MANILA, Philippines – A bill pending at the Senate is mandating the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to conduct a five-year research on the viability of part-time employment as an alternative to retrenchment options for employers suffering business losses due to the global financial crisis.

MANILA, Philippines – Criminality nationwide increased by 63 percent in 2009 compared to the previous year, the Philippine National Police (PNP) reported yesterday.

MANILA, Philippines – The country’s dismal reputation on human rights promotion and protection got worse in 2009.

MANILA, Philippines – The Supreme Court (SC) has upheld the legality of the merger of the Lakas-Christian and Muslim Democrats with the Kabalikat ng Malayang Pilipino (Kampi).

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) had its hands full in a year littered with natural and man-made catastrophes.

In a study published in the Journal of the American Association, researchers found that Ginkgo biloba was no more effective than placebo in preventing cognitive in older people.

THE Philippine National Police (PNP) has adopted a more efficient and accurate system of crime reporting in line with its Integrated Transformation Program in developing police systems and procedures. The National Crime Reporting System (NCRS) is now being implemented in all PNP units to report crime incidents to the national headquarters for centralized recording.

DOZENS of Filipino workers have remained trapped in a bankrupt casino ship in Florida since Christmas, unable to even set foot on US shore in a maritime version of The Terminal, the 2004 comedy-drama movie about a stateless, visa-less tourist unable to leave a New York airport.

MANILA, Philippines – Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Amando M. Tetangco Jr. stressed the need for the next administration to lay down a clear fiscal consolidation program after the global financial crisis derailed the country’s commitment to balance the budget last year.

MANILA, Philippines – The sinking of M/V Baleno 9, which killed at least six passengers, has prompted an official of the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) to admit that all the estimated 200 roll-on and roll-off (roro) vessels plying the domestic waters are aging and have to be phased out.

NEW YORK – Wall Street stocks edged higher Wednesday after a better than expected report on manufacturing activity, indicating that a recovery from recession was on track.

BRUSSELS – 2009 was one of the worst for the targeted killing of media workers, with 113 lives lost, a leading watchdog said Thursday and called on governments to do more to protect reporters.

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.