PRESIDENT Benigno Aquino 3rd on Monday signed into law the Government-Owned and Controlled Corporations Governance Act of 2011 that seeks to reform the operations of GOCCs by curbing the excesses in the pay and perks of its officials.

LOS BAÑOS, Laguna ,Philippines  – Many of the country’s lakes are dying. And it is just a matter of time before they meet their “ecological doom” if nothing is done now – and fast – to save them.

BECAUSE of the greed and insensitivity of many of the lucky few Filipinos who have been made officers and board members of government owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs), the public pressured their lawmakers to pass a law to prevent GOCCs from being made a milking cow by their officials.

MANILA, Philippines – We live in a world of rapidly changing media and technology, a world where kids are far more tech-savvy than their parents are and where social media can be equally harmful as it is beneficial. And with sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube, it has become even harder for parents to…

MORE big names were implicated by former Solicitor General Francisco Chavez in connection with the plunder charges he filed against former President and now Pampanga representative Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, former Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo, former Health Secretary now Civil Service Commission(CSC) chairman Francisco Duque III and former Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) administrator Virgilio…

MANILA, Philippines – The World Bank has ranked the Philippines among the best performers in the services exports, particularly in the business process outsourcing (BPO) sector, but urged further reforms in the travel and tourism sector if the country intends to sustain growth moving forward.

TWENTY-FIVE percent of private schools nationwide—or one in four—are considered “colorum” schools or those that have not registered with the Department of Education (DepEd), it was learned on Monday.

MANILA, Philippines – A stay-in worker died when a fire broke out at a clothing store along Aurora Boulevard in Cubao, Quezon City before dawn yesterday.

Some readers have asked why we chose eight officials as hardworking public servants. Here’s why: Justice Secretary Leila de Lima is definitely the most hardworking member of the Cabinet. She’s all over the place from visiting the site of the Ampatuan Massacre, the nurse rape victim in Maguindanao to the ocular inspection of the Luneta…

NO FORESIGHT: Another illustration of how slow officialdom thinks and acts is the recurring problem of lack of classrooms and teachers cropping up every start of the school year.

Lawmakers opposing the controversial Reproductive Health Bill yesterday called on the House leadership to immediately pass a measure imposing stiffer penalties against abortion.

The Philippine government yesterday Monday ordered the mandatory evacuation of all Filipinos residing in the strife-torn capital of Yemen and other affected areas due to the deteriorating peace and order situation there.

MANILA, Philippines – The Federation of Filipino-Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry Inc. backed yesterday President Aquino’s responsible parenthood policy.

The 100th International Labour Conference has started discussions on ways to establish social security for all as a powerful and affordable tool to promote economic growth, reduce poverty and mitigate the impact of crises. Yet, only about 20 percent of the world’s working age population has access to comprehensive social security systems, according to a…

As schools opened yesterday for the start of the new school year, militant lawmakers criticized the Aquino administration for failing to address the critical shortages of teachers and classrooms in public schools.

MAR LIKELY TO BE CHAIRMAN, PURISIMA, ABAD TO SERVE IN GCG BODY With the creation, now by law, of a body that is to oversee policies and supervise the government-controlled corporations, the Balay group of losing vice presidential candidate, former Sen. Manuel “Mar” Roxas, appears to have assumed even more power than before.

MANILA, Philippines – Malacañang said yesterday that the Government-Owned and Controlled Corporation Governance Act of 2011 that President Aquino signed into law was a “milestone and the first important law” under the current administration.

To the ordinary consumer, bananas are considered commonplace and cheap. It is an everyday fruit, available year round. But in the eyes of an external auditor, bananas are a delicate commodity, a highly perishable fruit in an industry fraught with social, economic and political implications.

At the Cagayan State University, registered nurses constitute an entire section of the freshman class of the College of Medicine. Only a few years ago, they would have been queueing up at the United States and United Kingdom Embassies and then jubilantly celebrating the visas that then came so easily. But hard times have fallen…

ALL government-appointed chief executives, board members and trustees in 157 state companies will lose their jobs on June 30, and those without replacements will continue only in a hold-over capacity under a law that President Benigno Aquino III will sign today.

THE combined net profits of listed companies grew 22.2 percent to P440.72 billion in 2010 against the P360.63 billion posted the year before, according to data from the annual financial statements that those firms filed with the Philippine Stock Exchange.

Dear PAO, I am an Australian male and I am very interested in a particular woman from the Philippines. We have met several times and are both interested in taking the relationship further. Her three children approve of me, which is great. However, she is married. On the other hand, she has been separated from…

CEBU, Philippines – Mactan Cebu International Airport (MCIA) General Manager Nigel Paul Villarete yesterday announced that they already complied with the order of the Commission on Audit (COA) to stop granting additional health care insurance to all officials and employees of the airport.

MANILA, Philippines –  Aggregate net earnings of companies listed on the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) rose 22.2 percent to P440.72 billion last year amid improvements in the macro-economic environment, especially the lower interest and inflation rates.

(NewDesignWorld Press Center) – The House of Representatives has passed on third and final reading a measure establishing a credit assistance program for overseas workers (OFWs).

MANILA, Philippines – Last month ended with the Philippines as the seventh country with the biggest number of user accounts in the social networking service Facebook, based on data gathered by Socialbakers.com, one of the biggest Facebook statistics portals in the world.

The Court of Appeals (CA) has upheld the decision of the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) dismissing the complaint for unfair labor practice filed by the Flight Attendants and Stewards Association of the Philippines (Fasap) against Philippine Airlines Inc.

School doors are open today for the 25.7 million public and private elementary and high school students for school year 2011-2012.

The showdown on the RH bill will reveal the identities of politicians who are really concerned about the welfare of our country and people and not of their own selfish interests. It will tell us whether they personally consulted their constituents and not merely relied on surveys before making a stand for or against the…

MANILA, Philippines –  The military’s Retirement and Separation Benefits System (RSBS) has completed a draft bill that aims to reform the armed forces’ retirement scheme and to address the government’s growing pension arrears.