Washington maintained yesterday that the Philippines must pass the indicator criteria on corruption before the Millennium Challenge Corp. (MCC) will sign a compact program.

Economic managers unveiled yesterday a P300 billion Economic Sustainability Plan for next year that will shield the country from the global economic crisis by boosting consumer spending, government and private investments and extending more direct cash assistance to the poor.

Despite the lingering global economic crisis, major Philippine business process outsourcing (BPO) providers, mostly contact center operators, are still aggressively recruiting new staff.

Investment commitments have reached P391 billion, as businessmen remain upbeat on the country’s economy, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said.

Republic of the Philippines Congress of the Philippines Metro Manila Fourteenth Congress Second Regular Session   Begun and held in Metro Manila, on Monday, the twenty-eight day of July, two thousand eight. Republic Act No. 9513             December 16, 2008 AN ACT PROMOTING THE DEVELOPMENT, UTILIZATION AND COMMERCIALIZATION OF RENEWABLE…

“It is wrong to say that an economic storm is coming,” University of the Philippines economics professor Benjamin Diok-no said at the Kapihan sa Sulo media forum Saturday. “The truth is that the storm is already here.”

CARMEN, Cotabato: The Philippines should move quickly to fill in the shortage of fresh bananas in Japan, where the “Banana Morning Diet” has become a huge craze, Rep. Emmylou Taliño-Mendoza of Cotabato said Sunday.

A militant teachers group over the weekend asked Malacañang to ensure the distribution of the full amount of the P10,000 year-end performance bonus granted to all government employees, including thousands of public school teachers.

Telecommunication companies will suspend next week their promotional offerings because of the expected surge in text and call traffic, as well as to prevent network abuse during Christmas and New Year’s, the government said.

Taiwan to lay off 5,000 next year   The Philippine government said it projects a minimal displacement of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) despite the sweeping global financial crisis, because Arab countries could absorb a large number of Filipino workers.

The hiring of Filipino workers overseas has gone up despite the global economic slowdown, according to the government.

I am a self-confessed fan of Malcolm Gladwell, author of the international bestsellers The Tipping Point and Blink. He is an exceptional journalist who writes for The New Yorker, and was formerly a business and science reporter at the The Washington Post. His celebrity status pushed Fast Company to label him “a rock star, a…

The country’s mining investment targets for 2010 and onwards may have to be revised as a number of mining firms have put on hold their various projects.

The employment problem, which is expected to worsen next year, will be eased if the government opens the country’s service sector, the American Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines Inc. (AmCham) said.

Research firm Gartner Inc. has chosen the Philippines as one of the world’s 30 top offshoring destinations, mostly due to the country’s attractive labor costs.

The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is studying the decision of the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) to declare as legal the move of Lopez led Manila Electric Company (Meralco) to collect lifeline subsidy from consumers.

The government is looking at helping three major sectors next year to help boost the domestic economy, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ralph Recto said during the weekend.

The government is looking at raising P20 billion from the sale of state-owned assets next year, Finance Secretary Margarito Teves said during the weekend.

Educators and information communications technology policy-makers gathered recently at the Waterfront Hotel in Cebu City for the third National ICT in Basic Education Congress.

Here’s a bit of really good news following announcement of a global-wide recession and massive job cuts in the US and Europe.

THE government has raised its programmed privatization revenues for next year after the sale of Philippine National Oil Co.-Exploration Corp. (PNOC-EC) was postponed, the Department of Finance said.

WASHINGTON, D.C.: Banks floundered, grabbed government lifelines, and failed in 2008 as the global financial crisis shredded their own vaunted reputations for security.

Higher rate adjustments loom   THE Regulatory Office of state-run Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS-RO) has thumbed down proposals for the extension of the concession contracts for the East and West zones.

Expect endless arguing among passengers, drivers and bus conductors as a provisional reduction of fares takes effect today.

Tomorrow, Christmas will only be nine midnight or dawn masses away. But the usual festive mood permeating the air this time of the year is uncharacteristically elusive. In our village alone, most of the houses used to be fully-dressed in glittering Christmas lights and decorations.

How’s this for noche buena? Mother, father and sister carry packed food in plastic containers and then alternate between walking and taking public transportation, seemingly off to a special mission. Just outside a building, they prop up a table with a few chairs.

TWENTY-TWO of Qatar’s largest companies will be hiring Filipinos starting next month to fill up 37,000 positions in the energy, transport and construction sectors, Press Secretary Jesus Dureza said yesterday.

THE World Bank has commended the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) for its efforts to put in place well-targeted social safety nets like the conditional cash transfer, or CCT.

President Arroyo vowed to secure more jobs for skilled Filipino workers in the Middle East during her three-day visit to Qatar that started yesterday.

Consumer confidence remains negative for the fourth quarter of the year and the first quarter of 2009, but some improvement was noted as global oil prices continued to decline.