MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine economy posted a 5.9% GDP growth in the second quarter, one of the highest growth rates in Southeast Asia, but IBON Foundation executive director Sonny Africa says the growth is still not being felt by most Filipinos. “It’s always good to watch the numbers but we have to ask :…

MANILA, Philippines – Even with high economic growth, the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) said the Philippines still has a long way to achieving a significant reduction in poverty. Neda Director General Arsenio M. Balisacan told reporters the recent second quarter growth of 5.9% and first semester growth of 6.1% is not an assurance…

MANILA, Philippines – 29-year-old Joey Santos is a veteran DJ in the Manila. He started his own music studio when he was 21 but had to work 3 jobs to support himself and his music. In recent years, his studio’s business picked up. He was able to quit his office job and pursue music full…

MANILA, Philippines (Xinhua) – The Philippine government will not revise its growth target of 5-6 percent for 2012 despite the slower on-year economic growth in the second quarter, a senior government official said today.

THE ECONOMY grew by 5.9% in the second quarter, at par with market expectations, the government yesterday reported, citing construction activities and state spending as the main drivers. Gross domestic product (GDP) growth — just a shade higher than the 5.86% median forecast in a BusinessWorld poll of economists — was slower than the previous…

The Philippine economy grew at a slower pace of 5.9 percent in the second quarter of the year, although the growth was still above analysts’ average forecast of 5.3 percent and the Southeast Asian average of 4.7 percent. With the second-quarter result, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan said on Thursday that the country is…

The Philippine government is hoping that no Filipino domestic worker will be abused by 2016, Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz told GMA News Online on Wednesday.

(Reuters) – A growing number of U.S. companies plan to shift some operations from China to Southeast Asia in the next two years as confidence in countries such as the Philippines improves, a survey by the American Chamber of Commerce in Singapore showed.

BACOLOD CITY, Aug. 28 (PIA) – Some 400 labor leaders, youth, and women members representing 50 unions from Mindanao, Visayas, and Luzon and 200 Bacolod-Negros members of the BDO Employees Association (BDOEA-NUBE), in separate meetings here called for decent work, equitable growth, protection and creation of employment, respect for the freedom to join unions of…

MANILA, Philippines – The service-driven Philippine economy has benefitted the country with jobs and huge remittances but development of other sectors is vital to achieve sustainable and inclusive growth, central bank officials said.

The National Competitiveness Council (NCC) is involving the private sector and civil society in formulating and monitoring budgets of localities and national government offices as part of the administration’s goal of improving fiscal transparency and accountability.

PUBLIC SPENDING should remain strong in the second semester as the government undertakes reconstruction efforts following recent calamities, a Cabinet official said.

MANILA, Philippines – Inspite of its huge funding, natural family planning (NFP), the only birth control method implemented by the previous administration, rose to only a few points, according to the non-government Likhaan Center for Women’s Health.

The Philippine growth probably eased from the fastest pace since 2010 as the faltering global recovery damps demand for Filipino workers and exports.

A prominent Catholic educators’ group on Wednesday said it is open to “rational, deliberate and conscientious” views of objectors in the academe to the Catholic Church stand on reproductive health (RH).

MANILA, Philippines – A total of 278 new human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) cases were diagnosed in the country in July, up 36 percent compared to the 204 reported in the same month of 2011, a member of Congress said Wednesday.

MANILA, Philippines – The Asian Development Bank (ADB) said the Philippine banking system and other Asian banks are well shielded against the possibility of another global financial crisis.

MANILA – The local healthcare information management outsourcing sector expects its workforce to almost double this year as it continues to attract unemployed nurses. According to the Healthcare Information Management Outsourcing Association of the Philippines, the number of nurses hired by its member-firms would surge to 43,000 by yearend from 24,700 last year.

MANILA, Philippines – The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) has reported a decrease in the total number of extra-judicial killings, enforced disappearances and torture in 2011 with 132 incidents and 215 victims, compared to the 183 incidents and 408 victims recorded in 2010.

An Indian outsourcing company is bringing 1,000 call center jobs to Texas. Matthew Zeitlin looks at why insourcing is replacing outsourcing. There is perhaps no better symbol of the globalization of the service economy than a customer service call from the United States that gets answered in India or the Philippines. NBC even managed to…

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MANILA, Philippines – Senators Francis Escudero and Loren Legarda remain as the most popular senatorial candidates in the 2013 midterm elections, based on a recent survey conducted by Pulse Asia. The survey, conducted last July 27 to 30 in Metro Manila, showed that the preferences of the voters were split between the Liberal Party (LP)-led…

Geoffrey Newton had always prided himself on his DIY skills. Even aged 81, he was fitting a new kitchen and bathroom in his home. ‘Over the years he’d done everything from building a boat to converting an old school house into our home,’ says his wife Pat, 82, a former GP. ‘He was brilliant at…

THE FINANCIAL literacy of Filipinos has improved significantly, Citi said, with the country notching a record high in the bank’s Financial Quotient Survey last year. The Philippines scored 52.6 points out of a possible 100 in the poll, conducted late 2011 and released yesterday. This is the country’s first time to breach the halfway mark…

The Philippine economy may grow at a faster clip of about 5 percent in 2012 from 3.7 percent in 2011. It all hangs on how decisively and quickly the government can spur investments with a little help from consumers and private investors.

MANILA – More Filipinos feel they are money-smart, said multinational bank Citi on Tuesday. Citing its latest Financial Quotient Survey, Citi said Filipino respondents garnered a score of 52.6 out of 100 points, the first time they scored past the 50-point mark since the survey was launched in 2007.

The New York Times in a post on Monday said the Philippines is poised to be an ‘economic bright spot in Asia’, citing a young, growing population and improvements in governance and efficiencies as forces driving growth amid a backdrop of tentativeness in the rest of the world.

IMPORTS EXPANDED anew in June, recording the fastest growth pace in 10 months following an electronics shipments rebound and a transport equipment surge, the government yesterday reported.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas is concerned about the growing protectionism in many advanced economies, particularly on employment in the services sector, describing it as a threat on investments in the country’s business process outsourcing sector.

Out of 171 territories surveyed by the Ocean Health Index, the Philippines ranked 105th among the world’s most deteriorated marine ecosystem, Sen. Loren Legarda said yesterday. Legarda, who heads the Senate Committee on Climate Change, said the Ocean Health Index “is a new kind of yardstick” that measures how the world’s oceans can continue to…