CEBU, Philippines – Majority of the members of the Visayan Electric Company Employees Union-ALU-TUCP voted “yes” to a strike against the management whom they accused of committing an unfair labor practices and harassment.

WASHINGTON (AFP) – The International Monetary Fund warned Thursday that rising public debt of the major developed countries could undermine efforts to spur economic recovery.

MANILA, Philippines – The government has lifted the limit of hectarage for banana export plantation, following the recommendation of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) board.

MANILA, Philippines – Filipino nurses are now shying away from the United States because of the prevailing financial crisis there.

MANILA, Philippines—Three high school students from an award-winning math guild won for the country a silver and two bronze medals in the recently concluded 6th China Southeast Mathematical Olympiad (CSMO) in Nanchang.

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources said itwas working on new guidelines for cutting and earth-balling of trees amid public clamor for a ban on cutting of trees in light of the global problem on earth warming and climate change.

Did you play True or False as a kid? The State-of-the-Nation Address reminded me of this game.

MANILA – Investments committed with the Board of Investments (BOI) and the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) plunged by 71.6% in the first half of the year due to the global economic slump.

An international civil rights organization is raising the alarm over the government’s failure to address the unabated summary executions in the country.

VALENCIA, Spain: Facebook, MySpace and other social networking sites are increasingly being targeted by cyber-criminals drawn to the wealth of personal information supplied by users, experts warn.

A similar protest was held by Filipino American activists in San Francisco, California   WASHINGTON D.C. – About two dozen Filipino Americans and church supporters picketed the White House to denounce human rights violations in the Philippines, hours before the meeting between Presidents Arroyo and Obama.

Secretary Emmanuel Angeles, chairman of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), enunciated his plans for the higher education sector in several fora. One of these fora was the 2009 Philippine Association of State Universities and Colleges (PASUC) General Assembly held in Cebu on June 24. I devoted my column last week to the first part…

Department of Energy (DOE) officials said the government will privatize the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) next year once a number of studies on the country’s first electricity spot market are completed.

MIGRATION, considered to be the easiest way to a better life for Filipinos, is seriously under fire because of the lingering global financial meltdown, the United Nations (UN) trade arm said Thursday.

Easier entry of RP garments also high on agenda   President Gloria Arroyo will ask American lawmakers to support pieces of US legislation that would make it easier for Filipino nurses and Philippine-made garments and textiles to enter the United States.

MANILA, Philippines – A party-list congressman urged Commission on Human Rights chief Leila de Lima yesterday to inhibit herself from her agency’s inquiry into allegations military men tortured Filipino-American activist Melissa Roxas last year.

The Senate yesterday backed the proposal of President Arroyo to condone P42 billion worth of unpaid amortizations of agrarian reform beneficiaries to the Land Bank of the Philippines.

PFIZER Inc. chief executive Jeff Kindler said he was “disappointed” after the Philippine government ordered a reduction in drug prices, including the price of the company’s cholesterol treatment Lipitor.

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.