ORIGINAL revenue and health targets under planned “sin” tax reforms should be restored, the Department of Finance (DoF) yesterday said, as it prepares to push amendments at the Senate where legislators have also come out to criticize a committee-sponsored measure. Palace to back changes to ‘sin’ tax billSenate ‘sin’ tax open to amendmentsAt odds over…

THE AQUINO ADMINISTRATION has issued an executive order establishing an educational and training system to address the jobs-skills mismatch in the country. DepEd pitches more support for classroomsDepEd taps Google for educators’ toolsTeaching Martial LawToshiba, Ayala Foundation support education projectDeal to settle DepEd arrears with GSIS Executive Order (EO) 83, which took effect yesterday, created…

ROME – One out of every eight people in the world is chronically undernourished, the United Nations’ food agencies said on Tuesday, warning that progress to reduce hunger has slowed since 2007/08 when high food prices sparked riots in several poor countries.

TACLOBAN CITY, Leyte, October 10 (PIA) – Teenage pregnancy has increased by 65 per cent over a 10-year period from 2000-2010 despite the decline in teen marriages. The issue will be highlighted during the observance of the International Day of the Girl Child on Thursday October 11. Lead organizations are the United Nations Population Fund…

The number of units of donated blood contaminated with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) rose by 18 percent this year, according to data from the latest Philippine HIV/AIDS Registry.

The Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (Philhealth) said over 2,000 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) have been found positive for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). In a news release, Philhealth said the 25 new cases detected in August brought to 2,010 the number of OFWs with HIV, which kills or damages the body’s immune system cells.

MANILA – The Genting Group of Hong Kong will hike its investments in the Philippines, which the company said has reached its “inflection point” amid government reforms, favorable macroeconomic fundamentals and a skilled labor force.

MANILA, Philippines – Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) founder Nur Misuari yesterday warned of possible unrest in Mindanao if the government pushes through with its Bangsamoro agreement with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

“The first victory of the people and of freedom of expression.” That was how Sen. Teofisto Guingona III described the Supreme Court’s issuance Tuesday of a temporary restraining order (TRO) suspending implementation of the Cybercrime Prevention Act for 120 days while the high tribunal decides whether the law violates civil liberties.

The world must make sure that girl children find their rightful places at home, school and, as they grow up, at work – on equal terms with boys. GENEVA (ILO News) – ILO Director-General Guy Ryder has called for a coherent set of measures to ensure that girl children around the world attain social justice…

MERCHANDISE exports took a dive in August — the weakest performance in eight months — weighed down by a strong peso and a sustained drop in outbound electronics shipments. Raw sugar exports mulledExports down by 9% in August’Sin’ tax bill criticizedCorn exports seen by yearendOutbound shipments pick up.

STANDARD & Poor’s (S&P) has hiked its Philippine growth forecasts for 2012 and 2013, but external threats may dent the country’s chances of getting an investment grade credit rating. The economy could grow by 4.9% this year and 5% next year, S&P yesterday said in a report, up from the 4.3% and 4.5%, respectively, that…

It’s more fun in the Philippines? A recent global study suggests otherwise, at least for people who have to live there. The country has a reputation as a happy place with friendly people, but the 2012 World Happiness Report ranks the country among the least happy, or 103rd out of 155 surveyed countries worldwide. The…

Foreign direct investment (FDI), the kind that stays for the long haul in the country and generates not just employment but taxes for the national coffers as well, almost doubled in the first seven months to $1.025 billion.

Ako Bicol Assails Comelec For Using Party-List As Test Case The Commission on Elections (Comelec) disqualified yesterday the Ako Bicol (AKB) party and 12 other party-list groups from participating in the May 2013 polls. Comelec Chairman Sixto Brillantes, in an interview, said they are denying the participation of AKB in next year’s polls mainly because…

Investors should double the amount of gold they hold as the value of paper currency diminishes along with the prospects for global economic growth, said a senior executive at Coutts, the private banking arm of Britain’s Royal Bank of Scotland.

The IMF prodded the world’s rich countries for swifter action on Thursday as Europe’s debt crisis drags on while the United States and Japan show scant progress handling their budget deficits.

BEIRUT — An official said Tuesday that an employee of Lebanon’s national airline MEA was fired after a passenger complained in a social media campaign that the worker humiliated travelers from the Philippines at the Beirut airport and told them over the loudspeaker, “Filipino people, stop talking.”

THE PHILIPPINES has garnered the standing as leader in the thriving BPO (business process outsourcing) sector. This steady route to progress has consequently provided for a substantial increase in employment opportunities for women workers. This has further shifted the paradigm of women’s role within the context of Philippine culture. The rise of the BPO has…

MANILA, Philippines – A slowdown in investments in China’s economy is seen to adversely affect exporters in Southeast Asia, including the Philippines, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

MANILA – Fitch Ratings on Tuesday said clinching peace in Mindanao may boost investments in the area, but warned that any lasting contribution to the Philippine economy would depend on addressing the “weak overall investment climate and low fiscal revenue base.”

MANILA, Philippines – A Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) official on Tuesday disclosed that they want a 75% share in the revenues that will be generated from the economic activities of the proposed Bangsamoro.

LOCAL output for the Philippines, measured as the gross domestic product this year and next, was seen flattening at 4.8 percent, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). In an originally embargoed statement, the IMF said growth for the $225-billion economy would prove flattish for 2012 and 2013 as the global economy succumbs to weaker-than-expected…

THE INTERNATIONAL Monetary Fund (IMF) has maintained its 2012 growth forecast for the Philippines amid a deteriorating global economic environment, choosing not to follow upgrades announced by two other multilateral lenders.

THE INTERNATIONAL Monetary Fund (IMF) announced that it is cutting its global economic forecasts once more. The IMF called the risks of a slowdown “alarmingly high,” primarily because of policy uncertainty in the United States and Europe. The IMF staff’s Global Projection Model (GPM) estimates suggest, that in 2013, recession probabilities are about 15% in…

The National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) is upbeat on the country’s economic prospects in the years ahead, expecting the Philippines to scale even greater heights.

The IMF said the eurozone crisis was the main cause of instability in the global financial system Continue reading the main story Risks to global financial stability have increased in the past six months despite efforts by policymakers to make the financial system safer, according to the International Monetary Fund.

PRESIDENT Aquino was asked on Monday to explain and account for the P3.77 billion of conditional cash-transfer (CCT) funds which government auditors found to be missing or unaccounted for in 2011.

The commitment of the Asian Development Bank to provide up to $1.8 billion until 2015 to help the Philippines achieve its development goals speaks highly of the success so far of the government initiatives to reduce poverty.

MANILA, Philippines – Step aside economic powerhouses of the past, and get ready to share the spotlight. In a special report, business news site Market Watch christened the Philippines and Indonesia as “the new tigers” or economies that have been overlooked in the past and are now “poised to drive future growth and grab more…