The country’s forest area had expanded by 33 percent in the past nine years, the top official of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) said on Friday.

MANILA, Philippines – President Arroyo will not stop Health Secretary Esperanza Cabral from distributing contraceptive pills amid strong opposition from the Catholic Church and other sectors, deputy presidential spokesperson Charito Planas said yesterday.

MANILA, Philippines – The height of hypocrisy and utmost arrogance. Pampanga Rep. Juan Miguel “Mikey” Arroyo scoffed yesterday at allegations of some party-list lawmakers that he is not from the marginalized sector.

MANILA, Philippines – Party-list groups joining the May 10 elections have until March 26 to submit their list of nominees, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) said yesterday.

THE National Economic and  Development Authority (NEDA)  on Friday said the Philippines’ economic growth target this year would remain despite expectations of a hard hit from the El Niño phenomenon.

SIGNS of recovery at the world’s second-biggest economy led Asian stock markets higher on Friday.

Students and youth groups are gearing up for a huge protest action against tuition and other school fee increase while public and private schools gear up for protests against tuition and other fee increases.

MANILA, Philippines – At least 97 medicines will be sold at half their original prices starting March 31, Health Secretary Esperanza Cabral announced Friday.

Malacañang, apparently defying the country’s influential bishops, on Thursday said that it would allow the Department of Health (DOH) to continue with free distribution of condoms but that the agency could approach the Cabinet if it wanted to reconcile conflicting policies.

MANILA, Philippines – It was condoms on Valentine’s Day, and now it’s contraceptive pills. Health Secretary Esperanza Cabral clarified yesterday that the government plans to give the contraceptive pills only to interested couples.

MANILA, Philippines – Businessmen are more optimistic that the domestic economy would recover from the worldwide economic slump this year on the back of moderate inflation, a steady stream of remittances from Filipinos abroad, election-related spending, and continued foreign investment inflows.

MANILA, Philippines – Majority of local companies said they will be increasing the wages of their employees this year, results of a survey conducted by Grant Thornton showed.

MANILA, Philippines – The country’s imports surged by 17.9 percent to $3.89 billion in December 2009 from the same period in 2008, the National Statistics Office (NSO) reported yesterday

MANILA, Philippines – Perhaps the end of 2009 couldn’t have come sooner as it did – putting behind a year of reeling from Ondoy and the lingering effects of the nefarious sub-prime bubble burst of 2007 – the latter truly a shot heard around the world.

WAGE HIKES have been ruled out in the short term by the government, which cited the lack of price pressures and a still-recovering economy.

Banana growers in Davao have appealed to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo not to ban aerial spraying. According to them, aerial spraying in banana plantations should not be banned due to several reasons.

MANILA, Philippines – Subsidies disbursed by the government to government-owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs) and state-owned agencies reached P17.439 billion last year, already way above the P11.3 billion programmed subsidies for the period, latest data from the Bureau of the Treasury (Btr) showed.

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Health (DOH) may recommend to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) the banning on the importation of mercury-containing products in the country.

MANILA, Philippines – Environmental organizations have lauded the unveiling of a global mechanism that would help countries, including the Philippines, address the “highly toxic” industrial chemical PCB or polychlorinated biphenyl.

MANILA, Philippines – Two of the world’s biggest nuclear power producers have expressed interest in putting up a new nuclear power facility in the Philippines, a ranking energy official said.

MANILA, Philippines – Three out of 10 Filipino adults expect their lives to improve this year, according to a recent survey by the Social Weather Stations Inc. (SWS).

GENERAL SANTOS CITY, Philippines—Gone were the days when fishing boats of the Amadeo Fishing Corp. (AFC) sailed daily to catch tuna.

Prices may be falling for mobile and broadband access across the globe, but if you want fast Internet access, it still pays to be rich.

MANILA, Philippines—The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) has assailed the Department of Finance (DoF) for asking President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to veto a provision in the proposed new Migrant Workers Act that exempts the money wired home by overseas Filipino laborers from the documentary stamp tax (DST).

MANILA, Philippines – A labor group has scored the Department of Finance (DOF) for asking President Arroyo to veto a provision in the proposed new Migrant Workers Act that exempts overseas Filipino workers’ remittances from the documentary stamp tax (DST).

INTRAVENOUS illegal drug users have been included in a campaign against the spread of HIV/AIDS in Cebu City, a health official said.

LABOR and assembler groups in the car industry are lobbying for representation in the proposed Automotive Industry Development Council.

THE Department of Energy (DOE) has resumed its lobby for the use of nuclear power amid a growing shortfall in the Philippines’ electricity supply brought about by a prolonged dry spell.

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THE Supreme Court on Monday reversed its controversial Dec. 1, 2009 ruling that allowed government executives to run for office without resigning, and instead ruled that they were considered resigned after they had filed their certificates of candidacy.