PRESS RELEASE Associated Labor Unions (ALU) Building and Woodworkers International (BWI) Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) ======== Manila, Philippines, 19 October 2010 – “Senator Manny Villar as Chair of the Senate Committee on Trade and Commerce will schedule public hearing on Senate Bill No. 89 (SBN-89) banning asbestos when the Senate resumes session…

Institutes in East Asia have begun an international research programme that aims to develop a new AIDS vacccine as soon as possible.

The Philippines has a surplus of nurses and it would be better if government encouraged their deployment abroad and discouraged the deployment of domestic helpers who are more prone to abuse, recommended the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP).

MANILA, Philippines – Is the Philippines rushing to pass the controversial Reproductive Health (RH) bill just to meet the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDG)?

MANILA, Philippines – While fewer Filipino families experienced involuntary hunger in the last three months, nearly half of them rated themselves “mahirap” or “poor,” a recent survey by the Social Weather Stations (SWS) showed.

ASEAN’s manufacturing exports have grown in recent years, due to increased productivity, proximity to large Asian markets, and recently implemented free trade agreements, according to a US International Trade Commission report issued in August. But challenges remain for future growth, including a shortage of skilled labor, an inefficient system of standards and assessment, and inadequate…

The Court of Appeals has ordered the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) to resolve the issues on “additional excluded employees,” retirement plan, employees’ stock option plan, and the employees’ stock benefit fund relative to the collective bargaining agreement (CBA) between the union and management of Philippine National Bank (PNB).

Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. has started preparations to sell the real estate properties of National Power Corp. and other non-power holdings after deferring this year the sale of its remaining power assets.

Sixty-four percent of female and 66 percent of male public school students say they have experienced being ridiculed or teased in school—whether by their peers or by their teachers and other school authorities.

RAMP controllers at the Ninoy Aquino Internal Airport are demanding a salary hike, complaining that never had any pay increase for the last 10 years.

IN line with the new administration’s policy, the medium-term export plan will push the development of higher-value products and services, a Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) official said. Undersecretary Adrian Cristobal Jr. told a forum last week that the Philippine Export Development Plan (PEDP) 2011-2013 would focus on the value-added of the country’s export…

Philippine comic books have nurtured talent for international TV and animation blockbusters, but the once-mighty industry is fighting to survive as it comes up against the Internet and other new media. Comic books that dominated the Philippine publishing industry just a couple of decades ago are now largely relegated to photocopied titles sold in a…

THE Philippines along with Pakistan are projected to exceed their historical average economic growth over the next two decades, faster than other Asian countries, according to Asian Development Bank (ADB). In its study titled, “Economic Growth in Asia: Determinants and Prospects,” the Manila-based lender found out that the gross domestic product (GDP) projections for the…

MANILA, Philippines – Building and unveiling the Meralco Sibol School is one of the utility company’s major CSR projects. It is Meralco’s way of nurturing the dreams of children and families and building communities through the power of education. The Sibol School was launched as early as 2005 as a response to the need of…

MANILA, Philippines – Diversifying conglomerate San Miguel Corp. (SMC) said it is willing to rehabilitate the mothballed Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP) and join all biddings for the government’s infrastructure projects specifically the ones included in the Private Public Partnership (PPP) list.

MANILA, Philippines – Mindanao-based distribution utilities and electric cooperatives said that the zero brownout that the island is enjoying right now is “only temporary”.

In our previous article, we talked about the race between nations to debase their respective currencies in order to spur domestic economic growth (see Currency War, Oct. 11, 2010). We have shown you how – as a result of these currency wars – the US dollar is losing its value. This has also precipitated a…

MANILA, Philippines – The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is lukewarm to the proposal of legislators to regulate the interest rates imposed by credit card companies as this could unduly weaken the credit transmission power of monetary policy.

MANILA, Philippines – The country’s largest labor group yesterday expressed strong opposition to a proposal to ease the workers’ right to security of tenure just to attract more investments into the country.

As P-Noy and the Catholic Bishops hold their dialogue on the RH bill, the violation of the principle of Church and State will surely be brought up anew. This is one of the mistaken notions persistently raised in this controversy simply because of ignorance as to its real meaning and intent; or because of the…

MANILA, Philippines – The Math whiz kids of the Philippines arrived home Saturday night after winning 19 medals in the 7th International Mathematics and Science Olympiad (IMSO) for Primary Schools in Bali last week.

MANILA, Philippines – The head of the National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC) yesterday said the government is unlikely to be able to reduce extreme poverty incidence by half by 2015 although the poverty incidence is not likely to rise.

MANILA, Philippines- Credit cards give consumers the advantage of purchasing goods and services without carrying any money since they are a convenient substitute for cash or check.

MANILA, Philippines – Credit card companies extract charges estimated at some P24 billion a month from some 5.7-million cardholders around the country, making far more money than most banks make in extending loans to commercial borrowers.

Credit cards, we use them for the majority of the more spendy items we choose to buy. They work great for people who cannot pay right on the dime and are fully aware they will have the money at the date the amount is due. Sometimes we can make mistakes when we do not fully…

HA NOI — The 6th ASEAN People’s Forum (APF-6) wrapped up yesterday with a joint statement pledging to support the ASEAN Charter and the building of an ASEAN community.

MANILA, Philippines—The Asean Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights is preparing the drafting of the ASEAN Human Rights Declaration (AHRD) for its next meeting in November in Thailand, it was learned.

How to tell when credit cards are out of control Credit cards are one of the easiest ways to borrow money, and this can be a problem. There are many related horror stories, and there is a real danger that credit card debt can grow faster than the borrower’s capacity to deal with it. But…

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Prepared by John Kiff, Allison Holland, Michael Kisser, Sylwia Nowak,Samer Saab, Liliana Schumacher, Han van der Hoorn, and Ann-Margret Westin Key Points · Sovereign credit ratings have inadvertently contributed to financial instability. This is because ratings are embedded in various rules, regulations and triggers, so that downgrades can lead to destabilizing knock-on and spillover effects…