HO CHI MINH CITY: Southeast Asia is still years away from developing an innovative high-tech sector, industry players said Monday.

THE Commission on Higher Education said on Monday that the approved tuition hike of 339 higher learning institutions is “irreversible” despite threats of protests from parents and students.

MANILA, Philippines – The Wage Board has approved a P22 increase in the daily minimum wage for workers in the National Capital Region.

Despite the high cost of power generation, customers of the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) will see a reduction in their June electricity bills because of a decrease in transmission and system loss charges.

MANILA, Philippines – Several groups on Tuesday decried the decision of the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board-National Capital Region to grant a P22 increase to the minimum wage of workers in Metro Manila, more than 2 years after the last wage order was issued.

MANILA, Philippines – Filipinos are tapping more loans to purchase household appliances as well as furniture and fixtures or to pay taxes as well as hospital and educational bills as the country’s economic output zoomed to its fastest level in almost three years.

MANILA, Philippines – President-apparent Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III must prove his worth by resolving the plight of Filipino migrant workers under the previous administration, an advocacy group said on Tuesday.

A TV campaign ad of the presidential candidate shows him leading a flock of people – actually mostly showbiz personalities – all bearing torches as they march up a hill. The scene is reminiscent of the biblical prophet Moses who parted the Red Sea with his cane allowing the Hebrew people to cross away from…

The Philippines was listed among the world’s most disorderly countries landing at the bottom 20 percent or at 130th of 149 countries ranked in the annual Global Peace Index (GPI) of the British-based Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP).

To clear his office of a backlog of cases and petitions before he bows out of service on June 30, Justice Secretary Alberto Agra says that he has tapped 25 more lawyers to help him resolve the motions for review involving more than 700 pending cases.

Eating and digesting food are major functions of the human body. We eat to obtain energy to do our work. Our stomach and bowels need to properly digest and absorb the nutrients we eat. Here are 14 stomach-friendly tips to help your digestion:

DAVAO CITY — Mindanao’s situation appears to be improving with recent developments providing respite to alarming issues that have emerged in recent months. Foremost of these are security and power supply deficiency.

BUSINESSES should get behind the climate change issue, as measures to cut carbon emissions can be profitable too, former United States Vice-President Albert Arnold “Al” Gore, Jr. said in a forum in Manila yesterday.

MANILA, Philippines – The decade that opened the new millennium may be remembered as the decade for a sector whose acronym —OFW (for overseas Filipino workers) – is a Southeast Asian country’s trump card, or flagship, for economic development.

THE Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) on Tuesday led labor in expressing deep disappointment over how “little” the approved wage hike of P22 for Metro Manila is.

MANILA, Philippines – Public school teachers urged the Department of Education (DepEd) yesterday to actively enforce their “no fee collection” policy and avoid confusion during the ongoing enrolment period.

MANILA, Philippines – Three of every 10 registered voters expect their lives to improve in the next 12 months, results of a recent survey by the Social Weather Stations (SWS) showed.

MANILA, Philippines – Despite appeals by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) not to increase their tuition, 339 colleges and universities went on with their fee hikes for academic year 2010-2011.

MANILA, Philippines – The National Wages and Productivity Commission (NWPC) announced yesterday that workers in Metro Manila are finally getting a P22 increase in their daily take-home pay after two years of waiting for adjustments.

PRETTY soon, public schools and government agencies will sport a “greener” look with bamboo desks, chairs and tables.

LOANS for housing and commercial real estate development rose 9 percent in the quarter through March 2010, reflecting the economy’s 7.3-percent expansion during the period, the central bank said over the weekend.

MANILA, Philippines – Organized labor today urged President apparent Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III to resurrect the Freedom of Information (FOI) bill as proof of his anti-corruption campaign.

New range for metropolis is P367-404, to take effect later this month DAILY MINIMUM WAGES in Metro Manila were ordered hiked by P22 yesterday, kicking off a round of nationwide adjustments shelved last year amid the global economic downturn.

OFFICIALS of Clark Development Corp. (CDC) announced the peaceful conclusion of the collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) with two CDC employees’ unions recently.

MANILA, Philippines—The holding of automated elections on May 10 was “mismanaged” because the Commission on Elections (Comelec) and its technology partner, Smartmatic-TIM, did not follow technical requirements, including security features, mandated by the automation law and the terms of reference of the bidding for the automated system.

PRELIMINARY development plans for the next administration are already being crafted, officials said, with the focus still on economic growth and poverty reduction.

DESPITE the speeches about overseas Filipino workers being heroes of our country, not very many really care about them. The bad treatment they get at government offices—especially at the Department of Foreign Affairs, the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration—is a sign that they are not really looked up to as…

THE National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) warned that the debt crisis in Europe could dampen remittances, as fresh data showed the global financial turmoil has crimped money sent home by Filipinos working in the eurozone.

BEIJING: China’s strong economic recovery is drawing much interest from economists, policymakers and media around the world as developed countries struggle to overcome the global downturn. Yet, common misunderstandings about China are increasing as more people unfamiliar with the country air their views. Inaccurate criticism of China’s exchange rate policy, investment environment and global warming…

The Department of Education (DepEd) is urging the next Congress to act on the Special Education Act of 2010 as it stands to benefit some 5.49 million children with special needs (CSNs) in the country.