MANILA, Philippines—The Department of Health has established 846 Botika ng Barangay (drugstores selling affordable medicines) outlets as it targets the establishment of a drugstore for every village in Metro Manila, said Regional Director Eduardo Janairo of the DoH Center for Health Development – Metro Manila (DoH-CHD-MM).

World Bank Group President Robert B. Zoellick arrived in Manila on Tuesday and pledged the bank’s support to fight corruption and lift the Philippine economy from poverty.

A visiting Nobel Prize winner in Manila on Tuesday cited the need for developing economies to increase subsidy for the poor, saying economic growth is not enough to lift them out of poverty.

The Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) has signed an agreement with four other government agencies for the implementation of a project that seeks to reduce poverty in the country.

Manila, Philippines – Lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transgender (LGBT) activists have submitted to the United Nations (UN) in Geneva, Switzerland two scathing reports on the violations of the human rights of their community in the Philippines.

With a lot of promise, President Aquino III signed into law the 2011 budget on Dec. 27, 2010 — the first time in 11 years that the budget was signed into law in the same year it was submitted. The last time this happened was in 1989, on the occasion of then President Estrada’s first…

Senate minority leader Alan Peter Cayetano again called on the Aquino administration to do more to check the rising number of children in the country that are forced to work in hazardous conditions. The senator reiterated his call, as the world observes the International Children’s Month this October, citing the lack of resources allocated by…

The Trade Department said Monday the renewal of import duty privileges under the Generalized System of Preference by the United States will secure close to $1 billion in Philippine export earnings.

A NEW World Bank report details the extent of corruption in the Philippines, where its says charitable foundations and organizations are being used to embezzle government funds or the proceeds from corruption.

A HOUSE panel on Monday expressed alarm over the latest World Bank report saying that, a year and a half into the new administration, it had become harder and not easier to do business in the Philippines.

PHILIPPINE Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) on Monday said it is building a network of WiFi zones in Metro Manila establishments to provide its subscribers unlimited Internet connection even outside their homes or offices.

THE Philippine units of Toyota, Mitsubishi Motors, and Nissan said they would keep their targets amid planned adjustments stemming from supply disruptions caused by massive flooding in Thailand.

Labor center Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) condemned yesterday the lowering of the daily poverty threshold by the National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB) from P52 to P46 per person for the base year of 2009, saying the move shows the Aquino government’s refusal to address the widespread poverty and hunger in the country.

Cancer cases and deaths in the Philippines are on the rise. It has climbed as the number 3 cause of death. Experts estimate that cancer cases will soon overtake heart disease as the number one cause of death worldwide. This is an alarming statistic since one-third of all cancer cases can be prevented through a…

The US government has renewed the Generalized System of Preference (GSP) scheme for the country that will allow local exports to enter the US market duty-free or at preferential duties.

A passenger was wounded when a bomb exploded along the road while a transit bus passed by in Kabacan town, North Cotabato yesterday.

Feeling the weight of public pressure to launch an all-out war against the Moro rebels who continue to kill government troops, President Aquino yesterday said there would still be no all-out war against the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), but vowed that his administration would intensify military operations, specifically targeting personalities in the MILF who…

The Caucus of Development NGO Networks (Code-NGO) formed by known backers of both former President Arroyo and President Aquino and which acted as the secretariat of Kompil II, the umbrella organization which called for the removal, impeachment and ouster of former President Joseph Estrada, and its bank partner, Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) of the…

ANGELES CITY, Philippines – Each Filipino wastes an average of three tablespoons of rice daily, the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) in Muñoz, Nueva Ecija said yesterday.

MANILA, Philippines – The World Health Organization (WHO) yesterday urged governments to have “stronger political commitment” to address worsening mental health problems.

MANILA, Philippines – Protesters in Hong Kong yesterday marched from Wan Chai to government headquarters to protest a recent court ruling granting right of abode for domestic helpers.

MANILA, October 24 (PIA)– The efforts of government and the private sectors to address and fight counterfeiting and piracy in the country is finally gaining recognition in international circles as groups from abroad and non-governmental organizations have dubbed the Philippines as the ASEAN champion in intellectual property rights (IPR) enforcement.

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has warned against double dipping of incentives, arguing that when there is a guaranteed rate of return, investors are no longer entitled to income tax holidays (ITH).

Support for a House bill seeking to abolish 36 underperforming government-owned and -controlled corporations (GOCCs) and government financial institutions (GFIs) has snowballed, with business groups saying that House Bill 2867 will remove if not lessen the rent-seeking behavior among state firms.

For so many years now, some sectors, especially women and the leftist groups have been agitating for changes in our laws which they consider outmoded and not in keeping with the times. Certain age old Filipino customs and traditions embodied in these laws have been assailed because they are not allegedly in step with realities…

COMMUNITIES in Southeast Asia face serious food shortages after flooding devastated rice paddies and other crops from the start of September and aid deliveries were disrupted, the United Nations has said.

THE residential condo market in the key districts of Metro Manila is exhibiting sideways demand amid a backdrop of increasing supply and a weakening economy, according to an industry report presented last week by Jones Lang LaSalle Leechiu at a housing finance forum organized by Home Guaranty Corp.

MANILA, Philippines – The police Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) urged lawmakers yesterday to strengthen the laws against cyber crimes to prevent foreigners from using the country as “safe haven” of Internet criminals.

Manila Electric Co., the Philippine Economic Zone Authority and the Semiconductor and Electronics Industries in the Philippines Inc. have asked National Power Corp. to extend a power rate discount until December next year.

MANILA, Philippines – An international study has shown how large-scale corruption through bribes, embezzled state assets and other “official” criminal proceeds is being kept under wraps via legal entities such as foundations, trust funds and others.