MANILA, Feb. 6 (PNA) – In an effort to reach out to young dropouts and out of school youth (OSY) and bring them back to finish school, the Department of Education (DepEd) announced on Wednesday they are now conducting a massive search for 5.6 million OSY through the Project Reaching All Children (REACH).

The country’s mobile phone service sector is projected to post a low to mid-single digit growth rate this year compared to last year in terms of revenues, in step with the expected growth for the economy.

Philippine exports could still be spared from contraction this year and manage a flat growth if companies tap other markets, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ralph Recto said yesterday.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) downscaled again its 2009 economic growth projections for the Philippines from its 3.5-percent estimate in November last year to only 2.25 percent.

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) hopes to increase enrolment of day care children from 1.2 million to 3 million through the electronic learning project which it will implement soon together with two private organizations.

The Philippines today is governed by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s social reform and poverty reduction program 2004-2010. Under her are the cabinet secretaries whom she meets weekly. They are represented in the National EFA Committee (NEC), which has been meeting frequently to advocate and transform UNESCO’s Education For All programs into Education for Sustainable Development…

President Arroyo announced that a P1-billion livelihood support fund for displaced overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) is now available.

Tourist arrivals in the Philippines rose by 1.5 percent to a record 3.14 million in 2008, despite the global financial crisis, the Tourism department said Wednesday.

Bahrain needs more foreign workers and would hire Filipino workers to support its booming economy, according to a Maca­lañang press release on Wednesday that quoted the prime minister of the Middle Eastern kingdom.

SALES of preneed plans were up last year as more clients bought more life products during the period, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said.

The Philippines, aiming to cut its reliance on imported crude, will import ethanol mostly from Brazil, a government official said.

BACOLOD CITY – Negros Occidental policemen rescued on Monday five minors from Antique working as sacada (sugar farm workers) in Murcia, provincial police director Senior Supt. Manuel Felix said.

Dear PAO,  In October 2008, the fruit-processing company I used to work for in an industrial/commercial complex within Metro Manila decided to cease operations due to losses incurred during the past several years and financial constraints. The company said it would give what is due to its employees as required under the law. The firm…

THE Philippines’ gender equality and women empowerment have improved despite sporadic reports of discrimination, a joint study of the Asian Development Bank and other multilateral institutions reveals.

The local semiconductors and electronics export sector is already troubled by very slow orders these days and it does not help that companies are also finding it difficult to access credit lately, an industry official said.

The bad loan ratio of rural banks went up in January to September last year as the loan portfolio contracted faster than the decline in nonperforming loans (NPL), Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said Tuesday.

Victorias Milling Co. Inc. is looking for a company that could raise between P8 billion and P10 billion to repay debts and finance the modernization of its refinery.

It may not be a whole lot of money, considering the amounts really needed. But it’s a lot better than merely sniping at the government while thousands are already losing their jobs and any hope of improving their lives in the near future.

SUBIC BAY FREEPORT—Twenty-six workers of the South Korean-owned shipbuilder Hanjin survived after their bus, which was carrying 60 passengers, plunged into a ravine a few meters from the shipyard, police said.

PRESIDENT Arroyo has rejected a proposal from the Commission on Higher Education to add one more year to all college courses, including nursing, but ordered the agency to continue holding consultations on what courses should last five years.

MANILA, Philippines — Echoing the concern of various non-government organizations, two congressmen yesterday called on lawmaker-proponents of the revival of the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP) to stop pushing for the rehabilitation of the mothballed plant and instead develop renewable sources of energy.

MANILA, Philippines — The Social Security System (SSS), the state pension fund manager for private employees, said its planned P12.5-billion contribution to the government’s economic stimulus package would require full government guarantee.

MANILA, Philippines — The death toll in the Jan. 29 explosion at a firecracker factory in Cavite rose yesterday from nine to 11 as relatives identified the bodies of two people previously listed as missing.

Although the government has allocated P100 million for a livelihood assistance fund for displaced overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) to start their own business, not many OFWs want to avail themselves of this fund and become entrepreneurs.

MANILA, Philippines — A recent survey conducted by the Social Weather Stations (SWS) showed that more Filipinos expect their quality of life to improve in the next 12 months despite the global economic crisis.

MANILA, Philippines — The bad loans of the commercial banking sector dropped slightly in November last year to 3.78 percent of their total loan portfolio – the lowest recorded ratio recorded since the 1997 financial crisis, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said in a report.

MANILA, Philippines –Thousands of workers are being forced to take a leave of absence or put in shorter hours as the global recession begins to take its toll on local industries, the Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP) said.

THE government has proposed a P30-billion package of increases in benefits to members of the Social Security System, Government Service Insurance System, Philippine Health Insurance Corp. and the Pag-IBIG Fund for housing.

HONDA Motor Co. said yesterday it was imposing a 5-percent reduction in the salaries of its managers in Japan as well as those stationed overseas to cope with sliding sales.

On the streets of Birmingham, the queen’s English is now the queens English.