Coming from cold and snowy Copenhagen and braving the snowstorm and delayed trains, we are sad to report that the so-called Copenhagen Accord leaves us with business as usual and no legally binding commitment to reduce emissions in the world. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez criticized the process of passing the accord as undemocratic. The Bolivarian…

I write this column in the hope of disabusing the public mind of recurring criticisms that the government—in particular the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) and the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA)—had been “dragging its feet” in the repatriation of stranded overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).

DESPITE the anticipated economic recovery next year, the unemployment rate may still climb higher in developing countries like the Philippines, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) warned. In a report, the Manila-based lender said there was at least a one-quarter lag from the time the crisis decreased economic output and increased unemployment.

A NONGOVERNMENT organization on Wednesday warned the public against the burning of used tires and trash during the New Year celebration to prevent toxic pollutants from endangering the public health, climate and environment. “Burning up worn tires on New Year’s Eve and setting firecracker wrappings, used boga [PVC cannons], plastics and other discards on fire…

CEBU, Philippines – The Supreme Court has upheld the decisions of the National Labor Relations Commission and the Court of Appeals against a taxi operator, Hilario Ramirez, who was ordered to pay the salary differential and 13th month of his mechanic.

MANILA, Philippines – Barely six months before President Arroyo steps down, a majority or 61 percent of Filipino adults continue to be dissatisfied with her performance, the Social Weather Stations (SWS) said in its survey.

MANILA, Philippines – Despite a higher budget of P47 billion – fourth biggest in this year’s national budget – growth in the agriculture sector almost ground to a halt as two devastating typhoons and the global economic meltdown took their toll on the sector.

From Ondoy to Pepeng and every typhoon in between, this has been one of the worst years for the Philippines in terms of natural disasters. As a matter of fact, we are frequently ranked among the top, if not the top, most natural disaster prone country in the world. According to the latest Global Report…

MANILA, Philippines – The Influenza A(H1N1) pandemic, bacterial infection of popular peanut butter brands, strengthening of the Bureau of Food and Drugs, price cuts of common drugs, and a post-typhoon leptospirosis outbreak made 2009 a busy year for the Department of Health (DOH).

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine tourism industry thrived in 2009 despite the global tourism slump and several calamities that hit the country.

MANILA, Philippines – Mea culpa. President Arroyo’s spokesman took the fall yesterday for the unpopularity of his boss, saying the Chief Executive’s ratings, which remain at record lows with only six months left in her term, reflected his performance.

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) yesterday dashed hopes of a possible increase in the take-home pay of minimum wage earners next year.

December 30, 2009, Quezon City — Union leaders from Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao urged the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to conduct random inspection of companies to strengthen compliance with core labor standards in all enterprises — micro, small, medium or large.

MANILA, Philippines – For the world’s biggest rice importer, will 2010 be another 2008, a year plagued with skyrocketing rice prices amid squeezed supply?

MANILA, Philippines – As the holiday season draws to a close, Filipinos now gear up for the upcoming national elections. But as government officials raised the possibility of a power shortage next year, will the 2010 polls be done in the dark?

Despite the global economic crisis, trade between China and the Philippines would take off again and China was even expected to overtake Japan as Manila’s second-largest trading partner soon, officials said. After growing more than 30 percent annually for seven years since 2000, bilateral trade dropped by 6.7 percent in 2008 to $28.28 billion, Chinese…

THE Philippine Hospital Association said Tuesday it opposed a government proposal imposing a 90-day preventive suspension on hospitals and their employees with pending administrative cases on alleged fraudulent billings.

THE stock market rebounded from a global financial slowdown to end the year up 63 percent, making it one of the best-performing equities markets in Asia and positioning it for further growth in 2010.

DESPITE having evaded a recession, the Philippine labor market turned for the worse in 2009.

WHILE other Asian emerging economies shrank, the Philippines managed to evade a recession in 2009 amid the worst global slump in decades. But early in the year, the prospects were dim, especially after the government released the first-quarter growth results.

At about the time when things were winding down, Pulse Asia and Social Weather Stations, the two respected and widely accepted pollsters published assessments of the 2010 presidential elections, two days apart, a fortnight ago.

Dear PAO, We have been renting a house for almost 20 years now. The owner of the house is in Canada. Rents are deposited to the owner’s account since then. The owner will be selling the house and has asked us if we can vacate the premises within the next six months. My question is,…

BAGUIO CITY: Increased spending and higher remittances from Filipino workers abroad would offset a projected cut in the country’s economic output, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) chief said Tuesday.

MANILA, Philippines – State auditors have tagged as highly irregular the electronic portal project of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) involving funds worth more than P30 million, even recommending the investigation of agency officials who “disregarded” rules on bidding in approving the questionable contracts.

MANILA, Philippines – The government is looking at a budget deficit of P293 billion next year, higher than the initial estimate of P233.4 billion, Finance Secretary Margarito Teves said yesterday.

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines will continue to rely on coal as its main fuel to generate electricity in the medium-term, a power industry official said.

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine economy, as measured by gross domestic product (GDP), may grow by as much as four percent in 2010 along with the global economic recovery, Finance Secretary Margarito Teves said yesterday.

MANILA, Philippines – The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported yesterday that the country’s external debt went up by 2.5 percent to $53.1 billion as of end-September this year from $51.8 billion as of end-June this year.

Asean +3 to set up crisis safety net SEOUL —Fourteen East and Southeast Asian economies said on Monday that they have signed a plan to set up a $120-billion emergency fund known as the Chiang Mai Initiative, Asia’s first move to devise a safety net to shield itself from a financial crisis.

MINING INVESTMENTS in the Philippines reached $375 million—just a little more than half of the $650-million target for 2009, according to the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB).