EDUCATORS and teachers on Thursday expressed alarm over the continuous decline in the percentage of successful examinees for Licensure Examination for Teachers (LET) nwith a measly one of every five examinees passing, as the 2011 LET indicated.

THE government on Thursday allayed fear of a bus shortage on the major highway, especially during rush hours following the suspension of 672 city buses and the cancellation of 129-bus fleet of singer-businesswoman Claire de la Fuente to operate along Edsa.

The Communist Party of the Philippines-National Democratic Front says it is becoming increasingly doubtful that a final peace agreement will be signed with the government by next year.

FOREIGN investments fell 55 percent in August as investors continued to shy away from the Philippines, where the planned infrastructure projects are still to take off more than a year into President Benigno Aquino III’s term.

Young women in the Philippines who have taken up smoking is increasing at an alarming rate, a recent study of the Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance showed. The study, which was conducted in 2009 and released on Wednesday, revealed that affordable cigarettes contribute to the increasing number of female smokers in the country.

Flag Carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) filed criminal complaints yesterday for grave coercion against 41 members of the PAL Employees Association (Palea), over an incident last Oct. 29 when rowdy protesters harassed airline staff and service providers and violently prevented vehicles loaded with inflight meal provisions from leaving company premises.

ZAMBOANGA CITY: New People’s Army rebels raided a plywood factory and torched its equipment before escaping in the province of Agusan del Sur in the southern Philippines, military officials said.

Vice President and housing czar Jejomar Binay announced that domestic workers or “kasambahays” can now become members of the Pag-IBIG Fund and can avail themselves of multi-purpose, calamity and housing loans.

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) yesterday clarified that the withdrawal of Philippine deployment ban on 41 states that lack adequate protection for foreign workers is only temporary pending the outcome of dialogs with the concerned nations.

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MANILA, Philippines — A labor organization appealed Thursday to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to conduct an inspection of toxic wire gauzes sold in Rizal Avenue, Manila and impose safety product labeling to warn the public of its asbestos content.

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MANILA, Philippines – The World Economic Forum (WEF) Competitiveness Survey only represents the sentiments of the big businesses and not the small and medium sized ones or those located in the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) zones, an economist said.

THE Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) yesterday launched its ePrepaid card to expand its presence in the credit card industry.

MANILA, Philippines –   Regular riders of the Metro Rail Transit (MRT) are complaining about the bad condition of the rail line, which has made each trip an “obstacle course.”

MANILA, Philippines – Sen. Ralph Recto is pushing for the passage of a bill that would remove the imposition of income tax on 13th month pay, Christmas bonus and other incentives from P30,000 and below of government workers and private employees.

President Benigno Aquino III has directed the Department of Agriculture to ensure that two percent of its annual budget is allocated for organic farming projects. That means organic farming is assured of a P600-million share in the department’s P30 billion budget for the year.

CATHOLIC bishops on Tuesday renewed their call for President Benigno Aquino III to explain the cash aid his administration granted to rebels, warning that he could undermine trust in the government with the lack of transparency in the deal.

The local automotive industry has asked the government to remind Japan of its commitment to bring in fresh investments into the Philippines under the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement.

The euro debt problem caused much more economic uncertainty. Wild swings of stocks, bonds, currencies and commodities characterized recent world markets. And as felt in Greece, the same problem was seen as a big political drama as well.

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In illegal dismissal cases, the employee must first prove the fact of dismissal if the employer denies there is dismissal. This is the rule applied once more in this case of Baldo.

MANILA, Philippines – Sen. Loren Legarda yesterday urged the government to immediately complete the mapping of areas vulnerable to flooding to prevent the occurrence of floods similar to Bangkok’s.

MANILA, Philippines – Bagong Henerasyon party-list Rep. Bernadette Herrera-Dy disclosed yesterday that she would push for the setting up of call centers by local business establishments and government agencies, that would cater to the needs of an estimated three to four million hearing-impaired Filipinos.

A local trade group said the government had indicted the officers of liquefied Petroleum Gas Marketers Association (LPGMA), which the Federation of Philippine Industries said marks the first ever anti-cartel case pursued by the government.

MANILA, Philippines – Multilateral lender International Monetary Fund (IMF) believes the Philippines has the capability to survive the impact of the fragile economic growth in advanced economies led by the US as well as the sovereign debt crisis in Europe.

MANILA, Philippines – Economists further slashed their inflation forecast for the Philippines this year on the back of fragile global economic growth due to weaker than expected expansion in advanced economies led by the US and the debt crisis in Europe, a survey conducted by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed.

PRIVATE sector economists have mixed inflation trends for 2011 and next year, but are still within the target ranges of the government for both years, a survey conducted by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas showed.

MANILA, Philippines – The Japanese government would like to make a comprehensive review of the Japan Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA).

Metro Manila’s share of the country’s total financial wealth widened further this year, as the political and financial hub continued to experience faster growth than the rest of the economy.