We have indeed reached one of the most crucial stages of our life as a nation. We are facing a vital crossroad that will determine the kind of society we will have in the future. And this will depend on whether this administration will decide to take the road towards the culture of death or…

MANILA, Philippines – Rates charged by the Manila Electric Co. are the second highest in Asia and the ninth worldwide – largely due to the high cost of power generation, a study commissioned by the country’s leading power distributor showed.

Recent clashes between the military and the purported Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) breakaway group the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) in the sourthern parts of Mindanao had displaced up to 45,000 people, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reported yesterday.

Personal remittances from overseas Filipinos workers (OFWs) reached $11.3 billion for the first six months of 2012, up 5.3 percent from the figure registered for the same period last year, data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) revealed. Remittances from overseas Filipinos sent for June 2012 alone totaled $

The uncertain global economic environment has hurt demand for Chinese goods Continue reading the main story China’s Premier Wen Jiabao has warned that the country’s economy is under pressure and that it is facing problems that may last for some time.

The first seven months saw portfolio inflows, also known as “hot” money, slowing down by 31 percent to only $1.833 billion versus year-ago inflows of $2.666 billion.

AN AUCTION for a second public-private partnership (PPP) project has been deemed a success by the government, which yesterday named two groups as the winners of contracts to build classrooms in three Luzon regions.

MANILA, Philippines – The chief of staff of Sen Vicente “Tito” Sotto III finally admitted that parts of his speech against the RH bill on Wednesday, August 15, were copied from a blog by a foreign author who calls herself the “Healthy Home Economist.”

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines dropped four places in terms of its overall innovation performance in a global survey amid lack of policies to encourage innovation and low spending for education and research.

MANILA, Philippines – The International Monetary Fund (IMF) will look into the country’s progress on the fiscal and monetary side and assess the two-year old Aquino administration through a short staff visit, which will commence today.

MANILA, Philippines – The principal authors of the Reproductive Health (RH) bill have proposed at least 10 major amendments to the controversial measure in a bid to soften opposition to it and ensure its final approval in the House of Representatives in the coming weeks.

MANILA, Philippines – Thousands of jobs await Filipino fishermen in Taiwan, job recruitment industry officials reported yesterday.

The government has been urged yesterday to put into productive use coconut levy funds invested in some government corporations, including in the food and beverage giant San Miguel Corp. (SMC) which had accumulated to some P130 billion by putting these into a trust fund for relending to develop the coun-try’s antiquated infrastructure.

SINGAPORE—Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan and South Korea are projected to be the world’s richest economies on a per capita basis by 2050 as the region’s rapid growth boosts wealth creation, a study showed.

BAGUIO CITY, Philippines – The bodies of two small-scale miners were dug up from a landslide that struck a gold-rush site at the boundary of this city and Tuba town in Benguet yesterday morning. The bodies of Elmer Domines, 42, and Jonafe Pandosen, 61, were retrieved at around noontime yesterday.

President Benigno Aquino wants more evidence before supporting the Enrile-Belmonte initiative to amend the restrictive economic provisions of the Constitution. In several columns, I have presented the case for these amendments.

The Philippines can achieve a five to six percent nominal gross domestic product (GDP) growth by end of 2012 and six to seven percent by 2013, the Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) predicted.

With three weather disturbances seen to hit the Philippine archipelago and pour more rain on flooded Central Luzon and parts of Metro Manila, less or zero weather advisories may be forthcoming as weather bureau experts protest their delayed hazard pay.

China’s product safety reputation took another hit today, as the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission announced a recall of 23,000 Chinese vehicles made by Great Wall and Chery. The vehicles have engine and exhaust gaskets that contain asbestos, a known carcinogen that is prohibited in Australia. Both manufacturers have been directed to stop selling the…

THE Bureau of Internal Revenue’s (BIR) program to run after self-employed and professional tax-evaders has resulted to an increase in its tax collections in 2011.

Statistics from the National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB) shows that of the top 10 least poor cities/districts in the Philippines, nine districts can be found in the National Capital Region (NCR or Metro Manila).

Since this column began on June 30, 2010, seven articles on disasters appeared on July 16 and September 29 that year; March 25, October 7 and 10, and December 21, 2011; and January 2 this year.

GROWTH in remittances sent home by Flipinos living and working abroad slowed to a 15-month low in June, data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed.

AS the saying goes: when it rains, it pours. As a consequence of the monsoon rains and floods, and three discouraging economic news, the first-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 6.4% has been virtually washed away. What remains is an economy that is facing a deflated growth prospect.

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Did you know that our economy is even more Manila-centric now than it was 10 years ago? Our friends from Mindanao and the Visayas won’t be jumping for joy on this news, having long lamented that our economic activities are much too concentrated in Metro Manila and its surrounding provinces. Unfortunately, this geographically skewed nature…

The head of water regulating agency Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) rebutted allegations from disgruntled MWSS employees of continued anomalies in the agency saying that employees are protesting after the removal of their “illegal allowances” which the Commission on Audit (CoA) disallowed.

Government security forces still commit human rights violations as the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) continues to record cases of extra-judicial killings, torture, enforced disappearance and harassment against military and police.

FINANCE-RELATED agencies, along with the Tourism department, topped the latest Makati Business Club (MBC) Executive Outlook Survey on the performance of state offices and services, while some of those involved in infrastructure development, dispensing justice and law enforcement were ranked near the bottom of the list.

MANILA, Philippines – Monetary authorities have revised rules on outsourcing for banks, stressing that local lenders need to be responsible on risks that accompany such undertaking.