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.

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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.

For 17 straight years, Sen. Joker Arroyo has remained the undisputed “Scrooge of Congress” for being the thriftiest, most frugal, tight-fisted, penny-pinching lawmaker.

WASHINGTON – A number of problems including corruption and the breakdown of peace talks with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front are inhibiting the return of full democracy to the Philippines, said the US-based non-government organization Freedom House.

Vice President Noli de Castro is still the choice of most Filipinos to succeed President Arroyo in 2010, results of a recent survey by the Social Weather Stations (SWS) showed.

Benguet Corp. has suspended all activities in its Kingking copper-gold project in Pantukan, Compostela Valley.

The country’s export earnings tumbled 11.9 percent to $3.494 billion last November, the lowest level in 34 months, as the global economic crisis cut orders for Philippine shipments of electronics and other major products.

BASEL, Switzerland (AFP) — The global economy will slow sharply this year before posting a “significant pick up” in 2010, the Group of 10’s central bankers said Monday.

Business profitability, exports, turnover seen to drop this year Local business leaders said profitability, exports and turnovers will drop this year as the country feels the full effects of the global financial crisis, a report said yesterday.

Until 2003, Filipino families were spending less on food and more on house rental and transportation and communication, according to a survey conducted by the National Statistical Coordination Board.

The Philippines’ ranking in global economic freedom fell 12 notches and found the country “mostly unfree,” because of alleged corruption in the government and a weak judicial system, a US-based think tank said Tuesday.