MANILA, Philippines—The US State Department has reported that extrajudicial killings remained a major problem in the Philippines last year and that security forces and insurgent groups were both responsible.

With the country suffering one of its longest stretches of power shortage since the 1990s, various quarters are pointing to nuclear power as a possible solution not only to make future electricity supply stable and secure but also to lower consumers’ electricity bills.

MANILA – Philippine regions with higher growth rates used remittances for development efficiently, a paper by a University of Santo Tomas economist finds.

TOKYO – Japan may lift work visa restrictions for foreign nurses and dentists, to help care for its fast-ageing and shrinking population, the government said Monday.

With Angat dam nearing its critical level, the state-run Metropolitan Waterworks Sewerage System (MWSS) has warned of a “double whammy” crisis in Metro Manila when the dam’s power component is privatized in April.

(Second of five parts) C. Reasons for privatization There exist many reasons for a country to privatize its assets but the following constitute the most common and compelling why many countries undertook or advocate privatization:

MANILA, Philippines – With more positive data favoring faster economic recovery, the World Bank is sticking to its 3.5 percent growth forecast for the Philippine economy this year despite the adverse impact of El Niño and government’s massive stimulus spending last year.

MANILA, Philippines – Money sent home by overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) surged by 8.5 percent to $1.372 billion in January or $107 million more than the $1.265 billion sent home in the same period last year, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported yesterday.

Can employees who already signed waivers and quitclaims later on still file a complaint for illegal dismissal? This is the issue raised in this case of Lina and her ten other co-employees (Lina’s group) in the machine and maintenance operations of a multi-national tire manufacturing company (GMC).

According to documents captured by the military, the CPP-NPA plans to raise between three to five billion pesos from collecting “permit to campaign” fees from politicians this election season. In which case, the Maoist insurgents aspire to be the single biggest campaign expense this year.

MANILA, Philippines – Malacañang reiterated yesterday that it would not stop the condom distribution program of the Department of Health (DOH), saying it is legal and consistent with public policy.

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine National Police (PNP) yesterday admitted that there are human rights abuses in the organization but has assured the public that it is not tolerating such abuses and is now in the process of cleansing its ranks.

MANILA, Philippines – The Commission on Elections (Comelec) was asked yesterday to investigate six party-list groups for alleged links to President Arroyo.

MANILA, Philippines – An election watchdog group on Monday began its formal battle against purportedly bogus party-list groups by filing a complaint before the Commission on Elections (Comelec) against six groups it said were government fronts and were actually headed by administration figures.

RP’s 10 biggest banks post combined profits of P50b The 10 largest banks in the Philippines posted a combined net income of close to P50 billion last year amid the recovery of the global economy in the fourth quarter.

THE Export Development Council (EDC) will recommend the removal of the mandatory export requirement so that micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) could also avail of perks granted to businesses that ship their products abroad.

What should electricity consumers believe of the brownouts, yellow and red alerts and invocation of emergency powers supposedly to address the power crisis?

MANILA, Philippines – Awash with dollars from $18 billion in overseas Filipino workers’ (OFW) remittances a year, the Philippine economy is now afflicted with the Dutch Disease, a malady that sees the decline of local industries, fuels an overvalued peso, makes exports costly and imports cheap and results in jobless growth.

MANILA, Philippines – The Board of Investments (BOI) is proposing to include the vertical mass housing component in the list of investments that will receive tax breaks from the government to spur the construction of more tenement style, low cost medium rise mass housing projects in Metro Manila.

THE government is using $8 million from the $19-million Global Fund grant to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria to buy condoms from the United Nations, Health Secretary Esperanza Cabral said Sunday.

The term of Reynato Puno as Chief Justice of the Republic of the Philippines is coming to a close. Sill, true to his vision of expanding and upgrading the Filipino people’s access to justice, he led another summit on Friday, March 12—this time on family courts. Why a summit on family courts, one might ask.…

I have lately been asking fellow economists and other friends what they think to be the three most critical impediments to achieving high and inclusive (broadly beneficial) economic growth in the Philippines. The runaway winner in my little survey has been the new big, bad G word (no, not globalization; that was the old one):…

ROME, Italy – The “Patronato” or agencies helping migrants in Italy regarding immigration laws are busy informing overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) about “Direct Hiring 2010” or “Milleproroghe”.

One of the world’s largest studies of the contraceptive pill has found that women who have taken it can expect longer lives and are less likely to die from any cause, including cancer and heart disease.

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY—Only 16% of the country’s total labor force will benefit from any legislated wage increases, Sergio Ortiz-Luis Jr., chairman of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI), claimed on Thursday.

MANILA, Philippines – Wealthy Filipinos spend more than rich Singapore and Hong Kong residents do, especially every month on groceries, travel and utilities payment, a survey by payments technology firm Visa International Inc. revealed.

MANILA, Philippines – The World Bank on Monday raised its 2010 economic growth forecast for the Philippines to 3.5% from 3.1% due to a recovering global economy and increased private consumption and public spending.

MANILA, Philippines—Chemical manufacturer CAWC Inc. has shut down its manufacturing plant in Pasig City after a fire hit the facility on Thursday, leaving two workers injured.

Berlin, Germany: The gathering in Berlin this week is for child protection experts and defenders of abused and sexually exploited children. I am here to represent the dedicated Filipinos and all others who have worked to protect children and bring their abusers to justice. The meeting, organized by ECPAT Germany has brought together experienced people…

SINGAPORE: Construction workers from Bangladesh, hotel staff from the Philippines, waitresses from China, shipyard welders from Myanmar, technology professionals from India—Singapore has them all.