As a popular saying goes, “better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.” In two previous columns, I endeavored to provide a macro perspective on the “dragon of delay our Courts have yet to slay” with loose analogies made between our Courts and the business sector. Let us now take a quick survey…

Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero yesterday expressed alarm over the impact on the country of Saudi Arabia’s labor policy prioritizing its nationals over foreigners in job opportunities.

The Aquino administration yesterday claimed that the marked improvement in the country’s self-rated hunger ratings is the best demonstration that the government’s conditional cash transfer (CCT) program is working.

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This column received feedback from a government agency involved in education, particularly the promotion of technical skills training. Ma. Susan Dela Rama, executive director of TESDA, shared with us some of the challenges that the agency faces, and how it is trying to cope. Please read on.

Saudi Arabia will stop issuing work permits to Filipino domestic helpers beginning July 2, adding pressure to the Aquino government to provide more jobs at home.

THE military has rescued three “child warriors,” aged 10 to 12 years old, following an encounter with members of the communist New People’s Army (NPA) in a remote village in the province of Surigao del Sur.

Amid the failure of revenue collection agencies to improve their tax take and the record budget deficit the past two years, the country’s outstanding external debt soared to $60.9 billion as of March, up by $900 million from end-December 2010’s $60 billion and by $4 billion year-on-year.

MANILA, Philippines – New cases of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in the country reached an all-time high in May, a party-list lawmaker said Thursday.

MANILA, Philippines — The Aquino administration will attempt to work out with the Saudi government to reconsider its ban on the hiring of Filipino maids, according to a Palace official. Deputy Presidential Spokeswoman Abigail Valte said Friday labor authorities are seeking a “viable solution” to the new labor policy in Saudi Arabia while finding alternative…

The possible effects of Saudi Arabia’s decision to stop granting work permits to domestic helpers from the Philippines were downplayed by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). BSP Deputy Governor Diwa Guinigundo told reporters Friday that the future displacements from the decision of the Kingdom to stop hiring domestic workers “would only be temporary.”

KIDAPAWAN CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / July 1, 2011) – The Associated Labor Unions – Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (ALU-TUCP) and the Cotabato Provincial Government Employees Association (COTGEM) signed a Memorandum of Agreement on Friday in Kidapawan City in Mindanao.

THE property sector could grow by 5 and up to 15 percent this year, driven by the increasing demand for office, residential and commercial space, real estate consultant CB Richard Ellis chairman Rick Santos said Wednesday The office space take-up this year might exceed the record 300,000 units posted in 2007, he said.

MANILA, Philippines – The implementation of the new hiring policy in Saudi Arabia, also known as the “Saudization” program, may displace 90,000 low-skilled workers, the Department of Labor and Employment said yesterday.

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) has warned students, especially those in colleges and universities, against joining militant youth organizations, particularly the League of Filipino Students (LFS), which are believed to be breeding grounds of the communist group.

MANILA, June 30 (PNA) — The Philippines’ commitment in combating HIV/AIDS was highlighted during the plenary meeting on the Implementation of the Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS and the Political Declaration on HIV/AIDS at the 65th session of the UN General Assembly.

MANILA, Philippines – A party-list congressman has urged the Philippine National AIDS Council (PNAC) to quickly adopt here the new strategies being pushed by the World Health Organization (WHO) to reduce the spread of HIV and save the lives of men who have sex with men.

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RIYADH // Saudi Arabia’s Labour Ministry said the kingdom would no longer issue work permits for domestic workers from Indonesia and the Philippines after these nations issued new hiring guidelines.

The fact remains that 11 Filipino mothers die of pregnancy-related complications everyday. There are several reasons for this: Lack of access to health facilities before, during and after a woman’s pregnancy and delivery; lack of money to bring the pregnant woman to a health facility; the long travel to a health facility; unavailability of transportation…

After President Benigno Simeon Aquino assumed office on June 30 last year, several significant events happened abroad concerning overseas Filipino workers and migrants. These are some of the most popular PINOY ABROAD stories that have appeared on our site during Aquino’s first year in office: 1. After convictions, PHL off US human trafficking watch list…

LESBIAN, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender communities are pushing for the immediate passage of House Bill 1483, or the Anti-Discrimination Bill.

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MANILA, Philippines – President Benigno Aquino III blamed again the past Arroyo administration on the desperate economic state of the country as he delivers his Ulat sa Bayan (Report to the Nation) this afternoon at the Philsport Arena in Pasig City. “Isang taon na ng tapusin natin ang pamahalaan na bulag at pipi sa pangangailangan…

MANILA, Philippines – Health authorities on Thursday reported a 20-percent spike in new cases of HIV/AIDS, or from 153 to 184, the highest number of cases ever reported in a single month. The Department of Health said about a sixth of the cases were returning overseas Filipino workers.

When Saudi Arabia begins turning away migrant laborers, overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) can turn to Australia and Canada for employment, the Philippine labor chief said Thursday. In an interview with GMA News Online, Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said the government is now exploring to take advantage of the “labor shortage” in Australia and Canada.

JEDDAH: Illegal housemaids in Jeddah have begun asking for huge salary increases following the decision to suspend recruitment of housemaids from Indonesia and the Philippines. Many families are reporting that the maids have threatened to walk out if their demands are not met, especially that Ramadan is one month away when demand for extra domestic…

WORKERS DEMAND higher wages. Companies offer rock-bottom rates. The government stands amid these conflicting interests, in the hope of mediating an acceptable outcome. This is how tripartism works: The business sector, labor groups, and the government–each represented respectively by the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP), the Employers’ Confederation of the Philippines (ECoP), and…

The Agriculture Department has approved a six-year, P16-billion rice mechanization program that will increase production of the crop by as much as 10 percent annually. The Philippine Center for Post-Harvest Development and Mechanization said it would implement the program from 2011 to 2016 to modernize the postharvest and mechanization processes on a large-scale basis.

Last Monday I wrote about House Bill 4853, otherwise known as the Security of Tenure Act. The proposed law was submitted for plenary discussion by the Committee on Labor and Employment of the House of the Representatives just before Congress went into recess early this month. HB 4853 has two counterpart measures in the Senate.…