SHE HAD neither bought a lotto ticket nor joined a TV game show. But Marissa felt like she won the jackpot anyway late last year, when her family was chosen as one of the recipients of the government’s Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) Program.

In a recent article in Time Magazine, Fareed Zakaria offers five strategies to bring unemployment down in the United States. The context is the observation that the US economy is now producing the same amount of goods and services as it did in 2007, prior to the global crisis, but with seven million fewer workers.…

MANILA, Philippines — Seeking to amend the Expanded Senior Citizen Act of 2010, Bacolod City Rep. Anthony Rolando Golez Jr. is pushing for the exemption of senior citizens who are licensed professionals from paying income taxes.

MANILA, Philippines – (UPDATE) The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) gave its full support to the “Protection of the Unborn Child” bill being pushed in the Senate Monday, saying it was the “much anticipated and much welcomed fruition of the promise and mandate” of the Constitution.

PHILIPPINE companies expect a continuing appreciation of the peso against the US dollar and a similar increase in bank interest rates in the second half this year, a Bangko Sentral survey says.

MANILA, Philippines – The plains of the countryside, the landscapes of hills and coconut trees, the serenity of remote villages, views of the sea and high bridges – these were some of the scenes that were unique to passengers aboard a Philippine National Railways (PNR) train which left Tutuban station in Manila a few minutes…

BERLIN- Germany on Monday announced plans to become the first major industrialised power to shut down all its nuclear plants in the wake of the disaster in Japan, with a phase-out due to be wrapped up by 2022.

MANILA, Philippines – The Aquino administration aims to reduce poverty incidence in the Philippines by 10% annually until the President’s term ends in 2016, the 2011 to 2016 Medium-Term Philippine Development Plan (MTPDP) said.

MANILA, Philippines — The “Condom King” of Thailand is urging proponents of the reproductive health (RH) measure in the Philippines not to give up the fight despite opposition from some sectors.

FIRMS are less upbeat about employment prospects in the third quarter amid the drop in business confidence in the domestic economy, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said.

MANILA, Philippines –  A survey conducted by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed companies are still planning to expand their operations and hire more workers this year despite the projected easing in economic growth.

The current PNR general manager should probably be given a medal for his heroic efforts to make the government-owned railroad company run its trains again all the way to Bicol. He is most probably of my generation, albeit a few years younger, to feel so passionately about the Bicol Express. There is something romantic about…

MANILA, Philippines –  The government is on track with its much-touted Public-Private Partnership (PPP) program for infrastructure, Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima said over the weekend.

Asean governments and businesses must continue to stay open and engage their domestic, regional and dialogue partners to maximise gains from the Asean Economic Community, which will be fully effective in 2015, Anangga Roosdiono, chairman of the Asean Business Advisory Council, said last week.

MANILA, Philippines – Technical and vocational education will be integrated in the proposed “K+12” model for the country’s basic education system, effectively adding two more years to high school, Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) director general Joel Villanueva said yesterday.

Underspending by the government and the slowdown 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 benefited from the sustained growth of Manufacturing supported by Other Services, Real Estate, Renting…

Ladies and gentlemen, good morning. The first quarter performance of the economy is well within expectations. Real GDP growth moderated to 4.9 percent coming from a very high growth in 2010 that was due to a slump in the previous year. This growth is within the NEDA’s 4.8 to 5.8 percent forecast. However, with net…

MANILA, Philippines – State-run Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM) reported on Friday that it has settled about $18 billion worth of National Power Corp. (Napocor) debts since 2001.

The heated debate over the controversial Reproductive Health (RH) bill has reached new heights with big names — on either sides — making their stands known. In exclusive one-on-one interviews with Jessica Soho, two of the most recognizable Filipino names in the world, Lea Salonga and Manny Pacquiao, defended their stance on GMA News TV’s…

IN THE FACE OF EASILY ACCESSIBLE REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH SERVICES AND SUPPLIES AND INFORMATION THEREON WITHOUT DISCRIMINATION AS TO AGE, SEX, RELIGION, ETC., THE PARENTS’ RIGHT TO DETERMINE THEIR CHILDREN As debates about the Reproductive Health (RH) bill continue to rage, proponents of the bill recently introduced certain amendments to the proposed statute, in response to…

MANILA, Philippines – The sliding competitiveness ranking of the Philippines in Asia-Pacific is a cause for concern and immediate action, the National Competitiveness Council (NCC) said.

ONLY 69 Filipinos in Yemen, out of at least 1,442 (those who are registered with the Philippine embassy), want to come home, despite the Department of Foreign Affairs’ having raised the crisis alert to level three in the tension-gripped country.

MANILA, Philippines – President Aquino has issued an administrative order (AO) directing all government offices to immediately account for all their motor vehicle units and draw up a disposal program for all luxury motor vehicles.

MANILA, Philippines – A total of 171 new human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) cases were reported in April, up by 11 percent from the 154 posted in the same month last year, a party-list lawmaker said.

RIYADH // In a bid to curb abuses of their nationals, Indonesia and the Philippines are seeking mandatory new working conditions for household staff in Saudi Arabia, but Riyadh is resisting several of the demands, diplomats from the South-east Asian countries said.

MANILA, Philippines – The military is confident that it can help improve the country’s standing in the Global Peace Index (GPI) through a more vigorous implementation of its Bayanihan security plan, which focuses on community development programs and on greater civilian involvement in addressing security concerns. “Despite the country being included in the 20 nations…

For the next six years, the government will focus on employment-intensive policies, programs, and projects especially in key industries. Department of Labor and Employment Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said this effort part of the Philippine Labor and Employment Plan (PLEP) from 2011 to 2016.

Manila, Philippines – The Philippines is now preparing to implement the $434-million grant from the United States Government’s Millennium Challenge Corp.

Manila, Philippines – The Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) will tap the private sector to address the Aquino administration’s target to reduce the 3.6 million housing backlog half by year 2016, Vice President Jejomar Binay said yesterday.

Manila, Philippines – The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) sees the country’s economy growing slower than expected this year due to the political tensions in the Middle East and North African (MENA) states as well as the disasters that struck Japan last March.