MANILA, Philippines – The American Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines (AmCham) urged the government to consider revising its local holiday schemes especially for business process outsourcing (BPO) firms or call centers to help companies save money amidst the global economic crisis.

MANILA, Philippines – A couple was freed from 13 years of conflict after the Supreme Court (SC) relaxed the guidelines for annulling marriages and declared their union void.

MANILA, Philippines – The House of Representatives warned private schools, colleges and universities yesterday that it will freeze tuition for three years if they increase their fees this year.

MANILA, Philippines – The P1-billion fund allotted by the government for various anti-corruption projects has registered financial and economic gains.

MANILA, Philippines – Congressman Miguel “Mikey” Arroyo, chairman of the House committee on energy, believes that the development of nuclear energy should be left in private sector hands.

MANILA, Philippines – The government needs to put in place measures that would boost the local economy to lessen the country’s dependence on dollar remittances from overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).

MANILA, Philippines -The fiscal deficit would increase beyond the government’s original target for this year, but economic managers said the budget gap would be widened by lower revenues and not increased spending for pump-priming.

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) opened a website where unemployed nurses can apply for a job, Labor Secretary Marianito Roque yesterday said.

TOKYO (AFP) – Asia’s developing economies are suffering more than expected from the global slowdown and must take steps to reduce their reliance on exports, the head of the Asian Development Bank said Thursday.

MANILA, Philippines – The government has launched new incentive packages for Taiwanese investors, including tax breaks in an attempt to attract more investors especially in the Clark and Subic Freeport zones.

A commonly held belief is that Filipino women are a most privileged sector, enjoying the same rights and opportunities as the men. On the contrary, there are many areas in which women are not so privileged. The recent approval of the Magna Carta for Women in the Senate is thus a milestone piece of legislation.…

PROPERTY developers are likely to post lower profit margins in the near term as they continue to feel the brunt of higher costs absorbed last year, according to Colliers International Research.

The government appears to be moving into high gear to create a million new jobs—its strategy to counter the impact of the global economic crisis on the Philippines.

Two departments have embarked on income-generating projects that will create 242,536 jobs in the countryside.

THE Supreme Court has ordered the Philippine Economic Zone Authority to pay a couple the full value of the 4.7-hectare private property in Lapu-Lapu City that was the subject of expropriation proceedings.

MANILA, Philippines – The telecommunication sector is up for a difficult year if IDC’s latest Worldwide Mobile Phone Tracker report is any indication.

THE Securities and Exchange Commission has given ailing pre-need firms four to five years to build up their impaired capital and trust funds as a result of the economic slowdown, its top official said yesterday.

Last week, I warned that government intervention in business was a major deterrent to business. We have a government that professes its wish to attract investors and its desire to do everything necessary to make the Philippines a desirable place to invest, yet its actions too often do the very reverse.

LIMOUSINES roll up to the plate glass storefront in Makati, unloading heirloom jewelry, paintings, and recently even a chamber for divers with the Bends.

JAPANESE company Toshiba will invest P110 million and employ more than 600 workers in Laguna to expand its operation beyond the production of hard disk drives.

THE rent in buildings devoted to business process outsourcing will drop by 15 to 20 percent this year because of too much space for lease and the economic crisis, an analyst said yesterday.

PHOENIX — President Barack Obama marshaled $75 billion on Wednesday to tackle the foreclosure crisis in an effort to prevent up to 9 million Americans from losing their homes.

FIRMS in Asia Pacific are expected to cut their travel expenses this year, resulting in the decline in hotel bookings in the country, according to Amadeus Philippines.

Filipinos are known worldwide for their strong family ties and filial love and respect for elders and as staunch defenders and protectors of their women and children. Their respect and care for mothers, wives and children are relatively much more intense and intimate than that of people in any other country.

MANILA, Philippines – President Arroyo yesterday appealed to private colleges and universities to defer any increase in tuition and other school fees due to the economic difficulties.

MANILA, Philippines – The renewed effort of President Arroyo’s House allies for Charter change (Cha-cha) via a constituent assembly (con ass) is very much alive, Rep. Joel Villanueva of the party-list group Citizens Battle Against Corruption said yesterday.

MANILA, Philippines – Socioeconomic Planning Secretary and National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Director-General Ralph Recto urged yesterday the Social Security System (SSS) and the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) to also hike benefits to its members similar to the move of the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth).

MANILA, Philippines – Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Lito Atienza said yesterday the DENR is budgeting P2.5 billion to create 111,536 “green collar” jobs as its contribution to President Arroyo’s Comprehensive Livelihood and Emergency Employment Program or CLEEP.

MANILA, Philippines – A glut of office supply is forcing landlords to compete for limited tenants by lowering rent, according to a leading global property services company.

MANILA, Philippines – Toshiba Information Equipment Philippines Inc., a subsidiary of Toshiba Digital Media Co., is investing an additional P110 million to expand its operations in the country.