The top three concerns of Filipinas in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are sexual harassment, unwanted pregnancies, and abuse of domestic workers, said a survey conducted by “Ilustrado,” a Filipino society magazine in Dubai.

For helping disadvantaged youths, a Filipina nurse received the “2011 Pride of Australia” award. Mica Alcedo was awarded the medal under the “Fair Go” category at the Crocodylus Park in Darwin, Northern Territory on August 19, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said.

Filipino permanent residents in Hong Kong may avail of a HK$6,000 cash handout by Hong Kong’s Financial Services and Treasury Bureau, the Philippine Consulate General there said.

A FORMER president of the Philippine Nurses Association (PNA) branded as toothless paper tiger the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) directive for a moratorium on enrollment in nursing.

Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz yesterday said the number of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who were found to be positive with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) have reached 166 in just seven months, from January to July this year, up by 73 percent compared to the 96 diagnosed over the same period in 2010.

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine membership to the World Trade Organization (WTO) has helped the country’s trade expand in the global market, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said yesterday.

CEBU CITY, Philippines – The Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB) 7 decided Wednesday to increase the minimum wage in Central Visayas by P20 after a deliberation that stretched more than five hours.

On another front, the Reproductive Health (RH) bill cannot be dismissed as a mere duplication of existing laws. Rather, its passage would lead to the adoption of a clear-cut and cohesive national policy on reproductive health and responsible parenthood that should guide the programs of the Department of Health (DOH) and local government units (LGUs),…

The country’s family planning program is in peril after the United Nations sounded off its plan to cut back its aid to the government’s population control program.

MANILA, Philippines – The recruitment industry is bracing for the impact of a deployment ban on Filipino domestic workers to three Middle East countries, saying such would slash by half the numbers of people deployed and hurt their bottomline.

Millions of Filipinos have left the country to find better-paying jobs abroad. MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines would be a boiling cauldron of poverty and social unrest if it were not for the millions of Filipinos heading overseas to work in higher-paying jobs, according to a US embassy cable published by WikiLeaks.

WIKILEAKS TARGETS CEBU CITY Cebu City’s “vigilante killings” of suspected hoodlums didn’t escape the notice of United States officials. A US Embassy cable recently released by the anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks showed that in 2005, the US Ambassador to the Philippines reported that Cebu government officials and the public were perceived to be supporting the killings…

PROFITS OF pension fund Social Security System (SSS) rose by 15% in the first half on the back of higher earnings from investments and cutbacks in operating expenses.

Gil has been commissioned by the Department of Health to make a documentary on the rising cases of HIV and AIDS in the Philippines. But his lead, Heidi, is reluctant to talk about the facts and circumstances surrounding her condition. In front of the camera, the widowed, AIDS-stricken Heidi only cries and curses at her…

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines should capitalize on opportunities offered by renewable energy (RE) by encouraging more investments that are expected to generate up to 50,000 “green jobs” in the next 20 years while ensuring environmental protection.

New UN report indicates progress but says there is also cause for alarm Although new HIV infections in the 30 countries that make up the Asia-Pacific region have fallen by 20 percent since 2001, prevalence among intravenous drug users is climbing alarmingly in Pakistan, Bangladesh and the Philippines, according to a new joint United Nations…

The raging controversy over the Reproductive Health (RH) bill has forced the Senate to tackle a subject normally left in the hands of religious clerics: “When does life begin?”

The Technical Education and Skills Development Authority will deliver 1.3 million scholars next year despite a proposed cut in its 2012 budget.

THE deployment of Filipino workers to Iraq and Afghanistan will stay but will exclude those employed in the US military bases in those countries, Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr. said Sunday.

Zamboanga City—Tens of placard-bearing workers in the fishing industry here staged a protest on Sunday against a ban ordered by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) on sardine fishing this year.

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Children whose mothers smoked while pregnant were more likely to end up on medications such as antidepressants, stimulants and drugs for addiction, according to a study from Finland that hints at smoking’s affect on a baby’s developing brain.

Malacañang on Saturday admitted it is still worried over the continued uncertainty of whether workers affected by the spinoff of Philippine Airlines’ non-core businesses will sign up with the flag carriers’ new service providers.

CEBU, Philippines – The Trade Union Congress Party (TUCP Party-List) bared their list of projects for Cebu to dispute allegations that they did not allocate projects from their Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF).

MANILA, Philippines – One might ask: At a time when the world’s superpower has raised its debt ceiling and Europe is faced with a debt crisis, is the Philippine jewelry industry still relevant? Entrepreneurs and leaders of the Philippine export jewelry industry are saying, yes, and now more than ever. The country, which has always…

MANILA, Philippines – Exporters are adopting a “wait-and-see” strategy as the unstable peso-dollar exchange rate continues to impact on their revenues and competitiveness.

There is a staggering amount of debt made by Filipino consumers arising from the use of “plastic” or credit cards. In the same breath, management of this debt continues to be a challenge.

MANILA, Philippines – More companies in the Philippines are planning to expand their operations and hire more workers in the fourth quarter of the year in anticipation of a strong domestic demand during the Christmas season, a survey conducted by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed.

FIRMS expect to hire more toward the fourth quarter of the year, consistent with their buoyant view on the solid macroeconomic fundamentals of the country, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said.

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MANILA, Philippines – After a visit to aircraft carrier USS John Stennis, Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa said yesterday Filipinos working in US facilities in war-torn Iraq and Afghanistan may stay and continue their work there until the year ends.