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).

REGARDLESS OF JOB JEDDAH, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia—The Foreign Ministry will issue permanent resident visas for wives and children of expatriate workers in the kingdom without considering their profession, Al-Yaum Arabic daily has reported.

MANILA, Philippines—The Philippines’ largest fast-food chain Jollibee received a plaque of recognition from The Wall Street Journal Asia for being one of the top regional companies in the publication’s Asia 200 survey.

MANILA, Philippines – The Filipino public continues to be greatly dissatisfied with the performance of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

NEW DELHI—For about a decade, it was India’s call center boom that defined it as “the world’s back office,” much like neighboring China has been immortalized as “the world’s factory.”

GOVERNMENT agencies, state-owned corporations and city governments are among the biggest tax dodgers, according to Internal Revenue.

THE National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) said that the industry would be hard-pressed to hit a double-digit growth for mobile phone subscribers next year because the market has already matured.

Criminal and administrative charges were filed against the water utility regulator in greater Metro Manila and two water concessionaires serving the capital region for failing to build sewerage plants as mandated by law.

ONE YEAR AFTER PACT’S IMPLEMENTATION A year after its implemen-tation, the governments of the Philippines and Japan have expressed “general satisfaction” over the achievements of the controversial free trade agreement (FTA) they had forged.

MANILA, Philippines – Climate change is the biggest factor in the forced displacement of people as global warming is blurring the traditional distinction between refugees and migrants, according to the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR).

MANILA, Philippines – Nine out of 10 Filipinos welcome the New Year with hope rather than fear, according to a recent survey of the Social Weather Stations (SWS).

MANILA, Philippines – For almost the entire year, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) has been preoccupied with the full automation of the local and national polls on May 10, 2010.

MANILA, Philippines – Almost all firms located in the economic zones operated by the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) that closed shop because of the global financial crisis have already resumed operations and has even started hiring new employees, the government reported.

How do you get along with people? Well, listen to this story: Two people had adjoining farms, one raised wheat and had children and large dogs. The other raised sheep.

Good corporate governance among listed firms matter to stock market investors, a recent study by the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) revealed.

SENATOR Jinggoy Estrada has emerged as the top candidate for the Senate in the second Standard Today Poll, with Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago a close second.

SENATOR Benigno Aquino III has maintained a double-digit lead over Senator Manuel Villar Jr. in the race for the presidency, the latest poll commissioned by Standard Today shows.

PETER Drucker (1909 to 2005), the famous American management guru was vocal about the distinction between efficiency and effectiveness when he told us that “efficiency is doing the job right, effectiveness is doing the right job.”

DESPITE low interest rates, Philippine banks have remained liquid yet cautious in extending loans to consumers and businesses since the collapse of Lehman Brothers in September 2008, resulting in a gradual slowdown of credit growth the following year.