“Documento, por favor?” “Andrea,” an undocumented migrant worker in Barcelona, runs into five police officers who are doing their random inspection inside a train bound to Puigcerda, Catalonia.

DAVAO CITY, Philippines – The AboitizPower Corp., through its subsidiary, the Therma South, has suspended the work of a contractor of a 645-megawatt coal-fired plant here following an accident this week that caused the death of a Chinese worker at the project site.

AS the members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) brace for the unification of the regional markets next year, the Philippines has already displayed its preparedness toward Asean 2015, according to Dr. Veronica Caparas of Asian Institute of Management.

The government will put more teeth on initiatives, including education drives and linking small- and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) to trade chains, to make free trade agreement (FTA) benefits trickle down to the grassroots, an official said Tuesday night.

Minimum wage workers in the private sector in Metro Manila are due an increase of P15 this month in their basic pay, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) said. The minimum daily wage in the National Capital Region for non-agricultural workers now stands at P466.00. For other private sector works, the minimum wage is…

MANILA, Philippines – All motorists understand that a good map is worth its weight in gold, especially if you are navigating in difficult conditions. In this age of GPS or global positioning system, charting one’s course has never been easier. Are you doing the same with your money?

Most managers accept that employers benefit from a diverse workforce, but the notion can be hard to prove or quantify, especially when it comes to measuring how diversity affects a firm’s ability to innovate.

PINILI, Ilocos Norte, Jan. 8 (PIA) – State agencies have started to train their attention on eliminating child labor in the Philippines after a national survey showed rising incidence of child labor since 2011.

QUEZON CITY, Jan. 7 (PIA) – The Philippines notched among the highest usage of ASEAN trade deals in the region, according to experts, urging Asian neighbors to adopt the country’s outreach campaigns to help more businesses reap integration gains.

MANILA — Health Secretary Dr. Enrique Ona on Monday said that the number of indigent families enrolled under the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) is now at 13.7 million.

MANILA – Responding to the clamor of Yolanda survivors for decent jobs that could help them rebuild their lives, licensed Philippine recruitment agencies have organized a massive job fair in Tacloban on 21-22 January 2014, according to their news release

Philippine inflation jumped its highest in two years as all commodity groups tracked by the National Statistics Office registered higher annual increases, except communication, recreation and culture, and education.

MANILA, Philippines – With the Philippine population predicted to hit 100 million this year, President Benigno Aquino III made another push for the stalled reproductive health law, saying responsible parenthood is all the more important.

As we bid farewell to year 2013, let us all welcome and be ready for the challenges year 2014 will bring. One of these is the increase in the mandatory SSS and PhilHealth contributions of both the employee and the employer. Indeed, starting January 2014, higher rates will be imposed on the SSS and PhilHealth…

A global retirement crisis is bearing down on workers of all ages. It will play out for decades, and its consequences will be far-reaching. Many people will be forced to work well past the traditional retirement age of 65. Living standards will fall and poverty rates will rise for the elderly in wealthy countries that…

MANILA — Health Secretary Dr. Enrique Ona on Monday said that the number of indigent families enrolled under the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) is now at 13.7 million.

MANILA, Philippines – Malacañang said yesterday a growing population presents both a challenge and an opportunity for the country even as it stressed that measures are in place to ensure that everyone would benefit from economic growth.

Energy Secretary Jericho Petilla says he is confident there will be no summer power blackouts. I can understand why Petilla must say that but I hope he is intelligent enough not to believe it. Given the uncertainty in the power industry today, the opposite has a greater chance of happening.

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MANILA – There is a slight increase in the number of borrowers who have missed out on payments for car and housing loans, an economist said on Monday.

MANILA – Remittances from overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) have allowed households to save money, boosting the country’s savings rate, according to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).

MANILA – Power plant operators bucked the government’s plan to secure backup electricity whenever their facility shuts down, saying this would jack up their costs. Luis Miguel O. Aboitiz, Philippine Independent Power Producers Association president, said the government’s proposal would require regulators to go through each power supply contract that plant operators signed with distribution…

Despite inflation concerns, Bangko Sentral likely to maintain key interest rates Economic growth is seen to slow down to 6.1 percent this year, from the estimated 6.9 percent in 2013, partly due to the devastation caused by Supertyphoon “Yolanda” and the possible decline in consumption in view of the rise in inflation, Ayala-led Bank of…

(First of two parts) The so-called Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM)—from which Meralco bought 9.5 percent of its power at an unbelievable P33/kwh price in November, resulting in a 20 percent to 25 percent spike in consumers’ electricity bills for December—is a farce.

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines may now be an attractive destination for investors to set up production facilities due to its positive economic performance, but it still needs to do more to strengthen the manufacturing sector to create more jobs and achieve inclusive growth.

Industry group Philippine Independent Power Producers Association, Inc. has denied collusion in the shutdown of power plants that led to a power rate hike. “There are buyers and there are sellers, right? Obviously, the buyers benefited, the sellers lost out,” PIPPA president Luis Miguel Aboitiz said in a “24 Oras” report aired Friday evening.

A United Nation’s agency warns that more than three million women and girls of reproductive age could face risky deliveries in typhoon-affected areas of the Philippines since the storm destroyed many health facilities that provide much-needed pre- and post-natal care.

MANILA, Philippines – The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) is “a little concerned” as more and more higher education institutions (HEIs) express their intention to synchronize their academic calendars with the rest of the world. At first, CHED Chairperson Dr Patricia Licuanan found it all right when the University of the Philippines (UP) system and…