MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine business process outsourcing (BPO) sector is expected to post a 25-percent growth in revenues this year to around $9.1 billion from an estimated 2009 topline of $7.3 billion, but government has expressed concern the country’s foremost sunrise sector may be facing a huge risk.

This is not about the 1998 Bruce Willis-starrer/action thriller where Willis plays an undercover FBI agent tasked to protect a nine-year-old autistic boy who’s being pursued by assassins for cracking a top secret government code. It’s about the rising mercury wastes in our midst. From your high school science subject, you’ve probably learned that mercury…

Imagine receiv-ing a call saying that a family member is sick. What should you do? What’s the first aid in this situation? During emergencies, it pays to be knowledgeable in basic home remedies and first aid. Let’s look at nine common problems:

MANILA, Philippines — Australia’s Work and Holiday Visa Program, also referred to as the “Working Holiday Maker Visa Program, offers young professionals from other countries the great chance to have a holiday vacation while being employed there.

An Act Strengthening the Workers’ Right to Strike, Amending for the Purpose Presidential Decree No. 442, as Amended, Otherwise Known as the Labor Code of the Philippines Authorizes a group or representative of workers to file the notice of, and to go on strike, and removes dismissal and imprisonment as penalty in violation of orders,…

An Act Strengthening Union Organization and Disallowing Cancellation of Union Registration, Amending for the Purpose Presidential Decree No. 442, as Amended, Otherwise Known as the Labor Code of the Philippines

An Act Allowing Aliens to Exercise their Right to Self-Organization and Withdrawing Regulation of Foreign Assistance to Trade Unions, Amending for the Purpose Presidential Decree No. 442, as Amended, Otherwise Known as the Labor Code of the Philippines Extends the right to self organization to aliens in the Philippines, and withdraws the prohibition of foreign…

An Act Limiting the Power to Assume Jurisdiction over Labor Disputes Involving Essential Services by the President of the Philippines, Amending for this Purpose Article 263 (g) of Presidential Decree No. 442, as Amended, Otherwise Known as the Labor Code of the Philippines Restricts intervention now by the President only to essential services providing power,…

An Act Establishing an Efficient System to Strengthen Workers’ Right to Self-Organization and Collective Bargaining, Amending for the Purpose Presidential Decree No. 442, as Amended, Otherwise Known as the Labor Code of the Philippines Removes the requirements for the registration of local chapters, promotes employee free choice and makes it easier for workers to join…

The Asian Development Bank has warned about a decline in remittances from migrant Filipino workers in the coming years amid a slowdown in deployment of Filipino professionals abroad and drop in inflows from several Asian countries.

We’ve known about it for quite sometime now but most of us have not gone to town with the information because many among us felt that there were better ways to “announce” it. Don’t get me wrong. I also share the belief that people need to know that there has been a marked increase in…

PRESIDENT Gloria Arroyo has signed into law a bill laying down the guidelines on how homeowners’ associations should operate and settle conflicts and ensuring they receive community services.

THE reproductive health bill appeared dead after Senator Benigno Aquino III, the last presidential candidate favoring it, on Friday withdrew his support of the measure, and apparently following pressure from the powerful Catholic Church.

Call center agents may be crying foul for being singled out as AIDS-prone, in recent AIDS/STD stories hogging the headlines. The UP Population Institute study on AIDS/STD situation in call centers became controversial for its sweeping findings that call center agents engage in risky sexual behavior and casual sex, making them prone to AIDS/STD.

Filipinos have mostly not benefited from the country’s economic growth — equal to about 5 percent annually — during President Arroyo’s seven-year term, a top official yesterday admitted.

THE Philippines’ largest sugar producer is backing a government plan to import the commodity, which would be the country’s first foreign purchase since it became self-sufficient.

THE Board of Investments (BOI) is dropping the “contingency list” from the 2010 Investment Priorities Plan (IPP), after the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) declared that the economic crisis ended last year.

THERE’S good news for Edsa motorists. Last week, the World Bank and the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) signed an agreement to address traffic congestion along Edsa by reducing the volume of buses plying the Philippines’ busiest main thoroughfare.

Remittances from overseas Filipinos can lick poverty in the Philippines, but cannot rebalance economic growth, according to an Asian Development Bank (ADB) study.

CEBU, Philippines – The Supreme Court has ordered ABS-CBN Cebu to reinstate four of its former employees who were illegally dismissed 10 years ago and to pay the workers back wages.

Now that I have your attention, allow me to translate today’s heading: “The heart of a man, the brains of a pig”.

MANILA, Philippines – Crisis-hit firms that retain or hire more workers may not be eligible for tax perks this year after all as the Board of Investments (BoI) has reversed an earlier policy decision.

MANILA, Philippines – Presidential candidate Senator Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III has softened his stand on the Reproductive Health (RH) bill.

MediaBanc, a media monitoring and media analysis company, recently met with local communications practitioners to discuss the value of media performance measurement, an event to which this writer was invited as a speaker. Let me share with readers an abridged version of my speech on PR measurement.

MANILA, Philippines – After “hilot” or therapeutic massage, now comes faith healing. Faith or spiritual healing is now officially recognized and will be promoted by the Department of Tourism (DOT) as part of the country’s medical tourism programs.

MANILA, Philippines – Highly skilled Filipino workers fit for overseas employment are getting fewer – and older.

MANILA – A union representing Philippine Airlines (PAL) ground staff said Monday it had notified the government of its intention to call a strike in a dispute over the outsourcing of the airline’s services.

QUALIFIED Philhealth members and their dependents may now avail of an outpatient blood transfusion benefit starting Feb. 1.

DOH warns RP may face epidemic soon MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Health (DOH) has said Internet social networking sites have provided a venue for young people to find partners in risky sex that usually leads to cases of Human Immunodeficiency Virus-Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (HIV/AIDS) in the country.

Don’t worry – those of us who are adults now probably won’t live to be a hundred eyars old. But babies being born today, may very well reach 100, according to a report first published in the medical magazine, Lancet and subsequently picked up by the general media.