Filipino women are becoming a major force in the economy with the proportion of women to men in terms of labor force participation rate increasing from 62.08 percent in 2009 to 62.16 percent this year, based on the findings from the latest MasterCard Worldwide Index of Women’s Advancement.

BAGUIO CITY—Drought equals brownouts equals bad economy equals migration.

MANILA, Philippines—The Commission on Elections has issued the rules on the qualification of candidates for party-list representatives, mandating that nominees prove they “belong” to the marginalized sector they seek to represent.

MANILA, Philippines—The absence of a law defining a “marginalized” sector is putting the Commission on Elections (Comelec) in a legal and procedural dilemma.

COTABATO CITY—Some 40,000 voters have been removed from the Maguindanao voter’s list for failure to validate their records through the biometrics system or due to their failure to vote during the two previous elections, officials said yesterday.

There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.

There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.

PHILIPPINE economic growth likely picked up in the first quarter of the year despite the El Niño phenomenon and an electricity shortfall, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) said.

Despite strong opposition from the Catholic Church, newly appointed Education Secretary Mona Valisno on Wednesday said she is committed to integrate sex education in the country’s basic education curriculum.

Italy is in need of Filipino nurses sooner than later, a former envoy said. Philippe Lhuiller, who served as Philippine ambassador to Italy from 1999 until January 2010, said, “They really need nurses. There are hospitals, at least five of them near our embassy, have closed shop because of the shortage of nurses.”

Former Defense Secretary Gilbert “Gibo” Teodoro is now among the top three candidates for president in the May 10 elections, according to a series of preference surveys.

Filipino workers in United Kingdom could soon return to the Philippines to be with their loved ones without jeopardizing their application for British citizenship, a UK official said.

Amnesty International has hit Malaysia for the Muslim country’s severe and excessive criminal penalties on migrants, saying that foreign workers are being punished even if errors are committed by the employer.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Record-low interest rates are still needed to energize the economic recovery, a Federal Reserve official said Tuesday.

IDENTIFY YOURSELVES: By tomorrow, we should know which of the Party-lists running in the May 10 elections are just being used as Trojan horses of politicians and operators who cannot win a congressional seat on their own.

I was surprised why, at the ABS-CBN’s vice presidential debate, Senator Loren Legarda was being asked what was so important about climate change that she focused on it as her campaign thrust. Why not focus on the economy, on graft and corruption? It seems not too many people are aware of the consequences of environmental…

For people and institutions that believe condoms are evil and cannot stop the spread of HIV/AIDs, let them listen to what the World Health Organization says. The STAR issue of Tuesday (March 23, page 6) stated that condoms could prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS and other specially transmitted diseases. This report came on the heels…

This case is about the back-wages and separation pay of an illegally dismissed employee. The question raised here is from what date up to what date these monetary awards shall be computed. This is the case of Al.

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine standing in the World Health Organization’s (WHO) watch list for tuberculosis improved from seventh place in 1997 to ninth place last year, the Department of Health (DOH) said yesterday.

MALACAÑANG on Tuesday ordered the Department of Energy to review the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001 (EPIRA) in a bid to curb the looming power crisis in the country.

The government wants the grassroot community to get involved in drafting the national framework strategy that will help the country respond to adverse effects of climate change.

MALACAÑANG on Tuesday approved this year’s Investment Priorities Plan (IPP), which lists the businesses that would benefit from tax and other incentives.

A LAWMAKER warned on Tuesday     that the galloping Philippine population, now at 95 million, would reach the critical level of 115 million by 2015 and seriously threaten the country’s food security.

The following are the party-list groups that submitted their nominees to the Comelec as of March 23:

COLLEGES and universities can increase their tuition as much as they want but should get the nod of students and their parents first, according to the Commission on Higher Education (Ched).

MANILA, Philippines – The establishment of the Central Credit Information Corp. (CCIC) has remained in limbo more than two years after the passage of the Credit Information System Act (CISA) or Republic Act 9510.

MANILA, Philippines – The integration of the Cost of Living Allowance (COLA) and other allowances of government workers into their standardized salary rates is legal, the Supreme Court (SC) ruled.

MANILA, Philippines – Government offices and private establishments may soon have “lactation stations” where mothers can breastfeed their babies or store their breast milk in refrigerated containers.

TACLOBAN CITY – Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairman Jose Melo yesterday reassured the public that a failure of elections on May 10 is “pure fantasy.”

MANILA – The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) will not support a bill seeking to cap credit card interest rates, one of its officials said.