THE PHILIPPINES aims to become the hub for English and personnel management training for Japanese firms looking to relocate to Southeast Asia in the wake of the disaster that hit the Northeast Asian country last March, said a Trade official who attended a regional meeting in Kuala Lumpur on July 8-9.

Government will give the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry a favorable environment to sustain the momentum of growth, President Benigno Aquino III said Monday.

Philippine labor officials will set up a registry to determine the number of Filipino workers who will be affected by Saudi Arabia’s new “Saudization” labor policy.

The Philippine Embassy in Riyadh on Monday reiterated that the recent ban on the issuance of work visas for domestic workers from the Philippines applies only to new work visas. In a press release, the embassy said the ban announced by Saudi Ministry of Labor spokesperson Mr. Hattab al –Hanzi and became effective on July…

Our choice to reproduce – or not – is a fundamental human right, and decision-makers must consider it in this context alone Human rights are universal. Few people would deny that everyone should be healthy and well fed, treated equally, and able to live in an environmentally sustainable way.

More than a fifth of overseas Filipino workers are working in Saudi Arabia, according to the National Statistics Office. Data from NSO showed that 22.2 percent of the two million OFWs during the period April to September 2010 worked in Saudi Arabia.

MANILA, Philippines — Launched last year as the branded generics company of Pfizer Philippines, Pfizer Parke Davis (PPD) is expanding its CSR efforts by opening its first Nay Bahay Ligtas Paanakan Center—a lying-in maternal facility that will give birthing mothers from indigent communities a safe place for labor with the expert supervision of licensed midwives.

MORE than a fifth of overseas Filipino workers are stationed in Saudi Arabia, according to the National Statistics Office. Data from NSO showed that 22.2 percent of the total two million OFWs deployed from April to September 2010 were working in Saudi Arabia. This was higher than the 21.6 percent in the same period in…

THE Social Security System plans to raise membership dues in the next two years in a bid to lengthen the pension fund’s actuarial life and provide better returns to beneficiaries. Emilio de Quiros Jr., SSS president and chief executive officer, said membership dues will be increased by a percentage point in 2013 and every two…

MANILA, Philippines – The two state-owned pension funds are waiting for investment opportunities under the Aquino administration’s Public-Private Partnership (PPP) program.

MANILA, Philippines – Monetary authorities believe that consumer prices could still breach the higher end of the three to five percent target set by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and peak this quarter due to the continued build up of inflationary pressures.

We all want renewable energy, of course. With supply infinite and non-pollutive, it is the smart alternative to dwindling dirty sources like diesel and coal. But should we go into solar and wind if it would swell our electricity bills? Certainly not. More so, if that extra cost amounts to P8 billion a year, for…

MANILA, Philippines – The armed forces’ Retirement and Separation Benefits System (RSBS) wants the military’s compulsory retirement age raised to 58 from 56 in line with efforts to reduce and manage the government’s pension arrears. The RSBS also proposed amendments to some benefits given to soldiers to address concerns that the government may be spending…

1. Dear PAO, I have been working with a private company for almost 18 years as a sales representative. Every time I ask about separation pay, they always tell me that it is company’s discretion to give or not to give separation pay. Do I have the right to ask for separation pay? Thanks. Chad

MANILA, Philippines – The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) will tighten its rules on professionals and self-employed individuals to boost tax collections by P140 billion a year, Commissioner Kim Henares said over the weekend. She said the agency hopes to improve revenue collections from this group of earners, noting that professionals and self-employed individuals earn…

Two miners, both minors were recovered dead in a tunnel of mining firm in Aroroy town, Masbate province last Wednesday night. Search and rescue teams were able to find the bodies of Nober Deonan and Antonio Reviro both residents of Uson, Masbate. Arroyo chief of police Inspector Christian Jesus Huelva believed that the victims died…

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) has formally submitted a report to the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef), identifying the communist rebel force that persistently employs children in armed conflict and detailing child soldier recruitment.

COJUANGCO-AQUINO CLAN MOVING TO ‘SOW DISUNITY’ The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) have closed ranks with militant farmers in rejecting the recent Supreme Court (SC) order for the Department of Agrarian Reform to hold a referendum among Hacienda Luisita Inc. (HLI) farm workers for them to choose between land distribution and staying with…

MANILA: The head of the influential Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) admitted that the family planning bill pending in Congress remains the group’s toughest challenge despite the scandal involving some of its members who received as “donations” expensive sport utility vehicles from a government agency.

MANILA, Philippines – With the debates over the Reproductive Health (RH) bill to be revived once Congress resumes session on July 25, Pope Benedict XVI reminded Filipino bishops to be firm in their position against the bill.

US Ambassador Harry K. Thomas visited BusinessWorld last week and sat down with the paper’s editors and reporters for a wide-ranging discussion. Here are excerpts: Mr. Thomas: It’s great to come to BusinessWorld; you have a very unique history in the Philippines… we wanted to engage the media to talk about trafficking in human persons…

PRICE HIKES notwithstanding, Manila remains one of the cheapest cities to live in, according to an economic research group. Manila is among the 10 cities with the lowest cost of living, the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) said, out of the 140 cities included in its“Worldwide Cost of Living 2011” report released last month.

ALMOST 70 percent of college graduates in the country failed in the 2010 professional licensure examinations given by the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC), a lawmaker revealed Thursday.

It may surprise many, but the adoption of minimum wage greatly weakened the workers f bargaining leverage to obtain a reasonable market value for their labor. It is surprising, but that fs the way it is. Instead of having the incentive to unite to demand for an equitable amount of wage, the imposition of minimum…

State-owned Social Security System (SSS) will launch in September a provident fund as an investment tool for its members. Emilio de Quiros Jr., the pension fund’s president and chief executive officer told reporters that the provident fund would provide an opportunity for members to put in their savings besides their monthly contributions to SSS.

MANILA, Philippines – A slight decline in auto sales was recorded in the first six months of the year due to continued supply limitation. The joint report of the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. (CAMPI) and the Truck Manufacturers Association (TMA) showed that sales went down by 1.6 percent to 70,000 units…

This is the last of a four-part series, although given the importance of the topic, it should continue to be debated and discussed in the days to come. More than “erroneous” court decisions, I dare say that more problematic are “delayed” decisions: at least the former can be appealed, subjected to media and academic scrutiny,…

Manila, Philippines – The latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey released yesterday showed that the number of Filipino families who consider themselves “poor” and “food-poor” or those who have experienced hunger have slightly declined in the past three months.

SAUDI FOREVER? Talk among overseas Filipino workers is turning to the possible effects of the Saudization program on them. Photo of Pinoys hanging out at the Balad mall in Jeddah by John Pamintuan JEDDAH—The Saudi government’s announcement that it would hasten its program to replace expat workers with local hands is causing worries among many…