Boosting government’s fight against human trafficking, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) in Bicol has rescued nine minors from human traffickers in separate operations, Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said in a statement Thursday.

Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago defended the proposed reproductive health (RH) bill in the Senate in a speech at an inter-university forum sponsored by the UP Law Center Human Rights Institute held September 15 at the UP College of Law Malcolm Theatre.

MANILA, Philippines – Women ended armed clashes in 2 Mindanao villages by not having sex with their husbands unless the men laid down their weapons, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). The success of the “sex strike” allowed families to start rebuilding their communities, the UN’s refugee agency said. –abs-cbnNEWS.com

CEBU, Philippines – Majority of local government units (LGUs) in Central Visayas are now proactive in implementing measures to mitigate the effects of disasters such as activating their own local disaster risk reduction management councils down to the barangay level.

MANILA, Philippines – More than 1 million people each day are victims of cybercrime. A new study estimated that the total actual cost lost to international cybercrime syndicates is US $388 billion.

CEBU, Philippines – Cebu Archbishop and incoming president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines Jose Palma will push for the creation of a labor commission in a meeting with bishops on Tuesday.

MANILA, Philippines – The country’s unemployment rate rose slightly to 7.1 percent in July from the seven percent recorded in the same period last year due to the lack of gainful job opportunities, latest data from the National Statistics Office (NSO) showed.

MANILA, Philippines – The confidence level of Filipino consumers for the third quarter improved after declining for two straight quarters on the back of improved sentiments, results of a survey conducted by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed.

MANILA, Philippines – The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported yesterday that remittances by Filipinos working abroad climbed 6.3 percent in the first seven months of the year on the back of the sustained demand for skilled Filipino manpower amid the economic growth concerns in the US, the debt crisis in Europe, as well as…

MANILA, Philippines – Metro Manila youths are poised to prove student power, by asking Congress to take an early vote on the controversial reproductive health (RH) bill pending in Congress.

MANILA, Philippines – President Aquino’s satisfaction and trust ratings went up by six and four percentage points, respectively, in the past three months, according to the latest poll by Pulse Asia.

Prices at the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market may drop by as much as P3 per kilowatt-hour once the initial 200 megawatts from renewable energy projects come online, a study conducted by the technical working group of the National Renewable Energy Board shows.

Dear PAO, I worked as a project base system engineer for two and a half years for an agency which deployed me to a company to which the former has a contract.

PRESIDENT Benigno Aquino 3rd has called for a review of the Oil deregulation Law to make room for a more competitive market in the local petroleum industry.

THE looming fare hike at the Metro Rail Transit and Light Rail Transit (LRT) won’t be sudden, Transportation and Communications Secretary (DOTC) Manuel Roxas 2nd said Wednesday.

MANILA, Philippines – A worker was killed while another was injured when the house they were helping to demolish in Makati City collapsed Tuesday night.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) slashed its growth forecast for the country this year to 4.7 percent from five percent previously as a result of “subdued government spending” and weak exports receipts, saying that increased public and private investment may see a pickup in economic activity next year.

President Aquino’s fiscal managers’ move to effectively impound more than P2 billion funds of the judiciary as a result of unfilled positions in the proposed 2012 national budget is seen to put the Executive in a clash, not only with the Judicial branch but also with the Legislature due to its apparent unconstitutionality.

Labour relations between the UAE and the Philippines is one of supply and demand, as is the case for every country that sends its citizens to work overseas. For the Philippines, it is important to remember that workers, unable to find employment at home, keep local economies afloat with billions of dollars in remittances sent…

CATARMAN, Northern Samar, Sept. 15 (PIA) -– Key agencies of the province of Northern Samar led by the Provincial Government and International Labor Organization-International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labor (ILO-IPEC) will finally engage into a written agreement to signify and capture the collective commitment of each representation in eliminating child labour as well…

Philippine education officials are drawing up a more comprehensive child protection policy to protect pupils against bullying, abuse, exploitation and discrimination in school.

Paris—In pain? A good laugh with friends will help you deal with it courtesy of “feel-good” chemicals that flood the brain, according to a British study released on Wednesday.

CHICAGO – The annual number of children who die before they reach age five is shrinking, falling to 7.6 million global deaths in 2010 from more than 12 million in 1990, UNICEF and the World Health Organization said on Wednesday.

MANILA, Philippines – The World Bank has opened a $500-million credit line for the Philippines to help the country improve its natural disaster preparedness program.

MANILA, Philippines – The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has downgraded its full-year growth outlook for the Philippines to 4.7 percent from a five percent forecast in July, the Manila-based lender said.

EVEN with the frequent demolition incidents in Metro Manila and other parts of the country of squatter shanties, the number of urban poor families who have experienced eviction is smaller compared to the same period last year.

One can easily remember the fate of the Ayala Alabang barangay ordinance prohibiting the sale of contraceptives which a sweeping multitude of oppositors rallied against and consequently led the city council to shoot it down for being unconstitutional.

The Japanese government recognizes how beneficial the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA) has been in the past three years, after trade volume increased with Philippine exports to Japan going up from $6.21 billion in 2009 to $7.80 billion in 2010.

MANILA/HONG KONG – Asia’s emerging economies will grow robustly into 2012, led once again by China, although troubles in the United States, Europe and Japan will clip their momentum, the Asian Development Bank said in an updated economic outlook released on Wednesday.

LOCAL FIRMS will not have to comply with a minimum investment value, but will have to adhere to strict environment and labor standards to operate in economic zones being planned for non-export businesses, an official said yesterday.