IT will be ten years to the day by next week when Republic Act No. 9136 or the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA) of 2001 was enacted into law. Its passage was railroaded through Congress amidst a very strong lobby from the creditors of the National Power Corporation (NPC) led by the Asian Development…

Dear PAO, I know that an employee is entitled to his regular pay on a regular holiday, like Labor Day, even if he does not work on that day. But when I received my salary last May 15, I discovered that I did not receive my salary for May 1. What action can I do…

HALF of Filipinos have expressed their agreement on legal divorce for separated couples, with 63 percent approval reported among live-in partners, the latest Social Weather Stations revealed on Wednesday.

MANILA, Philippines – Fifty percent of Filipinos agree that divorce for separated couples should be legalized, results of the latest Social Weather Stations survey revealed Wednesday. The survey, conducted last March 4-7, 2011, found that 50% of adult Filipinos agree and 33% disagree with the statement, “Married couples who have already separated and cannot reconcile…

PARIS: Mobile phone users may be at increased risk from brain cancer and should use texting and hands-free devices to reduce exposure, the World Health Organization’s (WHO) cancer experts said.

Takeaway: It’s easy to get caught up in the implementation details of a Web site design project and lose sight of the hands-on user perspective. Calvin Sun airs a few user experience grievances that can alienate site visitors — permanently.

The Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) is experiencing a “brain drain” phenomenon after a number of ramp controllers (RCs) resigned for high paying jobs abroad.

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Education (DepEd) has issued guidelines on the use of its P500-million disaster Quick Response Fund (QRF) to promote “more prudent” spending of the funds.

MANILA, Philippines – Nine people were hurt when a cargo vessel exploded and caught fire near an oil depot off Ragay Gulf in Pasacao, Camarines Sur late Wednesday evening.

RIYADH: Twenty Filipinos out of a group of about 150 trailer truck drivers in Dammam have stopped work due to violations of the terms and conditions of their employment contracts by their employer.

Eight hours a day, seven days a week, a 40-year-old woman in this sweltering capital sweeps the footpaths of the public housing development where she lives. In the afternoon, she returns to her room, where she and four of her children, ages 5 to 15, sleep on a double mattress on the floor.

CAMP EMILIO F. AGUINALDO, Quezon City — The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) and other participating agencies and nongovernment organizations (NGOs) have agreed to adopt and incorporate the measures on how the national monitoring mechanism will operate as proposed by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) during the meeting held at the CHR building…

MANILA, Philippines (Xinhua) – Reforming the tobacco tax system may be the key to discouraging cigarette consumption and reduce the growing incidence of tobacco-related illness such as lung cancer and heart disease.

MANILA, Philippines—Operatives of the Philippine National Police’s Criminal Investigation and Detection Group rescued a 16-year-old girl during a raid on a factory in Sucat, Parañaque City, where workers were allegedly being locked up and subjected to forced labor to pay off their debts.

Vehicle and auto parts makers affected by the March 11 earthquake in northern Japan are starting to resume normal operations, with the affected plants now mostly up and running.

MANILA, Philippines – A party-list lawmaker cried foul over the power tariff hike proposal of the Visayan Electric Company (VECO), while criticizing the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) for not providing more public hearings in the affected power consumer in Cebu City.

MAYBE REPRODUCTIVE health advocates are going a little overboard, I thought to myself when I read the press release about an activity today billed as: “Cherish Rizal’s Heritage: Pass the Reproductive Health Bill.”

JAYSON WAS ABROAD when he learned he contracted HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) because of his numerous sexual dalliances. He broke up with his foreign partner and decided to live the rest of his life back home.

ILOILO CITY, June 1 (PIA) — George Bartolome said he and other people living with Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immuno Deficiency Syndrome (HIV/AIDS) continue to reach out to people for their compassion and understanding about their plight even as they seek for a cure to their ailment.

ASIPULO, Ifugao: In the hinterlands of the famous Ifugao Rice Terraces nestles a young and modest-sized town, Asipulo which has been implementing its version of Reproductive Health since 2007.

About 350,000 overseas Filipino workers OFWs) in Saudi Arabia are on the verge of losing their jobs after the oil-rich kingdom announced a six-year work permit cap to facilitate the employment of its own citizens, an alliance of migrant workers said on Tuesday.

The two major components of total demand in any economy are consumption and investment. The rebased national income accounts using prices in year 2000 provides us with revised data to assess the real economic performance of the Philippine economy.

MANILA, Philippines – Mindanao needs coal-fired power plants to ensure the sustainable supply of power in the island group, an industry executive said.

Underspending by the government and the slow-down in global trade constricted the economy to a lower growth in the now 2000-based GDP of 4.9 percent in the first quarter, from the election stimulated 8.4 percent last year. The industry driven growth [was] tempered by the lackluster trading activities and the second consecutive quarter of decline…

MANILA, Philippines – Investment bank Barclays Capital now sees a slower growth in the amount of money sent home by Filipinos abroad this year despite the projected pick up in the second quarter of the year in light of the scheduled school opening in June.

Last Monday’s editorial in The Philippine STAR entitled “Encroachment” struck a raw nerve on the issue of squatters building illegal structures along the Manggahan spillway. Let me print that portion for clarity: The encroaching structures were supposed to include not only shanties, especially those along riverbanks, but also real estate development that blocked or covered…

Illegal injections of a cancer-treating chemical pose a risk of death to legions of Filipinos who use them to try to whiten their skin, health authorities warned on Tuesday.

MANILA, Philippines –  The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) has sent out cease and desist orders (CDOs) to higher education institutions (HEIs) offering courses that do not comply with quality standards and whose graduates fare miserably in licensure examinations.

MANILA, Philippines –  A total of 324 colleges and universities have raised their tuition for school year 2011-2012. Data from the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) showed the average tuition hike was 14.37 percent, up from the 10 percent posted last April.

MANILA, Philippines –  Senators want to resolve debates on the Reproductive Health (RH) bill first before tackling the divorce bill. Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, Senators Joker Arroyo and Panfilo Lacson said there is a need to study the proposals to allow divorce in the country and put on hold any discussions at least until…