A ROAD MAP to market the Philippines as an investment destination and accumulate P2.405 trillion worth of projects in the next five years was unveiled yesterday to guide the incoming administration.

The President-elect said over the weekend that he would review the Department of Labor and Employment’s decision giving Philippine Airlines the go signal to outsource some of its non-core business functions. PAL had been bleeding heavily in the last few years on account of a combination of factors—most notably the drastic fluctuations on the prices…

Unknown to the Catholic Church, the Department of Education (DepEd) has been teaching “Sex Education” to students but under a different name.

As hard as it is to imagine, nationalist and Filipino tour guide Carlos Celdran made it possible during his Second Transitio 1945 tour. Together with good friend and columnist Ana Santos, the duo initiated the concept of having Maria Clara advocate reproductive health. Both believe that Maria Clara, being the epitome of Filipina purity, innocence,…

Politics is the battlefield of diverse interests. The clashes of opposing interests have made political activities, especially lawmaking, an arduous task. A bill may be meant for the public good but if it runs against the interest of some affected groups, expect those groups to give the bill a rough sailing in Congress. It is…

AMONG the accomplishments of the outgoing administration is the doubling of the budget for education. When President Gloria M. Arroyo took office in 2001, the budget for state colleges, the Department of Education (DepEd), Commission on Higher Education (CHED), and Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda) was only P90 billion. This year the budget…

Dear PAO, I am employed as an Administrative Staff for a company engaged in taxi business. Two weeks ago, my boss approached me and informed me that they needed to terminate my services because the operation of the business was going downhill. He told me that it would be better if I resign because that…

MANILA, Philippines – Business think tank Universal Access to Competitiveness and Trade (U-ACT) called on incoming President Benigno ‘Noynoy’ Aquino III to initiate talks for the negotiation of a Philippine-European Union Free Trade Agreement (FTA) to attract more investors from Europe.

MANILA, Philippines – New York-based Moody’s Investors Services said yesterday that the outlook for sovereigns and banks in Southeast Asian countries, including the Philippines remained mostly stable despite the full impact of the global financial crisis.

MANILA, Philippines – The recent Supreme Court (SC) ruling on the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) signals the start of its smooth implementation that would define the role of the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) to intervene in disputes and other cases under the social justice program.

BALTIMORE, Maryland – Four Filipina ex-staffers of a Baltimore City hospital haven’t gotten over the shock of being summarily fired from their jobs, allegedly because they spoke Pilipino during their lunch break.

The Philippine auto industry is on the threshold of major changes and reforms that could lead to the full development of what remains one of the country’s few major industries.

The International Maritime Organization will strengthen and overhaul a three-decade-old seafarers’ convention and code to improve sailors capacity and protect them against security risks, such as recurring piracy attacks off Somalia.

I don’t expect Noynoy Aquino to be the savior of the Philippines but like many Filipinos I expect him and his presidency to offer new hope.

After Sen. Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr. was assassinated on August 21, 1983, the whole nation shouted “Hindi ka nag-iisa [You are not alone].”

MANILA, Philippines – If the Department of Education (DepEd) will have its annual budget doubled, adding another two years in the basic education for a grade 7 and a fifth year is doable, Education Secretary Mona Dumlao-Valisno said.

The Department of Education (DepEd) decided to “hold in abeyance” integration of sex education in the basic curriculum. Education Secretary Mona Valisno on Monday said, however, that they will implement the program after consultation with the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) and others opposed to the plan.

Every man desires to live long, but no one wants to grow old. — Jonathan Swift, 18th century In the 18th and 19th centuries, achieving longevity was hard enough. As human lifespan increased in the 20th century, people set their goals higher, trying to delay the onset of disease and old age. But in the…

The human body is like a machine that is full of wonder. Here is a collection of unusual health trivia — ranging from anatomy facts to medical anecdotes gathered from various sources.

MANILA, Philippines – The Board of Investments (BOI) is asking Congress for special powers in order to help counter the very generous investment incentive packages offered by the country’s Asian neighbors, particularly Thailand.

A bilateral agreement with Taiwan is not necessary because the Philippines and Taiwan already have the Joint Economic Conference, the Trade Department said.

President Arroyo’s legacy in education can be described as unambiguous in terms of resource commitments, but less clear in terms of performance metrics. This is so for two reasons: (i) closing the educational supply/demand gap is constantly being constrained by fiscal and population-growth issues; (ii) it takes a while for improvement to show up in…

First Metro Investment Corp. (FMIC), the investment house of the Metrobank Group, said the second half of 2010 will be a period of economic consolidation while 2011 will lead to a full rebound of the Philippine economy.

MANILA, Philippines – The International Monetary Fund (IMF) cited the crucial role played by remittances in helping the Philippines stay afloat despite the full impact of the global financial crisis last year.

The Department of Education (DepEd) has confidently guaranteed quality education to more than 20 million public school students for the school year 2010-2011. Beneath the upbeat surface however, the team is extremely hard pressed to meet expenses, given its limited budget.      

Based on statistics published by the United Nations and the Philippine government, our education system is in serious need of reform. Throwing money though at the problem does not make a solution. There must be a comprehensive reform plan in place to address the systemic issues; if not, money spent is money wasted.

MANILA, Philippines – The government inter-agency task force handling cases of unexplained killings of media workers and political activists has sent a team of investigators to Davao to investigate recent cases of media killings in the province.

MANILA, Philippines—This year, the country’s population growth rate has been pegged at 1.9 percent.

MANILA, Philippines – A class suit against the teaching of sex education in public schools was filed yesterday by several individuals led by losing Ang Kapatiran senatorial candidate and Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines legal division chief lawyer Jo Aurea Imbong.

Former Budget Secretary and now University of the Philippines professor Benjamin Diokno has insulted the university by issuing “irresponsible” criticisms over alleged misallocation of budget by the Arroyo administration, a senior faculty member of the UP School of Economics said on Monday. During a press briefing in Malacañang, professor Gonzalo Jurado, a former mentor of…