DUBAI – The Philippine Consulate is urging overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) victimized by unscrupulous immigration officers in Philippine airports to file a complaint, vowing support and willingness to seek help from the Philippine National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) against these erring state employees.

The truck ban imposed in the city of Manila and a slowing world economy will likely dampen the country’s exports growth in the second half of 2014, thus, diminishing the export sector’s contribution to economic expansion for the year, local economists said.

Reader reaction to my piece last week (July 2, 2014) on Balamban, Cebu chronicling the town’s economic success as host to foreign direct investment (FDI) has been viral and approving. It reflects the nation’s thirst for good examples of development.

Public satisfaction with the government’s performance in the first quarter of 2014 fell to its lowest since May 2012, a new survey by pollster Social Weather Stations showed. SWS, which posted the results on its media partner BusinessWorld Tuesday night, said this was the lowest since the +44 net satisfaction score it got in May…

Republic Act 7916 (PEZA Law), otherwise known as the “The Special Economic Zone Act of 1995” was enacted as a means of attracting investors in the Philippines. Among its provisions is a tax incentive which grants to business establishments registered with the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA), a five-percent preferential gross income tax (GIT) rate…

MANILA, Philippines – At least 787 Filipinos are facing drug-related cases worldwide, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said yesterday. Most of the cases are in Asia at 343, including 220 (59 males, 161 females) in China. There are 116 cases in the Americas, 104 in Europe and 244 in the Middle East and Africa.

THE CLOCK is ticking for a landmark global move to cut poverty and improve the lot of the world’s poorest, and while some targets have been achieved, much remains to be done until the concerted effort formally ends next year, according to the latest assessment the United Nations (UN) released on Monday.

The Chamber of Mines of the Philippines (COMP) has expressed dismay over that the Mining Industry Coordinating Council (MICC) is going ahead with proposed tax hikes “without taking into consideration comments and observations by authoritative third parties.”

UNLESS President Aquino intervenes, a crisis involving empty container vans could reach its tipping point very soon, and this could hurt the Philippine economy. This fear was raised after the Manila International Container Terminal (MICT) issued a circular stating that it would no longer accept “empty containers for export, due to yard utilization reaching 100…

Filipinos tend to be conservative when it comes to investing, as most still prefer to keep their income in cash rather than take risks in different investment instruments.

MANILA, Philippines – Japanese businessmen in the Philippines are opposing a circular issued by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) which provides the rules for filing of tax refunds as well as moves of local governments to impose additional taxes citing that such may deter foreign investments.

MANILA, Philippines – No matter how prosperous the Philippine economy becomes, the country will still experience the “jobless growth” phenomenon of high unemployment and poverty levels, unless the full potential of the manufacturing sector is developed.

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines can expect a “tsunami” (tidal wave) invasion of foreign brands that will come with the formal integration of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) into a single common market or Economic Community of 600 million consumers later next year.

MORE THAN 70% of smartphone users in the country last year are from the youth segment, driving the uptake of Internet browsing, social networking and short message service (SMS), data from communications technology and services provider Ericsson showed.

For some students of the University of the Philippines, the unexpected long vacation was the biggest boon resulting from the sudden change in the school calendar, from June to March of previous years, to this schoolyear’s August to May time frame.

AIX-EN-PROVENCE, France — Global economic activity should strengthen in the second half of this year and accelerate in 2015 although momentum could be weaker than expected, IMF chief Christine Lagarde said on Sunday, adding that the Fund did not expect a sharp slowdown in China.

MANILA – In a move seen to benefit the country’s one million call-center workers, House Deputy Majority Leader and Makati City Rep. Mar-Len Abigail Binay proposes that all night-shift differential and overtime pay be free from income taxes.

PAGADIAN CITY (Mindanao Examiner / July 6, 2014) – Philippine authorities have renewed its commitment to respect and uphold human rights following a recent forum organized by Amnesty International in Pagadian City in the southern province of Zamboanga del Sur.

THE Philippine Stock Exchange Inc. (PSE) was included among the top 50 best performing publicly listed companies (PLCs) in the Philippines for the second straight year on the Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Countries) Corporate Governance Scorecard (ACGS) country reports and assessments 2013 and 2014.

LA PAZ — Bolivian lawmakers have approved child workers as young as 10 years old, under a new law that lays out specific conditions for employing children.

The Manila truck ban and port congestion hurt economic growth in the second quarter and the government should resolve the issue soon to attain its minimum growth target of 6.5 percent this year, a business group said Thursday.

Reports of employment agencies advertising Filipino household helpers or maids in malls at discounts in Singapore are appalling. Such agencies have low regard for household workers and Singapore should severely punish those responsible for treating them as commodities.

MANILA: The Philippine Supreme Court (SC) has affirmed the legality of the controversial reproductive health or birth control law as it rejected with finality the petitions of pro-life advocates to reconsider its decision.

TACLOBAN CITY, Leyte, July 3 (PIA) — The Department of Health (DOH) in coordination with the Philippine National AIDS Council urged the public especially those engaged in risky sexual behaviors to undergo HIV testing at the nearest Regional Health Facility.

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines should cope better than most its peers in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) in case of a significant downturn in Chinese economic activity, Moody’s Investors Service said in a report.

President Aquino should order the lifting of the truck ban in the City of Manila, which has contributed to the recent rise in consumer prices and has made it more expensive for businesses to operate in the country.

INFLATION surprisingly eased in June but the central bank may continue to tweak its policy with food prices expected to continue climbing. Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) data released on Friday showed consumer prices rising by 4.4% last month, slowing from 4.5% in May but accelerating from the 2.7% recorded a year earlier.

FISHERMEN, farmers and children remain the poorest of the basic — or disadvantaged — sectors of Philippine society, the state statistical office said on Friday. Using data from the Family Income and Expenditure Survey and Labor Force Survey, the Philippine Statistical Authority (PSA) said poverty among fishermen, farmers and children hit 39.2%, 38.3% and 35.2%,…

The Philippines, however, suspends the accreditation of one of the two Singaporean companies allegedly offering Filipino maids like ‘commodities’ MANILA, Philippines – Singapore downplayed a report that two Singaporean agencies offered Filipino maids at “discounted” rates, like commodities, as the Philippines suspended the accreditation of one of these companies.

SUPREME Court (SC) Senior Associate Justice Antonio T. Carpio on Thursday said President Aquino has made Congress “inutile” and a “surplusage” when it usurped its power of the purse to fund items not in the General Appropriations Act (GAA) under the so-called Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP).