Human rights watchdog Amnesty International yesterday blamed the Philippine military and separatist rebels for the gross human rights violations and worsening plight of thousands of civilians displaced by the armed conflict in Mindanao.

With about 12 million overseas workers the Philippines qualifies as a case study in mobility of labor. Of course it is not only the Philippines that exports skilled labor all over the world—the value of remittances in 2008 included the following top five countries: India, $45 billion; China, $34 billion; Mexico, $26 billion; Philippines, $18…

CEBU, Philippines – Good news to all City Hall and casual employees of Cebu City.

This is another case of dismissal based on breach of trust and confidence which is usually applied to supervisory employees. To be a valid ground for dismissal the breach must be willful and connected with the employees’ work. This is illustrated in this case of Randy, Ernie and Lando.

MANILA, Philippines – An international human rights organization yesterday urged the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child to give special attention to the execution-style killings of children by “death squads” allegedly operating in Davao City and other parts of the Philippines.

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Health (DOH) launched yesterday a survey to determine the extent of the trend of “men-who-have-sex-with-men (MSM),” which is changing the landscape of the HIV-AIDS epidemic in the country.

Growth opens more business for telcos MANILA, Philippines – There will be 30 million Internet users in the Philippines by 2012, driven by lower cost of access and wider availability of devices, according to a report by research group Nielsen.

MANILA, Philippines—An IT company is giving out tickets to Quentin Tarantino’s latest movie, “Inglourious Basterds,” and a day off in a bid to get its employees to register for next May’s elections.

MANILA, Philippines – Companies from the United States and Europe are looking at investing in the country’s retirement sector, with plans already on the table to set up “continuing care facilities” for retirees.

The Joint Foreign Chambers (JFC), which is made up of the biggest foreign trade groups in the country, has opposed a bill seeking to limit the number of casual workers hired by firms operating in the country.

The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) has urged the national government to instantly settle some P19.2 in unpaid dues it owes the state-run Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) in order to prevent the firm from becoming insolvent.

A militant lawmaker has asked Congress to investigate the contracts entered into by the Philippine government and local governments that reportedly allow foreign corporations long-term use of the country’s agricultural lands.

Foreign businessmen said they would block a pending bill at the House of Representatives that seeks to provide workers security of tenure.

The possibility of hacking into the automated election system is “practically nil,” a technical consultant to the Commission on Elections (Comelec) said Monday, disputing allegations made by several groups that the automated machines can be easily tampered with.

CEBU, Philippines – The management and rank and file employees of Coca-Cola Philippines-Cebu Plant inked a three-year Collective Bargaining Agreement yesterday.

To continue with last week’s loaded topic on fats, Dr. Angel Respicio Jr., nutrition adviser at The Sleeplab, Hawaii Medical Center-West, prescribes this formidable list of nutrients to ward off the Big C:

Military op-eratives in the United States have recently deployed its latest secret weapon in the war against terror: Barney the Dinosaur. The famous purple and green Tyrannosaurus Rex loved by children all over the world is now battling it out with the Al Qaeda. His mission for the US military is simple enough. Just really loudly sing his…

Doctors call it gastroesophageal reflux disease or GERD. Millions of people call it heartburn, and many others have coughing, wheezing, or hoarseness without realizing that GERD is to blame. By any name, GERD is common, bothersome, and sometimes serious. But once you know you have GERD, and understand its mechanics, you can control it and…

MANILA, Philippines – Mindanao farmers asked the Departmetn of Health yesterday to work for the banning of aerial spraying of pesticides in banana plantations in the region, saying that this gravely affects their health and other crops.

MANILA, Philippines – The Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) is projecting a 10-percent increase in mineral production value this year due to the improvement in the prices of gold, nickel and copper as the global economy starts showing signs of recovery.

MANILA, Philippines – The Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) is optimistic that the remittance business in the Philippines will expand on the higher end of the single-digit growth this year.

MANILA, Philippines – An acclaimed economist of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) is optimistic that the Philippine economy will make a strong recovery in the second semester of 2009.

MANILA, Philippines – The government sold P8.5 billion worth of Treasury bills (T-bills) yesterday after investors swarmed the auction with total tenders reaching P23 billion or almost three times oversubscribed.

We are happy to note that there is now more involvement of local agencies and authorities in the implementation of poverty solutions. The Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines (ULAP) and various state agencies namely the Department of Health, Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) and…

MANILA, Philippines – Young Filipino math wizards continue to impress the world with their latest feat at the 5th International Mathematics Contest in Singapore.

MANILA, Philippines – More adult Filipinos remain optimistic that their lives will improve in the next 12 months, a survey by the Social Weather Stations (SWS) revealed yesterday.

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Scientists claim they have developed a more sensitive test for the asbestos-related cancer mesothelioma.

Data suggest Europe, Asia improving; China leader cautions world economy faces ‘difficulties’

Throughout the majority of the 20th century, power plants were a common location for asbestos exposure. Before the 1980s, asbestos was considered an ideal material due to its insulating properties and ability to withstand high temperatures.