NOW that Winston Garcia is no longer the president and general manager of the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) there is hope that the problem of non-payment of pensions and pension delays would eventually be solved, and hopefully soonest.

STILL hoping for the best, the Philippine Airlines Employees Association (Palea) on Monday suspended indefinitely their planned strike, which was supposed to have started on April 2, or seven days after they filed their petition before the Department of Labor and Employment.

It’s an undeniable fact that there are so many poor people in our country. Just imagine, we have an estimated 5.2 million families with a monthly income of P3,460 or less per family. That’s a total of around 25 million Filipinos living in extreme poverty. The second group of 4.1 million families has an average…

MANILA, Philippines – The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) said that even if President Aquino is wooing displaced Japanese firms to locate in the country, the absence of a Philippine rescue incentive package makes other countries more attractive.

MANILA, Philippines – Treasury bill (T-bill) rates declined across the board yesterday as investors scrambled for government debt papers.

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Health (DOH) is investigating if there are other individuals who may have received donated blood found to be positive for the AIDS-causing human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), an official said yesterday.

MANILA, Philippines – The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is determined to institute reforms before the end of the year in the recruitment process to address the concerns of employees in the Kingdom, Vice President Jejomar Binay said yesterday.

MANILA, Philippines –  Wage boards nationwide are convening within the week to determine if there is a supervening condition that may be considered in granting a salary increase to minimum wage earners.

MANILA, Philippines – President Aquino rejected yesterday proposals by his party-mates in the Liberal Party (LP) to reduce the value-added tax (VAT) on oil.

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WORKERS should not count on an announcement of an increase in daily minimum wages this May 1, as the procedure prescribed for reaching this decision leaves very little time to do so by that date, an official of the agency overseeing the process hinted in an interview yesterday.

Now some members of Congress want to get a piece of the action. I’m referring to the move of the House of Representatives to investigate the controversy involving Willie Revillame who asked a six-year-old boy to gyrate like a sexy dancer in his program. Revillame and the gleeful audience egged the boy on despite the…

MANILA, Philippines – The International Labor Organization (ILO) and the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) today announced their plan to embark on a five-year program to end child labor in the country by 2016.

The Technical Education and Skills Development Authority has certified at least 6,806 applicants.

THE Philippines last year joined Asia’s emerging markets with an expanding middle class after it posted a per-capita gross domestic product of more than $2,000, according to economists.

NOTE: As mentioned at the end of the two-part column published last Friday and Saturday, a three-part article on anti-corruption measures which ran in August, will be reprinted this week with some revisions and updates, to reiterate key steps that can be taken to reduce graft.

THE leadership of the Philippine Airlines Employees Association (Palea) over the weekend announced that it would file a case against the government for allegedly suppressing the strike that they intended to hold on account of Philippine Airlines’ (PAL) planned outsourcing of its services.

General Santos City —Three small-scale miners were confirmed dead while six others remain trapped in several mine tunnels that collapsed on Saturday at the height of heavy rains at a mountain village in Tampakan town in South Cotabato.

The Saudi govern-ment is non-committal to the Philippines’ request to lift the ban on Filipino domestic helpers but announced that it will soon introduce “reforms” to protect the rights of fo-reign workers in the King-dom.

Nine Pacific nations including the United States are moving ahead on building a ambitious free trade zone, but few believe they will meet a self-imposed November (Berlin: NBXB.BE – news) deadline as criticism mounts.

WASHINGTON (AP) – The nation’s unemployment rate dropped to its lowest level in two years in March, and the outlook is brightening as major companies plan to add more jobs.

MANILA, Philippines – Singapore-based investment bank DBS has raised its Philippine inflation forecasts this year and next due to escalating global oil and commodity prices that would prompt the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to further raise interest rates this year.

MANILA, Philippines – More units of donated blood have been found to be positive for the AIDS-causing human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the Department of Health (DOH) reported yesterday.

MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) – The ground crew union of local carier Philippine Airlines plans to file a case against the government before the International Labor Organization, citing suppression of its right to collective bargaining.

MANILA, Philippines – A manager for an international recruitment website advised new graduates not to be picky when searching for jobs.

MANILA, Philippines—Some 1,200 Filipino domestic helpers in Cyprus stand to benefit from an increase in minimum wage in the Eastern Mediterranean country, the Department of Labor and Employment has said.

Job applicants implore aid of Divine ProvidenceBy LESLIE AQUINOApril 4, 2011, 6:11pmMANILA, Philippines — With thousands of students graduating yearly, not to mention the difficulty in finding employment, job hunters are now resorting to having their resumes blessed.

ILOILO, Apr 4 (PIA) – The Philippines is signatory to several conventions on gender and development (GAD) and women’s rights but mainstreaming this in local government units (LGUs) need to be strengthened.

Lack of concrete plan to address economic woes CLARK FREEPORT, Philippines—Economist Bernardo Villegas said the Aquino administration was doing “very, very poorly” in attracting foreign direct investments (FDIs) to the Philippines.

Number of women holding top posts down, study says MANILA, Philippines-The recent global economic recession that felled financial giants across the globe has also affected the proportion of women holding key positions in senior management.