THE travel industry is still hiring despite the global economic slowdown, with an official saying yesterday that 3,000 jobs awaited tourism graduates at the Philippines’ hotels and resorts.

TRAPPED in the web of the global financial crisis, at least 168 retrenched overseas Filipino workers (OFW) in Taiwan have yet to receive full payment of their salaries for the remaining months of their contract, a migrant group reported.

Although Singaporeans are “tightening their belts” because of the global economic crisis, there are plenty of opportunities for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) on the island-state, its ambassador said Thursday.

Maynilad Water Services Inc. is mulling legal remedies in order to push through with its botched rate hike this year.

The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) on Thursday cautioned the government that the random drug testing of the youth recently ordered by President Gloria Arroyo may violate the human rights of a child.

HEIGHTENED risk aversion led to net outflows of foreign investments in Philippine listed shares and other financial assets last year, according to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).

Dear Editor: This is with reference to Ambassador Ernesto Maceda’s column article “Creating accounting,” which was published in the Daily Tribune on Jan.14.

The World Bank has agreed to purchase carbon emission reduction credits worth $3.2 million from the bioethanol project of Roxas Holdings Inc. in Negros Occidental over the next four years.

National Grid Corp. of the Philippines will start operating the country’s transmission highway starting today after signing the final transaction agreements with Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp.

Lapuz says education can prove to be most effective in achieving peace and development in areas of conflict.

Most Filipinos are interested and likely to participate in the May 2010 elections, results of a Pulse Asia survey revealed on Wednesday.

A reader recounts her harrowing account of date rape:

The conflict erupted after a group led by former Senator Franklin Drilon drew up a list of the party’s senatorial candidates for the 2010 elections.

MOST of the rich Filipinos evade taxes, and many are members of civil society groups preaching compassion and demanding the rule of law, an official said yesterday.

Fertilizer prices have dipped further after the Christmas season, with retail sales of these commonly used inorganic inputs now as much as 53 percent lower than their September 2008 levels as an offshoot of the continued decline in the cost of crude oil in the world market, the Department of Agriculture (DA) has reported.

Universal access to healthcare is a challenge that both developed and developing countries face today. For developing countries with ballooning populations, changing demographics and decreasing resources allocated for health services, this challenge has become increasingly daunting.

No new investments investments are expected in the local electronics industry as a result of a sharp cut in demand due to the global economic downturn, the Semiconductors and Electronics Industries of the Philippines (SEIPI) said yesterday.

Deposit claims from the group of 15 banks, including the so-called Legacy Group are estimated to reach P14 billion and deposit insurance authorities said they were hiring an external auditing firm to speed up the settlement of the claims.

The National Government’s debt stock increased by two percent or P84 billion as of end-October 2008 from the end-September level, the Bureau of the Treasury reported yesterday.

Now we know: between associate justices endorsing a decision and the Chief Justice promulgating it lies Purgatory.

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) reported yesterday that fewer workers sought extra jobs last year despite the prevailing global economic crisis.

Nearly half of Filipinos believe violence would erupt if the May 2010 elections are cancelled or postponed, according to a survey.

The government reported over 3,000 workers from 15 electronics and semiconductor companies inside different economic zones across the country have been laid off thus far as a result of the business slowdown triggered by the global financial crisis.

A local industry group expressed fears yesterday that the global crisis will lead to more cases of technical smuggling in the country, especially with Chinese manufacturers having difficulties in selling to major markets.

Local businessmen expect a further drop in exports while profitability and sales of firms will be lower this year as the full effects of the global financial crisis hit the business sector this year.

They call it creative accounting which just means that certain bonuses or payments to officers of the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) are hidden as discretionary or miscellaneous expenses. In the AFP, PNP and SSS, they are charged to intelligence funds, no receipts necessary.

Due to pervasive corruption and weak enforcement of business rules and property rights, on top of a weak judiciary, the country continues to suffer as among the least economically free country in the world, according to US conservative think tank The Heritage Foundation.

Thousands of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in United Arab Emirates (UAE) are likely to return home soon not because of the economic crisis but due to the new immigration policy in UAE, the Department of Labor and Employment reported yesterday.

Overseas Filipino workers trooped to the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) main office in Manila yesterday to protest the ban in the “direct hiring” of OFWs in Hong Kong.

Somali pirates have freed all 21 Filipino crewmembers of a ship hijacked off Somalia three months ago, the government said yesterday.