUV) operators have received cash subsidy from the government as part of social amelioration measures during the COVID-19 pandemic.