We received quite a number of letters from readers commenting on the topic of the last column. So while the iron is still hot, let’s strike with a few of them. Read on.

MANILA – The People Management Association of the Philippines (PMAP) on Wednesday said the Philippines may not yet be ready for ASEAN integration in 2015, but Filipino workers are.

We stand strongly behind the House Bills we filed thus far namely: the OFW Travel Protection Act, The OFW Family Help Desks Act, The Creation Of An OFW Hospital, The Surrogate Parents of OFWs Act, The Educational Scholarship for Dependents of OFWs Act, The Hatid Saya for OFWs Act, The OFW Premium Benefits Act, The…

This publication was resulted from analysis of four regional research conducted under the USAID funded Program called IKAT US Component 1. This e-publication highlighted the significance of women’s representation in the parliament, state’s political system and women’s representation, patriarchal system and barriers to women political participation, women’s movement for political affirmation and challenges to women’s…

Trade officials want fiscal incentives rationalized The Department of Trade and Industry wants to further thresh out the details of the proposed rationalization of tax incentives as it sought to ensure better transparency in the accounting, reporting and granting of fiscal perks to investors.

An overhaul of the country’s entire tax structure may be overdue, according to Finance Secretary Cesar V. Purisima. This comes as authorities struggle to meet monthly revenue targets due to established leakages that promote inequity by sourcing most of the state’s money from fixed salary earners.

MANILA, Philippines – Some 600 million people stand to gain from the ASEAN Economic integration in 2015, a joint study of the International Labour Organization (ILO) and Asian Development Bank showed.The study stated that the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) offers “major employment, wage and productivity benefits if decisively managed.”

Report sees reduction in gov’t desire to invigorate economy The 2016 presidential election season may have inadvertently come early for the Philippines, putting President Aquino’s remaining reform agenda at “serious” risk, according to New York-based think tank Global Source.

An official of the Philippine College of Physicians (PCP) has underscored the need to enhance the Filipinos’ “health literacy” to improve the dismal health condition in the country.

The traffic nightmare in Metro Manila will not just go away as long as different government instrumentalities do not get their act together. The House joint committees on Transportation and Metro Manila Development the other day approved a draft resolution urging the city of Manila to implement a three-month moratorium on the truck ban in…

2014 jobs target to be attained by end-September Employment in the information technology-business process management (IT-BPM) industry has already hit the one million mark, or 1 percent of the population, as more and more foreign firms outsource work in the Philippines.

MANILA – The already long lines at the MRT3 during the morning rush have gotten longer after the government imposed a speed limit on its trains. At around 8:30 a.m., the queue of commuters waiting to enter the North Avenue station has reached all the way down to the street level of Edsa.

DAVAO CITY , Philippines – The Bureau of Immigration released on Friday 49 foreign workers of a P25-billion coal-fired power plant in this city who were earlier detained for lack of working permits.

MANILA, Philippines – Top Japanese automakers in the Philippines are threatening to shift production to cheaper Southeast Asian countries as the government drags its feet on a plan to rebuild its shrinking car manufacturing industry.

MANILA, Philippines – Hydropower opportunities in the Philippines are overflowing with potential, but so far have failed to wash away the country’s energy woes.

Further to my column of August 15th, I find it difficult to believe what Jochelle Mendonca of India’s Economic Times (ET) said that BPOs are moving back to India. She went further and noted that “pure voice is out of fashion.”

The Asian Development Bank has released a report, produced under the responsibility of its new chief economist, which takes issue with using the World Bank’s US$1.25 a day definition of the extreme poverty threshold for estimating the number of poor in Asia and the Pacific and for designing policy responses.

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine economy seems headed for long-term growth with the possibility of expanding beyond 7.2 percent even in the absence of election-related spending, the Department of Finance said.

MANILA, Philippines – The Court of Appeals (CA) has affirmed the dismissal of over 200 employees by Coca-Cola Bottlers Philippines in 2009, and absolved the firm from allegations of unfair labor practices.

The number of people living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) in the Philippines is projected to hit 32,379 by the end of 2014, according to the Department of Health (DOH).

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MANILA, Philippines—The Philippines has the lowest Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) among the countries in Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), according to 2014 United Nations Human Development Report released Wednesday.

Finance Undersecretary Gil S. Beltran on Wednesday disputed a report by Standard Chartered Bank claiming the government’s target of 7-percent to 8-percent growth in terms of the gross domestic product (GDP) was “ambitious.” He asserted that growth arises from new capital investment and increases in productive efficiency, and therefore “growth in GDP can thus potentially…

The traffic nightmare in Metro Manila will not just go away as long as different government instrumentalities do not get their act together. The House joint committees on Transportation and Metro Manila Development the other day approved a draft resolution urging the city of Manila to implement a three-month moratorium on the truck ban in…

A person may have rights under our laws. But like all rights, they have limitations. So if one goes beyond these limitations he/she may be held liable for damages as demonstrated in this case of Karen.

The last time I asked DOTC Sec. Jun Abaya when government plans to complete the buyout of the private owners of MRT 3, he texted back: “we are awaiting DOF on the buyout. Hope we can execute within the year.”

MANILA, Philippines — By the end of 2014, the number of people living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) in the Philippines is projected to hit 32,379, according to the Department of Health.

MANILA, Philippines – Unemployed Filipinos increased by 300,000 in the second quarter of this year even as optimism on job availability fell by 10 points in the same period, the Social Weather Stations (SWS) said in its recent survey.

Inflation expected to remain within target MANILA, Philippines – While commodity prices are rising due in large part to congestion in roads and key ports in Metro Manila, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said the full-year average inflation will remain within the government’s target.