SIMPLY adding more classrooms and public schools—or extending cash transfers—will not help solve the country’s increasing dropout rate, according to a policy brief recently released by the government think tank Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS).

7 industries to play key role in economic growth MANILA, Philippines—The joint Foreign Chambers will be presenting on Monday a roadmap that it believes will set the Philippines on the path to economic progress.

MANILA, Philippines—A 45-year-old machine operator died allegedly when he rolled in his sleep and fell from a makeshift bunk in a warehouse in Manila early Friday.

MALAYBALAY — Around 500 farm workers from different municipalities in Bukidnon province set up a “Kampuhan sa Mag-uuma,” or farmers’ camp, in front of the provincial capitol in protest of the low salaries they receive from plantation owners.

THE HOUSE Committee on Labor and Employment has approved in principle the proposed Security of Tenure Act seeking tighter rules on subcontracting.

CAR FIRMS remain on track to posting a fresh sales record this year despite a month-on-month decline in the number of vehicles leaving showrooms, an industry group yesterday said.

CORRUPTION apparently has lessened among select Philippine institutions but overall worsened in the country over the last three years, results of a global survey conducted by watchdog Transparency International (TI) showed yesterday.

CONSUMER SENTIMENT continues to improve, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) yesterday claimed, with a quarterly confidence index (CI) at a four-year high for the last three months of 2010.

COTABATO CITY: A local version of the Republic Act (RA) 9710, or the Magna Carta for Women, will soon become a Muslim Mindanao Act once the regional governor has signed it into law, according to a high official of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) on Friday.

Dear PAO, I was suspended for two months. Now, I am thinking about resigning. About the computation of my quitclaim if I resign, our personnel said there is no formula for how much I will get. What will I get if I resign? They said it would be just my 13th month less my taxes…

FORMER President and now Rep. Gloria Arroyo of Pampanga will have more allies in Congress after the Commission on Elections (Comelec) has proclaimed the party-list group of her cousin to sit in the House of Representatives. This was after the Comelec en banc issued a Certificate of Proclamation to party-list group Association of Laborers and…

SAN FRANCISCO – On International Human Rights Day, Filipino caregivers and their advocates held a press conference at the Filipino Community Center (FCC) to announce a major victory.

THE Philippine Airlines Employees’ Association (Palea) on Friday said that “substantial majority” of its members voted for a strike against the planned spin-off of Philippine Airlines’ three non-core businesses, as the airline management readied contingency measures to prevent any flight disruptions. In a statement, Palea said that some 86 percent of the total votes cast…

CEBU, Philippines – After Cebu Vice Governor Gregorio Sanchez Jr.’s publicized theory that chicken manure caused the outbreak of typhoid fever in the southwestern town of Alegria, the Department of Health (DOH) contradicted his claim by saying that typhoid fever is primarily caused by human waste.

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines managed to post a foreign direct investment inflow of $66 million in September amid concerns over the exposure of the European banks to sovereign debt and the fragile economic recovery being experienced by the US, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said yesterday.

MANILA, Philippines – The government is considering the inclusion of nuclear energy projects in the Private Public Partnership (PPP) scheme, a ranking energy official said.

MANILA, Philippines – The Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) has reversed a controversial rule that has prevented survivors of pensioners from receiving their benefits.

MANILA, Philippines – European Union (EU) High Representative Catherine Ashton said yesterday that the promotion and protection of human rights in the Philippines is EU’s key priority and providing support to human rights defenders and their efforts is a concrete expression of its commitment.

MANILA, Philippines – Most Filipinos prefer cash gifts over non-monetary gifts this Christmas, a Western Union-sponsored survey showed.

MANILA, Philippines – Philippine Airlines (PAL) president and CEO Jaime Bautista together with Customs Commissioner Angelito Alvarez confirmed yesterday that all employees of the Bureau of Customs (BOC) at the airport would receive on Dec. 13 some P250,000 each from PAL and other foreign airlines for rendering overtime service for five months.

There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.

LONDON – Overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in the United Kingdom have differing opinions on a mandatory HIV/AIDS test the government may consider as a requirement for every Filipino planning to work abroad.

MANILA, Philippines – The government should look into the practice of hospitals that require registered nurses to pay for their training, a health workers group said Saturday.

THE loopholes in the national housing system are to blame for the multi-billion-peso anomalies like the P9.7-billion questionable loan transactions between private developer Globe Asiatique and the state-run Pag-IBIG housing fund, former Vice President Noli de Castro said Thursday.

As part of the World AIDS Day celebration, Department of Health (DOH) HIV – AIDS Coordinator Myrna Alaba briefed department heads and city hall employees of Dumaguete that Central Visayas is second in terms of number of HIV-AIDS cases in the Philippines.

10 December 2010: Fundamental human rights are under attack in every region of the world, and respect for workers’ rights in particular is being undermined as working people are increasingly forced to bear the burden of the global economic crisis, in contravention of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other UN and International Labour…

In a bid to address India’s worsening unemployment problem, the Indian government has ruled that it will issue employment visas only to migrant workers hired for highly skilled jobs that earn an annual salary of over US$25,000.

Multilateral lender International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Friday upgraded to 5 percent its 2011 growth forecast for the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) from an earlier forecast of 4.5 percent.

Change in policy stance needed to ward off inflation risks MANILA, Philippines – The country may have to start raising interest rates soon from the current record low of 4% to ward off inflation risks coming from strong liquidity, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Friday.

INTERNATIONAL TRADE UNION CONFEDERATION (ITUC) ITUC Online 191/101210 Press advisory: Trade unions tell ASEM Labour Ministers to act on social protection and Green Jobs (Brussels, 10 December 2010): On Sunday 12 December, trade unions from Asia and Europe will meet with Labour Ministers and employers’ representatives on the eve of the 3rd ASEM Labour and…