While over a thousand Filipino workers in Taiwan have lost their jobs as the country’s export sector was hit badly by the international financial crisis, the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) said that Taiwan continues employing Filipinos in industries not as affected.

The peso should be allowed to depreciate to about P55 to the dollar to boost local consumer spending and to improve the country’s export competitiveness, an economist said at an exporters’ forum on Thursday.

The Economist’s arm: Economic drivers weak   The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) said the Philippines’ economic growth is expected to slow sharply in 2009 because of the deepening global financial crisis. EIU is “the world’s foremost provider of country, industry and management analysis.”

Somebody asked me why there are longer labor strikes especially at this time when prices of basic commodities are skyrocketing and jobs are harder to find. Why are laborers and employees in the private sector not asking for higher wages?

The Social Welfare Department is negotiating for a loan of up to P25 billion from the World Bank to support the conditional cash transfer program called Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino.

THE World Bank would fund the Philippines’ education and health subsidies for poor families amid the global financial crisis, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) said.

The Manila City Prosecutor’s Office has filed criminal charges before the Manila Regional Trial Court yesterday against a 34-year-old woman for inducing female minors to solicit sex.

Two bar operators in Daraga, Albay were sentenced to 20 years of imprisonment for trafficking minors for sexual exploitation. One is the owner and the other is the cashier. They were also made to pay P1 million each in fine.

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. 9510             October 31, 2008 AN ACT ESTABLISHING THE CREDIT INFORMATION SYSTEM AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

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. 9507             October 13, 2008 AN ACT TO ESTABLISH A SOCIALIZED AND LOW-COST HOUSING LOAN RESTRUCTURING…

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Countries fail to reach consensus on chemical some deem dangerous. A type of asbestos sold around the world by Canada and several other countries will remain off an international watchlist of dangerous chemicals for at least another two years.

The country’s largest labor union warned the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) yesterday against pouring $400 million more into overseas investments.

The country’s largest labor group yesterday questioned the equity stakes of the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) in at least three Indonesian banks, which should have been invested in the country.

The country’s largest labor group yesterday said the foreign investments of the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) were found to be generally safe.

Workers and pensioners nationwide can now sleep better. The country’s largest labor group said today that the investments of the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) foreign investments were found to be generally safe.

The moderate Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) joined the United Opposition (UNO) in calling for the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) to disclose its foreign investments other than its reported earnings.

SYDNEY, Australia – The former directors of building materials giant James Hardie Industries NV misled investors about their ability to compensate victims of its asbestos products, an Australian court was told Monday in the opening of a civil trial against the embattled company.

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The massive dislocation of families due to the raging armed conflict in Mindanao has spurred the trafficking of children, Rep. Emmylou Taliño-Mendoza of Cotabato warned Sunday. “A growing number of young girls and boys whose families have been displaced by constant armed strife have become extremely vulnerable to trafficking by illegal job recruiters and all…

Following the bankruptcy of US investment giant Lehman Brothers, the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) slammed the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) for lack of transparency on its overseas investments.

Sinuportahan ng pinakamalaking organisasyon ng mga manggagawa sa bansa ang bagong visa program ng Bureau of Immigration (BI) na magbibigay ng “indefinite stay” sa mga negosyanteng mamumuhunan at kukuha ng 10 Pinoy workers o higit pa.

Malacañang aims to bring before the United Nations the Moro Islamic Liberation Front’s (MILF) recruitment of children as fighters. Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said the government has photographs to show that the MILF is using children in combat. The photographs were seized by troops from captured MILF camps, he added.

THIRTEEN girls aged 13 to 15 and recruited in Quezon City ended up being sold as prostitutes at P600 each to fishermen in Infanta, Quezon. The victims are out-of-school youths and residents of Batasan Hills, Quezon City.

PRESIDENT Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has directed the Department of Education to step measures to end child labor and bring back these children to school. “The role of children is to study, learn and play, not to earn a living at their tender age.” President Arroyo pointed out. “I am therefore pleased that DepEd is working with…

At the outset, it must be stressed that this is an administrative case for dishonesty, grave misconduct, and falsification of an official document. To sustain a finding of administrative culpability only substantial evidence is required, not overwhelming or preponderant, and very much less than proof beyond reasonable doubt as required in criminal cases.

If control of a private corporation is acquired by the government through one of its agencies, are its employees subject to civil service laws? This is the question answered in this case of Pablo.

The injury or death of an employee is compensable if it is sustained (1) while performing his official functions (2) at the place where his work requires him to be or if sustained elsewhere (3) he must have been executing an order of his employer. These requirements are illustrated in this case of Bert.

The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) said yesterday a proposal by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to subject outbound domestic helpers to a psychiatric test is “downright ridiculous.”

“Break the chain of abuse. Pass the Anti-Child Pornography Bill,” urged Gabriela Women’s Party Rep. Luz Ilagan after a study conducted by Talikala Foundation, a group helping prostituted women in Davao, revealed that a large number of prostituted women were once victims of child pornography. “The increase in the number of cases of child pornography…