The Asian Public Real Estate Association (Aprea) which represents the real estate sector across Asia Pacific, has launched its best practices handbook to tackle the concerns about fragmentation in the Asian real estate markets, lack of unity and to influence greater harmonization in standards and industry practices.

If the current trend is sustained, remittances from overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) this year may likely equal if not surpass the $17 billion registered last year, the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) said yesterday.

Newspaper readership in the upscale socio A and B groups has increased to 64 percent this year from 56 percent last year, boosting the relevance of newspapers as the number one preferred media despite the equally increasing number of consumers using the Internet.

House energy committee chairman and Pampanga Rep. Juan Miguel “Mikey” Arroyo yesterday urged the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), Bureau of Customs (BoC) and the Commission on Audit (CoA) to immediately open the books of accounts of the “Big Three” oil industry players and start their no-nonsense court-mandated order.

Kidney disease is on the rise and among the top 10 causes of death in the Philippines. Statistics show that kidney disease among the Filipinos is shooting up every year. Almost 10,000 Filipinos requiring either dialysis for life or a kidney transplant for survival. About 31 percent of them have the most advanced stage of…

MANILA, Philippines – English proficiency in the country is seen to increase further as more Filipinos receive training geared towards employment in the business process outsourcing sector.

MANILA, Philippines—The Influenza A(H1N1) SCARE and the global financial crisis have had little adverse effect on local tourism as close to four million visitors trooped to the country’s tourist destinations in the first half of the year, the Department of Tourism (DoT) said Thursday.

MANILA – Affluent Filipinos are reading more newspapers and magazines due to increase in demand for good quality content, a study by global market research firm Synovate said Thursday.

The Joint Foreign Chambers of the Philippines expressed their support for the early passage of the bill filed by Senator Santiago. Banning asbestos will remove a serious health hazard from the community, the joint chambers said in a letter to Senator Santiago.

MANILA, Philippines – The second public hearing of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) on the alleged abduction and torture of Filipino-American activist Melissa Roxas yesterday appeared to have been overshadowed by the “face-off” of a militant congressman and two anti-communist congressmen.

INVESTMENT pledges made before the Philippines’ two main incentive-giving agencies doubled in the first six months of the year, according to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).

MANILA, Philippines – Agriculture exports are expected to increase to $4.5 billion this year from $3.8 billion last year, Agriculture Assistant Secretary Salvador Salacup said yesterday.

MANILA, Philippines – The number of jobs generated by new investments in the country went down by over 50 percent to 55,533 during the first six months of this year from 121,223 jobs created a year ago as first half investments plummeted by 71.63 percent.

MANILA, Philippines – The House of Representatives approved last night the bicameral conference committee report extending the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program by five more years.

The total costs of new business projects fell 72 percent in the first half to P79.67 billion from P280.81 billion registered last year.

An inter-agency council is now conducting a nationwide survey of the country’s day-care centers and workers to determine the quality of services they provide and to pinpoint the areas that need to be improved to enhance early childhood care and development (ECCD).

The government of Saudi Arabia is pushing for an intensified HIV testing for all Filipino workers bound for Middle East countries in view of the rising number of AIDS cases all over the world.

Interior Secretary Ronnie Puno has called on victims of domestic violence, exploitation and child abuse to seek help by going directly to Women and Children Protection Desks (WCPD) that the Philippine National Police (PNP) has put up in all municipal police stations throughout the country.

EMPLOYMENT in Philippine industries has been declining since the second half of last year as earnings continued to fall, the National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB) said.

The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) has forecast a “bigger” funding gap next year as it is set to propose a fresh P200-billion stimulus package to accelerate economic growth.

The European Union (EU) said Wednesday it had begun action against the Philippines at the World Trade Organization (WTO) over what the bloc claims are excessively high duties imposed on imports of EU brandy and whisky.

Steady economic growth may have been President Gloria Arroyo’s biggest achievement in her nine years in office, but this did not solve the most pressing problems of this developing Southeast Asian country—joblessness, poverty and hunger.

British Ambassador Peter Beckingham commended the Commission on Elections (Comelec), the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) and their partners for pushing for effective systems and resources to help marginalised sectors exercise their right to vote in the 2010 elections.

MANILA – Philippine civic and opposition leaders have issued an open letter to US President Barack Obama urging him to take up the problem of human rights violations in the Philippines in his meeting with visiting President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo on July 30 [July 31 in Manila].

MANILA, Philippines — Clinics screening overseas Filipino workers for work in the Middle East have pledged to institute stricter testing procedures amid reports of a rising number of OFWs with HIV/AIDS abroad, an industry group said.

MANILA, Philippines – The contact center industry is one of the biggest industries that hire IT workers in the Philippines. An estimated 275,000 people are currently hired and growth rate is touted at 15 percent every year.

9 years of Arroyo: A review MANILA, Philippines—Not since the dark days of martial law have the Philippine media been as threatened as now.

As we go to press Sunday, President Gloria Macapagal has yet to deliver her State of the Nation Address (SONA) Monday, July 27. Though a day late (better late than never), we’re sharing this open letter with our readers:

Did you hear about the 26 Japanese women with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who went to a hospital in Tokyo? They had their blood drawn, but then, instead of receiving medical treatment, they were ushered into a small theatER. There they watched a performance of rakugo, the traditional Japanese comic storytelling.

The Professional Regulatory Commission reported that 32,617 out of 77,901 passed the Nurse License Examination in various cities nationwide. The less than 50 percent passing rate is horrible as usual, a testament to the quality of local nursing education. It is probably safe to say that most of those who failed were duped by scam…