ZAMBOANGA CITY (Mindanao Examiner / Sept. 12, 2012) – The Human Development Empowerment Services (HDES) In Zamboanga City in the southern Philippines has recorded 47 cases of the dreaded human immunodeficiency virus-acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV-AIDS) since early this year.

The sale of imported mercury-laced skin whitening products in the domestic market continues notwithstanding efforts to have them removed for consumers’ health and safety, a toxics watchdog pointed out.

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The Commission on Elections (Comelec) released on Tuesday the guidelines on the filing of certificates of candidacies (COC) for the May 2013 midterm polls. The Comelec said the filing of COCs will be from October 1 to 5 from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and that there will be no extension. The Comelec will release…

MANILA, Philippines – Vehicle sales of local car assemblers went down slightly in August from a year ago with monsoons and heavy floods last month leading to fewer working days. In a statement yesterday, the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines, Inc. (CAMPI) said total industry sales reached 11,351 units in August, lower than…

MANILA, Philippines – Breastfeeding advocates have expressed support for recent congressional moves to strengthen the Milk Code to enhance efforts on empowering women and address problems of malnutrition among infants and young children.

MANILA, Philippines – Nearly 300 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) fleeing the violence in Syria returned home yesterday in the biggest single repatriation effort negotiated between the two governments. The repatriates arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) terminal in two batches on chartered flights paid for by the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

MANILA, Philippines – The Commission on Elections (Comelec) said yesterday that some party-list groups seeking to participate in the May 2013 midterm polls have nominees who are relatives. Comelec Chairman Sixto Brillantes said that after reviewing the track records and background of party-list nominees, they found out that three to five groups have nominees belonging…

MANILA, Philippines – Soon height won’t be a cause for concern for Filipinos who want to join the uniformed services. This as the House of Representatives passed on second reading House Bill 6203, which seeks to remove the height requirements for applicants of the Philippine National Police (PNP), the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) and…

MANILA, Philippines (Xinhua) — The Philippine call center industry is confident that business will remain brisk even if the stronger peso threatens to cut its profit margin.

CALL CENTERS may hike prices of their services if the peso continues to strengthen, industry officials yesterday said. “When the peso is strong, the industry is being hurt because our billing rate is in US dollars,” said Jojo J. Uligan, executive director of the Contact Center Association of the Philippines (CCAP) at the sidelines of…

More needs to be done to protect workers’ safety and health, the ILO says, as Pakistan mourns the deaths of hundreds of workers in a garment factory fire in Karachi. ‘Decent Work must be safe work for all,’ said Seiji Machida, Head of ILO’s SafeWork Programme GENEVA (ILO News) – The International Labour Organization (ILO)…

MANILA, Philippines – Two of the several contentious aspects of the Aquino government’s policy on the mining industry have yet to be finalized after the mining council released the rules and regulations on Tuesday, September 11.

The Philippines appears to be moving at a snail’s pace compared with its neighbors in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) as the region nears the 2015 deadline for economic integration.

Banana workers who say they were injured from harmful pesticides while working for the company signed a release agreeing not to sue Dole again for their injuries.

MANILA, Philippines – The peso reached a new four-year high yesterday as high corporate demand and suspicion that US monetary authorities will provide new stimulus to the economy this week drove investors away from the greenback.

From 2000 to 2010, the household population in the Philippine has recorded an increase of 15.8 million persons, or 20.7 percent, according to the results of the 2010 Census of Population and Housing conducted by the National Statistics Office (NSO). However, household size has somewhat contracted with an average 4.6 members from 5.0 persons per…

Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) director Leo Jasareno in phone interview said that the implementing rules and regulations of Executive Order 79 or the mining policy “defined and made clear” areas that will be banned for mining. These areas include prime agricultural lands and island ecosystems.

The National Economic and Development Authority is saying that the Philippine economy is becoming less dependent on remittances from overseas Filipino workers in the past three years. Rosemarie Edillon, NEDA National Planning and Policy Staff director, said that the Philippines’ net primary income, or the difference between the money received abroad and the money paid…

What drives people to migrate to other countries? What makes a Filipino want to pull up stakes in his homeland and transport his whole family or his own future to a new life in another country? What overriding consideration makes him decide to seek a temporary job abroad as an OFW (overseas Filipino worker)?

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines has joined Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam in adopting of the ASEAN Corporate Governance Scorecard through the Institute of Corporate Directors (ICD).

The head of the ILO’s Employment sector outlines the ILO’s vision for investment in young people in order to tackle the world-wide youth unemployment crisis. “We must urgently invest in youth opportunities, (…)policies and interventions can make a great difference.” J.M. Salazar-Xirinachs

WASHINGTON – There’s enough wind to power the world many times over, according to a study out Monday, but it would take a massive infrastructure investment to harness it that analysts say is not realistic. As the world seeks to lessen its reliance on fossil fuels like coal and natural gas, renewable energy sources like…

FOURTEEN YEARS ago, the Philippines acted boldly, embracing oil industry deregulation and bidding goodbye to the oil regulated regime. Overwhelming evidence supports the view that oil deregulation works, that local pump prices behave in sync with world prices, and that oil firms’ profits are reasonable. Reverting to the old, unjust (oil companies made huge profits…

MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) – University of the Philippines (UP) Diliman and 3 other top educational institutions in the country fell in the 2012 World University Rankings list published Tuesday by education and career network Quacquarelli Symonds.

PARIS – The unemployment rate in advanced countries edged up to 8.0 percent in July from 7.9 percent in June, with young people in the front line of the jobless queues, the OECD said on Tuesday. This meant that in the OECD area, 47.9 million people were ranked as unemployed, an increase of 13.1 million…

Jiabao: “Fast growth and low fluctuation was the most salient feature of China’s economic growth” China’s Premier, Wen Jiabao, has told the World Economic Forum in Tianjin that his country is on track to hit growth targets for this year. He also called on international leaders to strengthen co-ordination and oppose trade protectionism during the…

THE GOVERNMENT yesterday released long-awaited rules for the implementation of its new mining policy which specifies, among others, areas closed to miners and guidelines for the regulation of small-scale operations. Philex Mining faces penalty for Padcal spillAustralian firm gets green light for Philippine minesMining policy rules finalized this weekCGA Mining earnings drop by 90.8%Mining industry…

MANILA, Philippines — The 7.8 percent growth in exports in July was a lot better than the 4.3 percent growth in June, but exporters said the growth still fell short of its 10 percent growth target for the year. Unless exports will grow by an average of 11 to 11.5 percent for the next five…

MANILA – Asean market integration by 2015 would likely be a challenge for the Philippines, as Manila appears to be more “wobbly” now than eight years ago compared with its neighbors in the region, the former secretary-general of the National Statistical Coordination Board said on Tuesday.