MANILA, Philippines – State-run Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) ranked as the top think tank in Southeast Asia and remains one of the best in the world, according to the 2013 Global Go Think Tank Report released by the Think Tanks and Civil Societies Program (TTCSP) of the University of Pennsylvania.

The 85 richest people in the world have as much wealth as the 3.5 billion poorest persons in the world. It’s hard to choose a single appropriate adjective for this statistic – depressing, frustrating, incredulous, and startling. And what would be the public reaction? It has ranged from anger at such inequality, to cynicism with…

HONG KONG — Working long hours away from home for low pay and little time off, life is tough for foreign domestic workers in Hong Kong, but for some the city has brought sexual liberation unheard of in their home countries.

If the many countries that upholds the sacredness of human life and protects the right to life. In fact according to Pope Francis, “the right to life is the first among human rights.” Actually, in this jurisdiction, the right to life is not merely a moral but a legal principle well enshrined in our Constitution…

THE number of unemployed and underemployed youth in the country has become a “growing epidemic” and the government should immediately address this problem if it hopes to fulfill its vision of inclusive growth, Sen. Paolo Benigno Aquino said in a Senate hearing on Thursday.

MANILA, Philippines (Xinhua) – Ensuring women’s access to family planning education and services will slash high maternal mortality incidence and sustain the gains achieved in promoting maternal health in developing Asia, health experts said.

Thousands of Filipinos were killed and millions worth of properties were destroyed when storm surges brought by super typhoon Yolanda surprised the residents of Eastern Visayas in November.

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MANILA, Philippines – A total of 358 new HIV infections were recorded last month, bringing to almost 5,000 the number of cases for 2013, the Department of Health (DOH) reported yesterday.

MANILA, Philippines—There were 358 new cases of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), which could lead to the fatal acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), reported in December 2013, according to the Department of Health (DOH).

WASHINGTON—The International Monetary Fund said Tuesday that there was no panic in emerging markets even as countries like India, Turkey and Argentina were facing sharp capital outflows and currency pressures.

MANILA, Philippines – Catholic bishops depicted yesterday poverty in the Philippines as a “social scandal.” In the pastoral letter “To Bring Glad Tidings to the Poor,” the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) asked Filipino Catholics to be more sensitive to the plight of the poor.

MANILA, Jan. 28 (Xinhua) — Investing in the youth’s sexual and reproductive health is the key to stemming some of developing Asia ‘s major health challenges increasing HIV infections and maternal deaths.

President Obama’s State of the Union address tonight is expected to include a push to increase the minimum wage. A lot of companies that rely on low-wage workers are worried about that. It’s obvious to them that paying employees more will result in some combination of three outcomes: (a) profits will suffer as the wage…

Being likeable will help you in your job, business, relationships, and life. I interviewed dozens of successful business leaders in my last book, Likeable Business, to determine what made them so likeable and their companies so successful. All of the concepts are simple, and yet, perhaps in the name of revenues or the bottom line,…

MANILA, Philippines – Global research and consultancy firm Oxford Business Group said the growth in foreign direct investments (FDI) is expected to continue in the Philippines in 2014.

MANILA, Philippines – The satisfaction ratings of top government officials and institutions dropped in the last quarter of 2013, according to the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey.

The Department of Labor and Employment in Negros Oriental yesterday reported a low turnout in the registration of “kasambahays”, or domestic helpers, and employers, that was held at the Quezon Park in Dumaguete City Sunday.

FIVE Philippine hotels and resorts were recognized as “Asean Green Hotels” at the just-concluded Asean Tourism Forum (ATF) in the City of Kuching, Sarawak state, Malaysia.

I was invited recently by Sam Chittick of the Australian Embassy to speak to a group of expats and locals, all of whom are engaged in providing assistance to this country. The invitation immediately evoked memories of Australia. I visited Melbourne/Sydney for the first time in the early Sixties and met Donald Horne, who authored…

Victory Liner offers access to northern festivals and tourist attractions MANILA, Philippines – Travelers limited to weekend getaways and short vacations can experience exotic fun with less than 24 hours on hand by going north of Manila. Colorful and quirky celebrations that don’t require long travel time include the festivals of Bulacan, Pampanga, Zambales, Isabela,…

JP Morgan expert takes contrary view to market consensus Philippine equity prices can rise by about 20 percent this year in line with much brighter prospects for emerging markets across the globe, an investment expert from JP Morgan Securities said.

THE Philippines will have a better chance of achieving inclusive economic growth if the manufacturing sector would strengthen further, the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) said.

Below is the full text of the pastoral exhortation of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines after its bi-annual plenary assembly from January 25 to 27. This copy comes from the website of the CBCP. A story on this also appears on Rappler.

MANILA – The number of distressed overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who have been sent home and had their cases resolved increased in 2013.

Manila has emerged as the best call center hub in the world, thanks to the large pool of Filipino talents delivering and receiving voice calls to and from different countries. Call center executives say the country will likely keep its status as number one in the world for voice calls, even as it strives to…

IN a hearing held by the evidently very annoyed House Committee on Energy on Wednesday, Meralco admitted that they not only instructed their power supply partner, the Aboitiz-held Therma Mobile (TMO), to offer some of its electricity at the highest allowable rate of P62/kilowatt-hour on the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM), but that Meralco purchased…

WASHINGTON – The Philippines retained its status for the fourth straight year as a “partly free” country but was a standout among Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) members in a survey of political rights and civil liberties in 195 nations conducted by Freedom House.

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine economy is expected to slow down this year to 6.7 percent from 7.2 percent in 2013, due to modest growth in consumer spending as government projects have yet to fully take off, a Standard Chartered Bank official said.

Planning to quit your job this year? CareerBuilder asked 3,008 workers that very question–and found out who is most likely to change jobs in 2014, what employees value most in the workplace, and what ultimately entices them to stay.