MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) distributed P67.57 million in cash assistance for farmers and fisherfolk in 10 regions to help them cope with the rising prices of commodities and fuel during the lean months.

FEWER CASES of unfair labor practices were filed in the first four months of the year, leading to a drop in the number of strike notices in the said period, the National Conciliation and Mediation Board (NCMB) said in a report.

MANILA, Philippines – A Catholic priest has laughed off the claim made by those opposing the reproductive health (RH) bill that using contraceptives is attempted murder.

At least 12 people including a ship captain were injured when a cargo vessel exploded and caught fire in Pasacao, Camarines Sur on Wednesday evening, police report disclosed.

Our latest episode on the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (Epira) on my Destiny Cable Global News Network show entitled, “The curse of Epira,” had as guests, power consumer advocate Butch Junia and Freedom from Debt Coalition (FDC) former vice chairman Wilson Fortaleza, who jointly declared the “jury in,” finding the 10-year-old power law a…

A former Cabinet secretary of former President Joseph “Erap” Estarda yesterday said that with the present direction it is undertaking, the Aquino administration will find it hard to meet its target of 7 to 8 percent economic growth for 2011, stressing that President Aquino has no one to blame but himself for a dismal economic…

Over the past several years, the ILO has adopted a number of measures designed to promote social security coverage for the vast majority of the world’s workers who currently lack coverage. Yet, in a world marked by rapidly spreading financial and economic fluctuations, the capacity of individuals to cope alone with economic risks is even…

Bangkok (AlertNet) – The approval of a bill banning the use of children in armed conflicts in Philippines is a good step, but significant hurdles remain in fulfilling its potential, Human Rights Watch (HRW) told AlertNet.

Ronald barely finished his first year in high school three years ago. Today, he is a tambay, too young to be the neighborhood’s siga, but most likely on his way to becoming one. While still reverent to the older tambays, he is building his own following of younger kids, many also school drop-outs.

MANILA, Philippines – The Bangko Sental ng Pilipinas (BSP) has issued an order defining microfinance clients entitled to the presentation, marketing, sale, and servicing of microinsurance products by thrift, rural, and cooperative banks.

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) has released P3.430 billion for the Aquino administration’s rice sufficiency program.

LEGAZPI CITY, Philippines  – A cargo vessel loaded with some 40,000 liters of gasoline exploded near a private port in Pasacao, Camarines Sur Wednesday afternoon, leaving all its 12 crewmen and a 11-year-old boy injured, the Coast Guard said yesterday.

Undoubtedly, since the introduction of the foreign sponsored and foreign crafted RH bill, a serious rift and deep division has been created in our nation. Never before have there been such heated discussions and sharp differences among Filipinos on several issues of fact and of law regarding this bill. Before it was introduced, we seemed…

MALOLOS CITY, Philippines  – The Philippines ranked third in the annual impunity index report released by the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) yesterday.

MANILA, Philippines – The Senate committees on energy and public services have recommended the extension of the lifeline rate privilege given to low-income users of electricity by another 10 years.

Manila, Philippines – The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) is drawing up a framework to rationalize the miscellaneous fees charged by colleges and universities in the country to address concerns of exorbitant and so-called ridiculous fees.

Manila, Philippines – The Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas (KBP) is set to approve new rules to strengthen protection for children appearing in broadcast media.

CEBU, Philippines – A protest rally was held inside the Mactan Export Processing Zone (MEPZ) yesterday morning by around 50 union members of Blaze Manufacturing Corporation Employees Union (BMCEU) and Agency Workers Union of Blaze.

CEBU, Philippines – Two men were trapped inside a stone quarry in barangay Calagasan, Argao town in the southern part of the province since yesterday morning.

Domestic workers play an important role in the economy and they allow others to go out and earn money. Yet they remain invisible, unprotected and their contribution is often not recognized. At the forthcoming International Labour Conference (in Geneva, 1-17 June) the ILO and its members will debate drafts that could lead to the first…

MANILA, Philippines – The Asian Migrants Coordinating Body in Hong Kong (AMCB-HK) expressed their disappointment after the Hong Kong government announced increases in their minimum allowable wage (MAW) and food allowance.

CEBU, Philippines – Two teachers separately charged their husbands for violence against women before the Cebu City Prosecutor’s Office.

It’s been so tough to get data from the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) these days. After almost ten times calling the said government agency for the list of tertiary schools and their updated tuition per unit, I was left hanging like a beggar for statistics. So I decided to research online and ask the…

Virulently toxic is the only way to describe the current political environment surrounding the debate over the Reproductive Health (RH) bill pending in Congress. Bishop Nereo Odchimar, head of the powerful Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) raised the temperature level to fever-pitch when he announced last September that the Church may excommunicate  President…

MANILA, Philippines – If Rizal were alive today, would he support the controversial Reproductive Health (RH) bill?

ONE-FOURTH of the people who tested positive for the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in the country last year came from Central Visayas. HIV is the virus that causes Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS).

THE Philippine semiconductor and electronics industry on Wednesday cut its exports outlook following the disasters in Japan and the political tension in Middle East and Northern Africa (MENA).

LEGAZPI CITY: Students throughout Albay will be learning about the life-wrenching, impact of climate change beginning this school year.

THOUSANDS of foreign university students are flocking to the Philippines, attracted by cheap yet high-quality courses conducted in English and an easygoing lifestyle outside class.

THIS you have to reconcile. The economy has been growing incredibly fast. President Benigno Simeon Aquino III has claimed credit for it. He has been in office for almost a year now. He has a right to assert his bragging right.