ILOILO CITY , Philippines  – An investigation is underway into the cause of an explosion in a firecracker factory in Arevalo district here last Sunday afternoon that left four people, including the factory owner, dead and six others injured.

MANILA, Philippines – More firms across all industry sectors have indicated expansion plans for the next quarter in line with the bullish outlook of businessmen on the ability of the domestic economy to recover from the global economic meltdown, a survey conducted by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed.

The Northern Mindanao chapter of Philippine Exporters Confederation Inc. (Philexport) based in Cagayan de Oro recently reported that daily power outages in Mindanao have hit an average of five hours a day and is expected to persist until the third quarter of this year.

FOR REELECTING RH BILL-BACKING SOLONS The reelection of lawmakers who support the passage of the Reproductive Health (RH) bill in Congress is an indication that the Filipino electorate is still not “mature” vote-wise, an official of the Catholic Church has said.

United Nations (UN) Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon has expressed deep concern over grave human rights violations against Filipino children as both rebel and government forces have killed and recruited them during ongoing conflicts in the country.

While everybody was busy with the fanfare of Philippine elections, the Department of Health issued an administrative order requiring manufacturers and distributors of health supplements to “make it clear to buyers that the products are not to be considered medicines.”

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines may experience weaker demand for its products exported to Europe because of the weakening of the financial markets in the euro area but this is not expected to affect the economy in general, the Union Bank of Switzerland said in its latest report on Asia.

MANILA, Philippines – The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) now has its own Witness Protection Program (WPP) which seeks to protect the lives of witnesses in human rights violations cases.

MANILA, Philippines – Some 12.2 million poor Filipinos nationwide would receive food assistance from the government following the signing of the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) for the Food Donation Act of 2009, acting Social Welfare Secretary Celia Yangco said.

MANILA, Philippines – Filipino seafarers could be displaced by the debt crisis in Greece. Ernesto Herrera, Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) secretary-general, said the economic slump in Greece might adversely affect shipping activities in Greece and other European countries.

MANILA, Philippines — The Lucio Tan-led Philippine Airlines (PAL) has postponed a plan to outsource about 3,000 jobs by the end of the month amid the government’s moves to resolve issues between the company and labor groups.

The incoming administration would have to address domestic-industry concerns as the country faces an uncertain global economy. Countries all over the world are recovering from the impact of a global recession stemming from a financial crisis that began in the US about two years ago.

FILIPINOS as a whole expect our new president to govern in such a way that more jobs are created and the poor members of society are lifted from their condition. They expect Mr. Noynoy Aquino to make his administration corruption-free and his campaign slogan “Kung walang kurapsyon, walang mahirap” (No corruption, no poverty) a reality.

MANILA, Philippines – Europe’s debt crisis would not pose a large risk to emerging markets in Asia, including the Philippines, that have broadened beyond export-led growth and towards domestic demand, economists from leading investment banks said.

MANILA, Philippines – The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and its armed wing, the New People’s Army (NPA), are facing a split as a result of the recently-concluded national and local polls.

MANILA, Philippines – Environmental group EcoWaste Coalition yesterday asked the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to conduct more stringent tests on skin whitening products for traces of mercury.     In a letter to FDA director Nazarita Tacandong, EcoWaste asked the agency to organize random market inspections to detect and eliminate other toxic chemicals such as lead,…

MANILA, Philippines – The United Nations (UN) named yesterday three active insurgent groups in the Philippines as persistent users of child soldiers in armed conflicts and expressed serious concern about national armed forces using children for military intelligence and interrogation purposes.

MANILA, Philippines – Filipino sailors on foreign ocean-going vessels wired home a total of $888.949 million in the first quarter, up 11.04 percent or $88.414 million from the $800.535 million they remitted over the same three-month period in 2009, the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) reported Sunday.

MANILA, Philippines – Money sent home by Filipino seamen in the first quarter grew by 11% from a year ago to $888.95 million, but a prolonged economic crisis in Europe could hurt future remittances, the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) said on Sunday.

Knowing the Philippines well, I’d say Senator Benigno Aquino III faces an impossible task. He based his campaign on a moral revolution, a return to honesty and decency in government. The people voted for him because they wanted it too. The sympathy they felt for his mother that they transferred to him only added to…

ABOUT 399 colleges and universities have raised matriculation fees for this year, with some going as high as 13 percent for school year 2010 to 2011, the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) said Friday.

President Gloria Arroyo has approved this year’s Investment Priority Plan, which lists the industries that are entitled to fiscal incentives, taking into account the residual effect of the global meltdown in 2009.

MANILA, Philippines – Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Amando M. Tetangco Jr. said yesterday the impact of the European debt crisis on the Philippines would be nil to minimal if the troubles are confined to Greece and do not spread to other parts of Europe and the world.

GENEVA — A major international study into the link between cellphone use and two types of brain cancer has proved inconclusive, according to a report in a medical journal.

MANILA, Philippines –  News reports say the PPCRV has received 70,255 and encoded 43,035 election returns (ERs). Out of these, they found 29 discrepancies, or an average of one in 1,484 ERs (.07% error rate). PPCRV chair Henrietta de Villa was quoted saying, “We can say that the election is clean because the discrepancy is…

SIGNS OF FRAUD FLOOD HOUSE HEARING Automated polls machine supplier Smartmatic admitted yesterday unforeseen errors in the Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS) machines on the day of the elections last May 10 primarily on the time stamps on election returns (ERs) that set off sparks flying at yesterday’s House hearing on the reported widespread electronic…

TOKYO — The developed world is suffering from a “debt curse,” with the worst case — Japan — expected to take up to 2084 to bring its public debt down to an acceptable level, a study said on Wednesday.

Europe’s recent travails have been of keen interest to us in Asia, especially as they triggered talk of a recurrence of the financial meltdown of 2008. So it was with both eagerness and curiosity that I agreed to take part last May 13 in a panel discussion on the subject of “Asian Expectations of Europe’s…

Bank borrowers enjoy lower loan rates Pilipinas (BSP) continued to disengage from crisis intervention measures as economic conditions steadily show signs of improvement and as financial markets remain stable.

Time was when only the press, rather a wee sector of it, reported the jockeying for positions in new administrations. Today, judging from wildly spreading texts, just about everybody knows, or thinks so, what’s going on. Latest SMS are about what Cabinet posts are being bagged by which faction in the incoming Noynoy Aquino government.…