MANILA, Philippines – Cases of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) in the country have reached epidemic proportions, prompting health authorities to sound the alarm to stem the rampant transmission of the deadly disease.

MANILA, Philippines – Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo vowed to walk the talk on President Aquino’s “kung walang corrupt, walang mahirap” anti-corruption drive.

THERE ARE many misbeliefs or misconceptions about lightning. Some say that lightning will never strike twice in the same place. Others think that lightning will always strike the highest point. Still others say that their home is safe because it has never been struck. The overconfident individual says that it will never happen to him/her.

IN SCHOOL, speaking one’s native tongue (e.g., Cebuano, Ilocano, Bicol or Waray) is still considered by many an obstacle to learning, instead of an educational resource. Monetary, academic and even corporal penalties have been imposed in the false belief that, these will dissuade students from speaking the “dialect” in school.

HOW MANY surveys are needed before the gravity of the Philippine hunger problem is recognized by the government and other institutions, domestic and international, professing concern for the economic well-being of the people?

Last week, I started sharing with you, dear readers, my speech on the topic “the Role of CHED in Setting Global Standards for Higher Education in the Philippines” during the Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology (MSU-IIT) Institute Symposia and Fora on July 9, 2010 with the theme “Looking Global ……. Taking Actions . .…

THE Aquino administration wants to collect more taxes by cracking the whip on sari-sari store owners, market vendors, and the estimated 40 percent of Filipinos who work in the underground economy.

22 July 2010 – The Philippines reiterated its commitment to strengthen mechanisms for the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms of all at the ongoing 43rd Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Ha Noi, Vietnam. One of the priorities of President Benigno S. Aquino III is providng greater…

MANILA, Philippines—To the younger OFWs who still have the next 10 to 20 years to work abroad, my advice is for them to look for opportunities in Asia, where the most dynamic economies will be (in contrast with the stagnating industrialized countries of the West and Japan).

UH-OH, LESS than a month into the Aquino (Part II) administration and already, tap water is becoming a political commodity. Now, the guys down here in my barangay must not only worry about tap water getting too costly. They must also contend with the problem of shortage.

MANILA, Philippines—A small group of Filipinos has begun training in preparation for the possible use of nuclear energy as the Aquino administration begins discussing measures to deal with an impending power crisis, the head of National Power Corp. (Napocor) said Wednesday.

In its recent meeting, the Development Budget Coordination Committee revised upward its GDP growth forecasts to 5-6% for 2010. But in a surprise move, the committee forecasts that economic growth will accelerate to 7-8% in 2011 by “harnessing innovative public-private partnerships.” The rosy prognosis for 2011 goes against the forecasts of both the International Monetary…

DESPITE all the talk about going green and the increasing “environmental advocacies” of companies, only 17 products in the country have earned the Philippine version of eco-labeling called the Green Choice seal.

VIENNA, Austria—The criminalization of sex workers, drug users, and men who have sex with men were highlighted as major sources of concern in the fight against HIV in Asia, at the world AIDS conference here Wednesday.

A LITTLE more than a tenth of Filipinos in 2003 could be considered poor under an expanded poverty index that will be used in the United Nations Development Programme’s (UNDP) Human Development Report scheduled to come out this October, the institution that crafted the method said in a statement.

CEBU, Philippines – A Mandaue City police official and at least three members of the Associated Labor Unions picketing the Chagrin Incorporated in Barangay Pagsabungan were criminally charged before the Office of the Ombudsman Visayas for alleged violation of the rights of an arrested person and grave misconduct.

That silly party-list system will have to go, sometime in the near future, because clearly, it has been abused through the years, and will continue to be abused — even by the so-called “cause-oriented groups.”

The government will streamline its small and medium enterprise (SME) development efforts by placing all bureaus and agencies mandated to help the sector “under one roof.” On the sidelines of the Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines Inc. (FINEX) general membership meeting on Wednesday, Trade Secretary Gregory Domingo told reporters that eight agencies have overlapping…

The International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) has urged President Benigno Aquino 3rd to intervene in the labor dispute between Philippine Airline (PAL) and its employees.

Toshiba Corp. of Japan is keen on reviving the mothballed Bataan Nuclear Power Plant. Froilan Tampinco, National Power Corp. (Napocor) president, said that the Japanese firm has expressed interest in rehabilitating the Bataan plant since Toshiba already controls Westinghouse Electric Co., the company that constructed the 630-megawatt nuclear plant.

The rule is that an employer of a negligent employee or household helper shall be liable for the damages caused by the latter acting within the scope of their assigned tasks even though the former is not engaged in any business or industry. The exception is that said employer is not liable if he proves…

(Part 1 of a series on Reproductive Health) The population has reached 90 million. Seventy percent are poor and barely productive. Only five years remain to attain the 2015 UN Millennium Development Goals. The UN Global Monitoring Report 2010 foresees our failure in two goals: providing quality primary education for all; and decreasing maternal and…

MANILA, Philippines – The government yesterday came out with the revenue regulations pertaining to the tax privilege provisions of the Expanded Senior Citizens Act of 2010.

MANILA, Philippines – The newly appointed science and technology secretary intends to use his training and experience as an inventor and engineer to solve some of the country’s recurring problems like floods and traffic.

About four million Filipino households nationwide continue to experience hunger, with a rate that has remained at double-digits, according to the second quarter Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey results released Wednesday.

MANILA, Philippines – With the new Aquino administration showing keen interest to develop nuclear energy as an alternative source of electricity, another Japanese company, Toshiba Corp., said it is willing to supply nuclear reactor facilities to the Philippines.

MANILA, Philippines – Acting National Economic and Development Authority Director General Augusto Santos said Tuesday the gross domestic product was expected to grow 6.5 to seven percent this year because of additional spending that the government would undertake.

MANILA, Philippines – Members of the visiting International Monetary Fund (IMF) team said yesterday that the new administration under President Aquino should first focus on enhancing and improving its tax collection efficiency before introducing new tax measures as part of efforts to put its fiscal house in order.

MANILA, Philippines – The Aquino administration has inherited a budget gap of P196.7 billion in the first six months of the year, 28.2 percent more than the P153.4-billion budget deficit recorded in the same period last year.   

BANGKOK — In October 2008, when the world was reeling from the collapse of Lehman Brothers and job markets were freezing up everywhere, Akane Natori waltzed into a new position she liked. “Things went so smoothly after applying online, and before I knew it, I had the job,” said Ms. Natori, who was then a…