TACLOBAN CITY, Philippines – The military claimed it has succeeded in reducing Communist rebel forces in Eastern Visayas.

TACLOBAN CITY, Philippines — The military has claimed success in reducing communist rebel forces in Eastern Visayas.

MANILA, Philippines – As sugar prices continue to increase, the government said they will be importing sugar immediately in order to provide affordable sugar to consumers.

MANILA, Philippines – The Senate ended 2009 by standing up to President Arroyo’s declaration of martial law in Maguindanao following the Nov. 23 massacre of 57 people in the province.

MANILA, Philippines – The local auto industry had a banner year in 2009 as it experienced sales growth across categories, except Asian utility vehicles (AUVs), and finished the year with a 6.4-percent sales increment from 2008 for a full-year total of 132,444 units.

State pension fund Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) said its Consolidated Loan (ConsoLoan) program, a loan window that consolidates five different loan packages into one, provided the country with a much needed economic stimulus last year.

Sen. Loren Legarda wants the Senate to immediately pass the bill she authored creating the Migrant Workers Hospital so that returning overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) can avail themselves of medical care.

Last week, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) warned cement makers that the government would impose a price cap on the construction material barring a return to normal price levels.

THE upcoming national elections may put potential investors on a “wait-and-see” stance, Trade Secretary Peter Favila warned. “[The influx of investments] this year will depend on the outcome of the elections—who is the next president and the credibility of the polls,” he told reporters Friday night.

THE Department of Finance will launch the National Strategy and the Regulatory Framework for Microinsurance on January 29 with the theme “Magpaseguro Para Protektado.” The milestone documents will outline the government’s policy thrusts and directions in providing the poor access to insurance products and services.

Dear PAO, I have been working for seven months now as an instructor in a language school in Cebu. I have no salary deductions for my Social Security System (SSS) and PhilHealth contributions, because of this my employer said that I am not entitled to 13th month pay.

The Bureau of Immigration (BI) opened a total of 33,000 new jobs for Filipinos to help the job industry cope with the financial crisis that hit the globe.

(Editor’s note: In the first part, Father Gaston shows how worldwide the total fertility rate has declined, with richer countries having more older people than young people. He explains that in general, a total fertility rate, or children per woman, of 2.1 is necessary to replace a country’s population. In the Philippines, where mortality rates…

Half a year before the event, election violence has begun—horrifically, in Maguindanao province, and more mildly in eight other provinces so far.

CLARK FREEPORT, Philippines – Because of the sound economic agenda instituted by the administration of Clark Development Corp. president Benigno Ricafort and the support of the state-owned firm to the various crisis-affected firms, most Clark locators are able to recover from the economic meltdown.

MANILA, Philippines – Agrarian Reform Secretary Nasser Pangandaman said Wednesday that the 200,000-hectare land distribution target the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) set for the year is attainable, thanks largely to Congress for restoring the controversial compulsory acquisition scheme and for increasing the budget for land reform.

MANILA, Philippines – Former Sen. Ralph Recto urged the Arroyo administration yesterday to negotiate a debt-for-disaster relief program with the country’s creditors to hasten the rehabilitation of areas devastated by “Ondoy” and “Pepeng.”

Six years is a long time for a bad president, Fidel Ramos famously said. What’s a long time for a bad spouse?

MANILA, Philippines – Doctors and hospital owners opposed a Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (Philhealth) circular imposing a 90-day preventive suspension on member-hospitals and clinics with pending administrative cases.

MANILA, Philippines – The number of distressed overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in the Middle East is on the rise, according to a group of migrant workers.

MANILA, Philippines – After successfully narrowing the lead of his main rival, Nacionalista Party (NP) presidential bet Sen. Manuel Villar Jr. moved to “evade” the areas perceived to be the bailiwicks of Liberal Party (LP) candidate Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III.

Worldwide decline in total fertility rate and aging “Remember the population bomb? The new threat to the planet is not too many people but too few.”

HERE are excerpts from the cover story by Jack Goldstone of the January-February issue of Foreign Affairs, the world’s most respected journal on international relations.

FOR a century now, some analysts of mankind’s situation have been warning against the overpopulation myth.

Major development projects in Middle Eastern countries make the region still the top labor market for overseas Filipino workers (OFW) for 2010 and the years after, according to the government’s overseas employment agency.

THE ALLIANCE OF CONCERNED TEACHers (ACT) has assailed what it called the Arroyo administration’s continued failure to provide formal education for a growing number of young Filipinos, highlighted in 2009 by the more than 5.6 million out-of-school children and youth.

BAGUIO CITY – Philippine coffee is a much sought after product among Filipino-Americans in the United States, but an official of the Philippine Coffee Board (PCB) said the country has yet to produce enough to satisfy the growing demand.

Fifteen passengers were injured in an accident involving two buses on the northbound lane of Edsa in Quezon City Friday evening, according to the Quezon City Police District (QCPD).

In many Third World Countries, violence against children and women continues to be a pressing problem. Such violence is often manifested in the form of physical and sexual abuse.

MANILA, Philippines – Ninety-two percent of Metro Manila residents reject the controversial Reproductive Health (RH) bill pending in the House of Representatives, according to a survey conducted last month.