LEGAZPI CITY, Philippines – Some 20,000 Filipinos are needed to work at the newly established Integrated Free Export Zone (IFEZ) Incheon, South Korea, according to presidential economic adviser and Albay governor Joey Salceda.

A Malacañang survey reported that Noynoy’s Sept. 5 to 6 rating of 51 percent has gone down to 33 percent by Sept. 21. Veteran campaigner, DILG Secretary Ronnie Puno expressed the view that the euphoria from President Cory’s death will not last till election day. Recall that in the survey of The Center, headed by…

Catholic bishops earlier threatened presidential and congressional candidates who support the birth control bill their withdrawal of support come election day, unless these candidates turn their back on the same legislative measure.

The proposed automated elections next year now face a new hurdle, computer trans-missions, which, if not assured for at least 25 percent of the country, would make the Commission on Elections (Comelec) revert to manual polling next year, Comelec Chairman Jose Melo said yesterday.

First of two parts Adisclosure notice. As I am an official of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), I must inform readers of this column that all the issues, statements and information written in this space are my personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect the position of the Office of Programs and Standards (OPS)…

You’ve heard about “midnight” deals surreptitiously signed to land juicy government contracts and other such anomalies. How about an attempt, spearheaded by so-called environmental activists, to cripple an entire agricultural industry by railroading a controversial ban on the basis of a study that the prohibition’s proponents can’t even wait to be reviewed?

1. Money Villyear What’s in a name? This is something that a lot of wise people ask themselves. And that is what I am asking myself now . . . will this man, whose name resounds money, moolah, dough, piedad, pera, datung, cha-ching, or whatever you call those bills and coins that make the world…

KUWAIT CITY: About 17,000 expatriate workers have cancelled their residence permits and left Kuwait in the first half of 2009 due to the impact of the global economic crisis, a Kuwaiti daily said on Thursday. Quoting informed sources in the ministry of social affairs and labor, Al-Seyassah said that more than 70 percent of the…

A global information and communication technology (ICT) research and advisory firm has downgraded its growth forecast for the Philippine business process outsourcing (BPO) sector in light of the economic downturn. In a statement, XMG Global Inc. said the local BPO sector may close the year with a 21.7-percent to $7.3-billion growth—lower than its previous forecast…

BANGKOK: An experimental AIDS vaccine has for the first time cut the risk of infection in a “breakthrough” in the quarter-century battle against the deadly epidemic, researchers said on Thursday. The vaccine reduced the risk of being infected by almost a third, they said after the world’s largest vaccine trial of more than 16,000 volunteers,…

The level of corruption in the private sector remains “disturbingly high” for developing countries, including the Philippines, particularly in getting government contracts, according to a Transparency International (TI) report. In its Global Corruption Report 2009: Corruption and the Private Sector, the watchdog said that it was not uncommon for domestic firms and multinationals “to pay…

The Philippines remains under the radar of European investors, and to help reverse that Filipinos should pay more attention to the Old World rather than focusing too much on the US, the European chamber said. “The Philippines is US-centric. The end of the rainbow goes to the US [for most Filipinos],” Hubert d’Aboville, president of…

CEBU, Philippines – To erase the impression that the mining industry does nothing but pollute the environment and dislocate people, the Regional Minerals Development Council is spearheading reforms that are expected to “cleanse” the industry, one of which is to disallow projects that do not absorb social and environmental costs to operate.

CEBU, Philippines – The regional wage board is currently evaluating the P128.60 wage increase petition filed by at least 11 workers groups and unions, which compose the Cebu Labor Coalition (CELAC).

MANILA, Philippines – The United Kingdom urged the Philippines yesterday to “capitalize” on the interest of British investors to do business in the country, saying Manila’s improved ranking among key emerging markets for global investors in 2009 is a strong point to start with and very encouraging.

MANILA, Philippines – A newly formed group has warned that the $720-million Philippine banana industry could collapse if Congress passes a measure banning the practice of aerial fungicide spraying in banana plantations.

MANILA, Philippines – More than 3,000 new jobs will be opened up at the Clark freeport zone as a wave of business process outsourcing (BPO) firms settle in the area in the next three months, officials said yesterday.   

MANILA, Philippines – The country’s balance of payments (BOP) surplus rose to $484 million in the second quarter of 2009 from $221 million a year ago, bringing the first half surplus to $2.2 billion, mainly due to improving economic conditions worldwide, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported yesterday.

MANILA, Philippines – Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III, Liberal Party standard-bearer in next year’s elections, has emerged as the top  choice for the presidency among members of the House of Representatives.

Even before the current crisis, while GDP continuously increases in real terms, the lives of workers and their families have not improved.

An Act Criminalizing Labor-Only Contracting, Amending for that Purpose Certain Provisions of Presidential Decree No. 442, as Amended, Otherwise Known as the Labor Code of the Philippines Prohibits and criminalizes labor-only contracting to protect workers’ rights to self-organization and security of tenure, and promote their welfare, including payment of social security benefits and just compensation…

An Act Strengthening Security of Tenure, Amending for that Purpose Certain Provisions of Presidential Decree No. 442, as Amended, Otherwise Known as the Labor Code of the Philippines Nullifies the practice of hiring employees with 5-6 months employment contracts, and sets a minimum ratio of 90/10 as percent of regular to other workers in an…

If you haven’t seen The Ugly Truth, you should. If you’re one of those people who consider it sinful to utter the word penis, don’t. The film is full of what conservatives call smutty language which seems to be a catch-all phrase for psycho-analytic babble that seeks to demystify the sexual relationship between men and…

The government’s Home Development Mutual Fund or the Pag-Ibig Fund plans to hike the membership rate collected from local employees, a move which a senator said was ill-advised.

Farmers and traders are venting their ire on Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap after the collapse of the local corn market. From a high of P26 a kilo in January this year, corn prices have fallen below P9 in early September, discouraging farmers from planting the crop and leaving traders helpless after building up their stock.

The Home Development Mutual Fund, or Pag-IBIG, announced on Wednesday plans to increase by 100 percent the contributions of employees receiving more than P10,000 a month.

MANILA, Philippines—Two water concessionaires in Metro Manila owe the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) billions of pesos in fines for contributing to the pollution in Manila Bay due to their continued failure to put up waste water treatment plants.

The good news from Davao is that a peer review of a controversial study commissioned in part by the Department of Health condemning the aerial spraying of fungicides in local banana plantations has been completed. The not-so-good news is that no one seems in a real hurry to release the review—possibly because it confirms serious…

German companies are upbeat about investment opportunities in the Philippines despite the global economic downturn.

CATHOLIC bishops stepped up the pressure yesterday and urged congressmen not to attend sessions to pass a family planning bill that they oppose, but 170 lawmakers showed up to answer the quorum call anyway.