Malacañang took as “constructive criticism from an ally” the human rights report of the United States government describing the Philippines as being under a climate of impunity as far as the issue of unsolved killings is concerned.

CEBU CITY—Sustainable fiscal reforms, regulatory capture and low investment rates were among the issues and concerns raised during Thursday’s opening plenary for the fourth Philippine Development Forum (PDF) held in this city.

WASHINGTON – The cases of unsolved and unpunished killings have contributed to a “climate of impunity” in the Philippines, according to the US State Department.

MANILA, Philippines — Unlawful killings and the murder of journalists by various groups went unsolved and unpunished last year, contributing to the climate of impunity in the Philippines, the US State Department said in its annual global human rights report.

THE United States government has criticized the communist New People’s Army for killing local government officials and ordinary civilians and for using land mines, which are banned by the United Nations.

BAGUIO CITY—Migrant workers and members of the Gabriela party-list group picketed the office of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration here on Thursday to demand that the government finally allow 18-year-old women to seek jobs abroad.

The government reported a discrepancy of at least P61.5 billion in the amount of tax incentives granted by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the claims reported by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR).

The military on Thursday briefed Asian diplomats on the wave of unsolved political killings after two damning reports implicated the nation’s top commanders.

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo wants the special criminal courts to start trial of summary killings of activists and journalists.

BAGUIO CITY—Researchers of a Baguio hospital have started looking into medical problems that appear to be common among employees of call centers and other business process outsourcing (BPO) facilities operating at the Baguio City Economic Zone.

PHILIPPINE stocks fell by the most in nine years as Tuesday’s plunge in the Chinese stock market triggered a global equities selloff. Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. and Bank of the Philippine Islands slumped.

US Embassy officials met with the Task Force Usig on Wednesday and discussed the US government’s offer of assistance to find a solution to political killings.

The government is intensifying its campaign to promote the Philippines as an ideal retirement destination.

Malacañang hit yesterday what it called leftist propaganda to undermine the government’s efforts to end the unexplained killings in the country.

United Nations special rapporteur Philip Alston said the Philippine military was in “almost total denial” of its need to respond to allegations of its involvement in political killings.

MANILA, Philippines — Whatever the figure, the number of killings of journalists and leftist activists in the Philippines is “distressing,” and President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo should persuade the Armed Forces to “acknowledge” the fact and conduct a “genuine” investigation, United Nations Special Rapporteur Philip Alston said Wednesday.

MANILA, Philippines — The defense and military establishments on Wednesday chose silence vis-à-vis the initial findings of United Nations Special Rapporteur Philip Alston, but Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez came out with guns blazing.

MANILA, Philippines — Former Supreme Court Justice Jose Melo Wednesday said he was standing by the finding of the fact-finding commission on extrajudicial killings that certain military officials should be held accountable by virtue of “command responsibility.”

THE Armed Forces on Wednesday insisted that the hundreds of murders of activists are products of an ongoing purge within the ranks of the communist underground movement.

Extrajudicial killings in the country will not stop unless Malacañang and the Armed Forces acknowledge the reality of rights violations and reevaluate their counterinsurgency strategy, the UN special rapporteur warned on Wednesday.

A SWEDISH court has ruled in favor of the Philippine-based United Filipino Seafarers union in its dispute with a Swedish labor group after five years of litigation, records showed.

The government offered yesterday protection to victims of atrocities and harassment from the New People’s Army (NPA) and their front party-list organizations to encourage them to come out and testify against these leftist groups. The same protection was offered to families of these victims.

LONDON – A British woman who claims she contracted cancer from hugging her father, who worked with asbestos, is suing the Ministry of Defence for 75,000 pounds ($146,000).

The chief of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration would rather quit than chicken out of imposing a higher pay for Filipino maids employed abroad.

MANILA, Philippines — The Supreme Court will be creating special courts to handle cases involving extrajudicial killings, Chief Justice Reynato Puno said.

Remittances from Filipino migrant workers coursed through banks rose 19 percent to $12.76 billion in 2006 from $10.69 billion in 2005, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas reported yesterday.

Twelve of the 17 members of the Philippine team won medals in the recently concluded 3rd International Mathematics and Science Olympiad held in Jakarta.

The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) has opposed a proposed measure that seeks to require nurses who graduated from government-subsidized schools to perform two years of compulsory services in the country before they can work abroad.

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There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.