PRESIDENT Benigno Aquino III’s allies on Sunday vowed to push economic amendments to the Constitution, saying now was the time to do it because the President had given his assurance he did not plan to stay in power beyond his six-year term.

MANILA, Philippines—The Supreme Court has affirmed with finality the constitutionality of Republic Act No. 9372, also known as the Human Security Act of 2007, which was crafted by Congress to give teeth to the government’s anti-terrorism drive.

Welfare of Filipinos abroad a priority, says official Manila: Protection and welfare of Filipino guest workers abroad will remain one of the cornerstones of the Philippine’s foreign policy in 2011, Secretary Alberto Romulo said.

With the trust rating of the Aquino administration at its highest, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) will further enhance its labor relations reform programs in 2011 to maintain the single digit strike rate last year and maintain the industrial peace prevailing in the country.

THE DEPARTMENT of Health (DoH)-Philippine National AIDS Council (PNAC) is lobbying for a new HIV/AIDS prevention bill that will advocate higher budget for PNAC and anti-HIV programs of its 17 member agencies.

MANILA, Philippines – For budget-conscious power consumers, the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) offers a handy – and free – tool to help them manage their electricity consumption better.

LONDON – The stress of being exposed to economic insecurity may mean people living in countries with so-called “free market” economies are more likely to become obese, British researchers said on Friday.

MANILA, Philippines – The foreign currency denominated debt of the Philippines went up by 9.3 percent in the first nine months of last year but the country’s debt service capacity remained comfortable, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said over the weekend.

MANILA, Philippines – Sales of the local auto industry zoomed to its highest level in 14 years with 168,490 units sold last year.

The country’s experience with devolution shows the limitation of big ideas turned into laws without adequate studies of how things will work on the ground. It was popular for some political leaders to bash Imperial Manila and demand that more powers be devolved to local governments. It was argued that local governments know what people…

FOR Manuel “Manny” V. Pangilinan, eradicating poverty should be Job No. 1 for every Filipino. But to be successful, more people should help not just in civic projects but also in government programs that invite partnerships with private businesses.

MANILA, Philippines – Despite the spate of negative travel advisories on the Philippines, the number of foreigners who entered the country through the Ninoy Aquino International Airport terminals alone from January to December 2010 soared to more than 3.4 million, up by almost 20 percent compared to those who arrived in 2009, according to the…

MANILA, Philippines—The deadline for the mandatory payment of 13th month pay has lapsed two weeks ago, but the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) continues to receive complaints of non-compliance from workers all over the country, mostly in Metro Manila, Secretary Rosalinda Dimapilis-Baldoz said in a news release.

Philippines—Washington believes the Philippines is “unlikely” to meet its second Millennium Development Goal (MDG) or achieving universal primary education by 2015, according to a report of the US embassy in Manila furnished the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

MANILA, Philippines – The Pilipino Banana Growers and Exporters Association (PBGEA) has asked to strengthen the sector by adopting a code of good practices to make the industry fully compliant with local and international labor standards.

Government policies are always affected by whose interest is being considered. In the case of the steel industry, the clashing interests are those of the importers and the traders, Roberto Cola said. He cited China, which now offers rebates to steel manufacturers. The Chinese government encourages exporting high value added products. It discourages exports of…

A steady supply of iron ore is not a necessity for the Philippines to develop its steel industry, Roberto Cola said.

ROBERTO Cola, the president of the Philippine Steel and Iron Institute (PISI), says the primary cause of the decline of the steel industry is its failure to integrate. He also said that is again being seen today: “There’s lack of value adding among the present local players.”

MANILA, Philippines – Swiss-owned investment bank UBS sees the country’s inflation picking up to 4.1 percent this year and 4.6 percent next year.

Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz yesterday announced that the Philippines ’ Filipino Worker Resource Centers (FWRCs) in 19 posts across the world had cared for a monthly average of 1,200 distressed overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who ran to the FWRCs for refuge in 2010.

THE Department of Education (DepEd) said it is looking for options to address the need for more kindergarten teachers in line with the 2.4-million 5-year-old students targeted to start schooling this year.

AT least 60 percent of working Filipinos do not have valid identification cards (IDs), which hamper their access to social services, a lawmaker said Saturday. Rep. Pedro Romualdo of the Lone District of Camiguin disclosed that Filipinos in the workforce who do not have proper IDs include those who are working in the underground economy,…

Some 13,000 distressed overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in various countries were provided legal assistance and refuge by the Filipino Workers Resource Center (FWRC) last year, government records show.

Why did succeeding Cabinet members in charge of the Philippine economy—after the Marcos regime—let Philippine industrialization shrink to its present state of almost nothingness? Why did they abandon our steel industry, which any freshman-level economics or engineering student knows, is the lifeblood of industrialization?

CEBU CITY, Cebu, Philippines – A father and his two sons died at dawn Sunday due to suffocation while manually extracting waste from a septic tank of a lodging house in Carcar City, 40 kilometers south of here.

CEBU, Philippines – The Trade Union Congress Party expressed its vehement objection to the start of the wholesale Electricity Spot Market in the Visayas on December 26 last year.

Last of Two Parts MANILA, Philippines – The harsh realities of our tangled Philippine situation are starting to become more starkly pronounced, and with greater urgency for their resolution is emerging in the corridors of public opinion. Elected leaders — numero uno of whom is, inescapably, the President of the Republic — are expected by…

MANILA, Philippines–Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) Secretary Rosalinda Dimapilis-Baldoz has rejected proposals that would exempt large-scale investors from complying with labor laws and standards, including minimum wages for workers.

MANILA, Philippines—In the power sector, non-oil sources of energy will account for 70 percent or more of power generation, especially geothermal, natural gas, coal, biomass, hydro, wind, and solar.

Net inflow of foreign portfolio investments or ‘hot money’ stood at $4.52 billion two weeks before 2010 ended – almost a dozen times larger than the $388.02 billion in the same period in 2009, said the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).