by Ben O. de Vera, Philippine Daily Inquirer, 8 Dec 2020 MANILA, Philippines—The influx of K to 12 graduates into the job market by the time the economy is seen still recovering from this year’s pandemic-induced slump will bloat the jobless rate to 7-9 percent in 2022, the country’s chief economist said.

by Ben O. de Vera, Philippine Daily Inquirer, 8 Dec 2020 MANILA, Philippines—The COVID-19 pandemic will make 2.7 million more Filipinos poor this year on top of a record slide in the Philippines’ gross domestic product (GDP) or economic output in what could be the worst outturn post-war, the World Bank said Tuesday.

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by Ben O. de Vera, Philippine Daily Inquirer, 7 Dec 2020 MANILA, Philippines—Despite the COVID-19 pandemic that shed millions of jobs and shuttered thousands of businesses, the state-run pension fund Social Security System (SSS) on Monday (Dec. 7) said the scheduled increase in contribution rate to 13 percent from 12 percent at present will push…

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by Cecille Suerte Felipe (The Philippine Star), 6 Dec 2020 MANILA, Philippines — Learning outcomes of Grade 5 students showed that a large number of Filipino learners are not proficient enough in reading, writing and math to advance to secondary school, a Southeast Asia-wide study showed, according to Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian.

December – month of overseas Filipinos, human rights and youth in the Philippines. Monthly Observances: Month of Overseas Filipinos Energy Consciousness Month Weekly Observances: Dec 4-10 National Human Rights Consciousness Week Week 1: Family Week National Government Employees’ Week Week 2: Linggo ng Kabataan Daily Observances: First Monday: Parents’ Day Mother’s Day and Father’s Day…

December 6 is National AIDS Sunday National Sunday of PWDs! 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 Mary Grace Padin (The Philippine Star), 5 Dec 2020 MANILA, Philippines — The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has released the guidelines for the establishment of digital banks as it seeks to promote innovation in the banking sector and improve the accessibility of financial products to Filipinos.

by Catherine Talavera, Louella Desiderio, (The Philippine Star), 5 Dec 2020 MANILA, Philippines — Starting this Christmas season, the conduct of group events in hotels, restaurants and malls located in areas under general community quarantine such as Metro Manila will be allowed, the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) said…

by Ben O. de Vera, Philippine Daily Inquirer, 5 Dec 2020 The country’s factory output volumes and their values further contracted in October as 15 industries posted lower year-on-year production, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported on Friday.

by Ben O. de Vera, Philippine Daily Inquirer, 5 Dec 2020 The damage to be inflicted by the COVID-19 pandemic on the Philippine economy will be like a “long scar” that can take longer to heal, according to UK-based Oxford Economics.

By: Dona Z. Pazzibugan, Philippine Daily Inquirer, 4 Dec 2020 MANILA, Philippines — Nearly 5,000 minors below 15 years old are employed as domestic workers in violation of the Batas Kasambahay of 2013, according to a government survey.

by ABS-CBN News, 4 Dec 2020 MAYNILA — Mas mainam kung itataas sa 18 anyos ang minimum age na maaaring payagang maging domestic worker o kasambahay ang isang indibidwal, mula sa kasalukuyang 15 anyos, sabi ng isang child welfare group.

by Louella Desiderio (The Philippine Star), 4 Dec 2020 MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines is capable of attracting $50 billion worth of foreign direct investments (FDIs) and generate three million jobs over the next decade, foreign businessmen said.

by Romina Cabrera (The Philippine Star), 4 Dec 2020 MANILA, Philippines — Over 119,000 public utility vehicle (PUV) operators have received cash subsidy from the government as part of social amelioration measures during the COVID-19 pandemic.

by Ben O. de Vera, Philippine Daily Inquirer, 4 Dec 2020 MANILA, Philippines — With the COVID-19 pandemic and the stringent lockdown shuttering thousands of businesses, about 4.5 million Filipinos became jobless this year and the unemployment rate jumped to 10.4 percent — the highest in 15 years, the government reported on Thursday.

by Ben O. de Vera, Philippine Daily Inquirer, 4 Dec 2020 MANILA, Philippines — The COVID-19 pandemic has not only ended decades of steady growth for the Philippine economy, but also plunged the country into its most serious recession since after World War II and even worse than the 1984 economic crisis that led to…

by Czeriza Valencia (The Philippine Star), 4 Dec 2020 MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines is expected to remain under a prolonged quarantine next year, with restrictions seen to be removed only in 2022, according to the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA).

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By William B. Depasupil, Manila Times, 3 Dec 2020 ALMOST 50,000 or 4 percent of about 1.4 million Filipinos working as domestic helpers or “kasambahay” are minors, according to the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE).

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by Daxim L. Lucas, Philippine Daily Inquirer, 3 Dec 2020 MANILA, Philippines—The central bank called on the national government to accelerate its own spending program to boost growth amid emerging data that the private sector remains gun shy on taking out loans, which are now at their cheapest in history, which would generate economic activity.

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by By Jenina P. Ibañez, Reporter and Denise A. Valdez, Senior Reporter, BusinessWorld, 2 Dec 2020 THE recently signed 15-country mega trade deal could worsen a post-pandemic Philippine economy, some analysts said, as a potential surge in imports could upset the balance of trade.

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By: Miguel R. Camus, Philippine Daily Inquirer, 1 Dec 2020 MANILA, Philippines—San Miguel Corp. (SMC), one of the country’s largest expressway operators, said the transition to full cashless toll collections on Dec. 1 this year was “smooth and peaceful”.