by Philippine Daily Inquirer, 22 Dec 2020 MANILA, Philippines — The Bureau of Immigration (BI) has placed its employees in the different ports of entry on heightened alert as it warned the public to be vigilant against human smuggling and human trafficking syndicates that might take advantage of the holiday rush despite the COVID-19 pandemic.

by Zac Sarao, trainee, INQUIRER.net, 22 Dec 2020 MANILA, Philippines — The Child Rights Network (CRN) is urging the Quezon City government to review its ordinance banning minors from loitering in public areas, saying confinement of 24 hours a day would harm a child’s mental and physical health.

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by Amy R. Remo, Philippine Daily Inquirer, 21 Dec 2020 To accelerate economic recovery, the Philippine government continues to pursue the passage and implementation of critical economic reforms to support businesses and help millions of Filipinos get back on their feet amid the devastating impact of COVID-19.

by Consuelo Marquez, Philippine Daily Inquirer, 21 Dec 2020 MANILA, Philippines — Sixty-two percent of adult Filipinos believed that their quality of life worsened in the past year.

by Betheena Unite, 19 Dec 2020 A federation of workers has reminded the Asian Development Bank (ADB) of its commitment to prohibit the use of deadly asbestos in all its funded projects, including the EDSA walkway project.

by Leila B. Salaverria, Philippine Daily Inquirer, 19 Dec 2020 MANILA, Philippines — A total of 81 recruitment agencies have closed down since the COVID-19 pandemic, mostly those offering land-based jobs, according to Bernard Olalia, administrator of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration. But Olalia said the demand for Filipino workers abroad, especially health-care and factory…

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by Mayen Jaymalin (The Philippine Star), 18 Dec 2020 MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) is pushing for a P6,000 minimum monthly pay for household service workers (HSWs) nationwide.

by Mayen Jaymalin (The Philippine Star), 18 Dec 2020 MANILA, Philippines — Over 120,000 displaced overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) are coming home, according to the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).

by Ben O. de Vera, Philippine Daily Inquirer, 18 Dec 2020 Next year’s expected economic rebound would be supported by massive infrastructure investments geared toward making the country new normal-ready through more flood control and water facilities as well as additional digital and health projects, the country’s chief economist said on Thursday.

by Vito Barcelo and Maricel Cruz, Philippine Daily Inquirer, 18 Dec 2020 More than half million overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) were displaced by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID 19) pandemic abroad, while 3.8 million workers lost their jobs, the Department of Labor and Employment said Thursday.

The 1300 Social Assistance Center is here to help you. They have interpreters on standby 24 hours a day/ 7 days a week. Don't face it alone, #HelpisHere1300#SpotlightEndViolence #16Days pic.twitter.com/KqSfub97Pj — ILOAsiaPacific (@ILOAsiaPacific) December 16, 2020

by Cet Dematera (The Philippine Star), 17 Dec 2020 LEGAZPI CITY, Philippines — Two workers were buried alive and two others were injured in an accident at a construction site in this city on Tuesday.

by Helen Flores (The Philippine Star), 17 Dec 2020 MANILA, Philippines — Filipino families who experienced “involuntary hunger” dropped to 16 percent or about four million in the last quarter of the year, the Social Weather Stations (SWS) said in its latest report.

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by Louella Desiderio (The Philippine Star), 16 Dec 2020 MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is pushing for greater use of the European Union’s trade preferences program, as well as for continued talks for a free trade agreement (FTA) with the bloc for stronger trade and investment ties.

by Daxim L. Lucas, Philippine Daily Inquirer, 15 Dec 2020 MANILA, Philippines—Dollars sent home by Filipinos abroad grew slightly in October as land-based contract workers sent more money to their local beneficiaries, narrowing the year-to-date annual decline caused by pandemic-related job losses.

by Xave Gregorio (Philstar.com), 15 Dec 2020 MANILA, Philippines (UPDATE 9:06 a.m., Dec. 16) — Chinese workers employed by local offshore gaming firms never left despite some of these companies closing shop when the pandemic struck.

by Gabriel Pabico Lalu, Philippine Daily Inquirer, 15 Dec 2020 MANILA, Philippines — At least 48 percent of Filipino families feel that they are poor, results of the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey on self-rated poverty (SRP) showed on Monday.

by Gabriel Pabico Lalu, Philippine Daily Inquirer, 15 Dec 2020 MANILA, Philippines — More Filipino families have rated themselves as “borderline food-poor” compared to previous surveys in 2019, a Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey revealed on Monday.

December 18 is International migrants day! #NationalTreatment #SafeAndFairMigration Nov 25 to Dec 10 is 16 days of activism against gender-based violence! #RatifyC190 #StopGBV #OrangeThe World #16Days #GenerationEquality https://bit.ly/39aWa2g

By Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco, 14 Dec 2020 THE serial “flunking” of Filipino learners in several international academic examinations shows the “sudden death” of education in the country, according to the Federation of Associations of Private School Administrators (Fapsa).

by Gaea Katreena Cabico (Philstar.com), 14 Dec 2020 MANILA, Philippines — Adverse health impacts linked to air pollution could more than double in Metro Manila and four other provinces in Luzon should proposed coal-fired power plants be switched on, a study of an independent research group projected.

by Catherine Talavera (The Philippine Star), 14 Dec 2020 MANILA, Philippines — The country’s functional literacy among Filipinos aged 10 to 64 years old improved in 2019 as it reached 91.6 percent, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported over the weekend.

by Mayen Jaymalin (The Philippine Star), 14 Dec 2020 MANILA, Philippines — Sex remains the predominant mode of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) transmission in the country, the Department of Health (DOH) said over the weekend.