A NONGOVERNMENT organization (NGO) called on the Arroyo administration to set aside its political agenda and reorient the Philippine economy in preparation for the worst global financial crisis in decades.

FIFTEEN companies operating in economic zones nationwide laid off workers last year, according to state-run Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA).

PLANHOLDERS should brace for hard times ahead, as preneed companies admitted hefty losses due to the global financial crisis.

MANY privately held businesses expect 2009 to be worse than last year, as they brace for the full effects of the global financial crisis, according to Grant Thornton International Business Report 2009.

The majority of patients with cardiovascular disease (CVD) leading to heart attack and stroke do not receive appropriate treatment for various reasons.

I am sure that upon the resumption of Congress on Jan. 19, there will be renewed efforts by contraception advocates to push for the Reproductive Health and Population Development Act of 2008, which in effect would institutionalize contraception to control the booming population. Advocates claim this is responsible for poverty in the country.

MANILA — A novel cash incentive program for the Philippines poor is helping keep children in primary school, but not preventing them dropping out of high school, according to a study released Tuesday. The food-for-education subsidy started just over a year ago and gives 300 pesos (US$6.30) a month to children aged between six and…

A truck helper was pinned to death when a truck backed into him as he was transferring several cans of cooking oil into another truck at the compound of an oil manufacturing firm in Malabon Sunday.

Japan will hire at least 1,000 nurses and caregivers in the next two years, the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) reported yesterday.

Article 282 (c) of the Labor Code allows an employer to terminate the services of an employee for loss of trust and confidence. It must be shown however that the employee concerned must be holding a position of trust and confidence and there must be an act that would justify such loss. This case of…

About 9.4 million or 52 percent of Filipino families still consider themselves poor, the latest survey showed.

Foreign direct investments (FDIs) dropped by nearly 47 percent in the first 10 months of 2008, reaching only $1.418 billion from $2.653 billion during the first 10 months of 2007.

Treasury bill (T-bill) rates declined across the board during yesterday’s auction, the first T-bill auction for the year, because of easing inflation and strong liquidity in the market.

A MEMORANDUM of understanding was signed yesterday between the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration and its Japanese counterpart to pave the way for 500 Filipino nurses and caregivers to undergo training and get employed in Tokyo.

State-run pension fund manager Government Service Insurance System remains an active player in the local capital market despite allotting $1 billion for global investments.

Treasury bill rates fell steeply yesterday due to strong demand on the back of easing inflation and possible further rate cuts by the Bangko Sentral, National Treasurer Roberto Tan said.

The number of families considering themselves as poor stayed at 52 percent, the same as the September 2008 figure, according to the latest Social Weather Station (SWS) survey.

Economic growth in the Philippines remains unbalanced with Metropolitan Manila accounting for a third of the country’s economy, economists said Monday.

Starting this year, Japan would recruit Filipino nurses and caregivers for training and employment in that country under the Economic Partnership Agreement between Japan and the Philippines (JPEPA), Labor and Employment Secretary Marianito D. Roque announced Monday.

THE Presidential Anti-Smuggling Group and Federation of Philippine Industries will bond with 22 labor organizations in a precedent-setting move that sets aside political colors to support the government in its all-out war against rampant smuggling.

WASHINGTON (AP) – President-elect Barack Obama countered critics with an analysis Saturday by his economic team showing that a program of tax cuts and spending like he’s proposed would create up to 4.1 million jobs, far more than the 3 million he has insisted are needed to lift the country from recession.

The Board of Investments plans to give companies flexibility in their fiscal incentives to support them amid the difficult business environment.

A multi-million-dollar program to improve air quality in Metro Manila has been stalled after implementing agencies canceled most of its project components.

The military vowed yesterday to stop the New People’s Army from extorting “revolutionary taxes” from the public.

PLANS for massive infrastructure spending to stimulate the economy in 2009 have given hope for the beleaguered cement industry to make a rebound this year and achieve a modest 2-percent growth.

New York: The global economic crisis has made fears of unemployment the No. 1 concern, surpassing worries about poverty, social inequality, crime and violence, a 22-nation survey showed on Thursday.

SINGAPORE – Asia must act quickly to prevent millions of children dropping out of school to go to work as the global economic crisis worsens, a rights expert has warned.

The UNDP is the UN’s global development network, advocating for change and connecting countries to knowledge, experience, and resources to help people build a better life. In 2000, at the Millennium Summit, world leaders pledged to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which aim to cut poverty in half by 2015. The Country Director of…

Finance officials have thumbed down a lawmaker’s proposal to defer the implementation of the Lateral Attrition Law of 2005.

BHP Billiton Ltd., the world’s biggest mining firm, has assured Philippine mining authorities that it is not pulling out its operations in the country.