(Second of two parts) RAPID economic growth in recent years, perhaps one of President Gloria Arroyo’s few and widely acknowledged achievements amid the steady slide in her popularity ratings, could turn out to be as debatable as her devotion to good governance and anti-corruption.

MANILA, Philippines – The non-performing loan (NPL) ratio of thrift banks stood at 7.71 percent as of end-March 2009, up 0.55 percentage point from the previous quarter’s 7.16 percent, latest data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed.

MANILA, Philippines –  Claiming that Filipino-American Melissa Roxas is not a mere activist but once an armed rebel, two party-list representatives including former military general Jovito Palparan disclosed information that the ones who tortured her were not soldiers but her own comrades who were trying to prevent her from severing her ties with the communist…

MANILA, Philippines – The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCR) expressed disappointment yesterday over the ASEAN rights body’s “lack of clear protection mandate.”

MANILA, Philippines – The Senate will focus on bills that will help Filipinos be more resilient in the face of the global recession as it opens the third regular session of the 14th Congress on Monday.

WHILE the number of registered overseas absentee voters increased this year, it is still far behind the one million target for next year’s polls.

ILLEGAL immigrant workers of Filipino and other nationalities got a break from the Belgian government which last week approved a pact for the regularization of undocumented migrants.

GOVERNMENT intervention is needed to address market failures and inequities in the Philippine pharmaceuticals industry.

ACCESS to medicines is essential for health systems to function. Access means having medicines continuously available and affordable that are within one hour’s walk from homes.

IT’S business as usual. More than one year has elapsed and yet many medicines are still being sold at their usual price.

THE pharmaceutical market is large—and growing. Worth P47 billion in 1999, it grew to P70 billion by 2003 and is probably worth P100 billion now.

Government should be as decisive in dealing with other sectors THE P100-billion pharmaceutical market has been breached, and drug giants blinked.

In the interest of fairness, we’d like to devote some space to the reaction of Administrator Diosdado Jose Allado of the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) to criticisms we had raised in an earlier column against the multi-billion Laiban dam project, conceived to address the long-term water requirements of Metro Manila as well as…

The latest word out of the Department of Health is that the pharmaceutical industry in the Philippines has offered to voluntarily lower the prices of 42 branded medicines. The medicines fall under 16 of the 21 “essential drugs” categories that the DoH had recommended to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo for mandatory price capping under Republic Act…

Firms look at cities, not countries, THE COMMISSION on Information and Communications Technology (CICT) is bent on building an ICT hub in every province in the country, having seen the importance of ICT in economic development and nation-building.

MANILA, Philippines – The high wages being offered in the business process outsourcing industry may no longer be enough to convince mid-level executives to stay on in their jobs, as they now look for more “quality of life” incentives.

CEBU, Philippines – Public jeepney drivers can soon avail of a soft loan to convert their diesel or gasoline-engine vehicles to run on liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) as government released P500 million allocation for such purpose.

MANILA, Philippines – The government is preparing a second economic stimulus package next year to ensure continuation of President Arroyo’s pump-priming program, a Cabinet official said.

Cases of unexplained killings have gone down in the past two years, but there’s still a long way to go before the government can boast of respect for human rights. As various human rights groups have pointed out, most of the previous cases remain unsolved. Where cases have been filed, the conviction rate is low…

Months after the hoopla at the Grammy Awards, the ensuing accusations, denial, and rumored reconciliation which was much fodder for the international media, Chris Brown, has finally come out to publicly apologize for beating his then girlfriend, Rihanna.

MANILA, Philippines – A research expert revealed recently that although high compensation continue to be a factor in achieving high retention in the off shoring industry, the interest in strictly cash is slowly starting to wane.

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — The Philippines, which provides a significant number of the world’s commercial sailors, said Saturday it would contribute $20,000 to a U.N. trust fund to support Somali security forces in their fight against piracy.

MANILA, Philippines – He may be down, but he’s definitely not out. Former House speaker Jose de Venecia Jr., who formed Lakas-CMD in 1992 but was forced to quit following his falling out with President Arroyo, has launched a so-called “conscience hotline” for “lost” party members.

Her handlers portray her as a hardworking president, but after eight years in power, Gloria Arroyo is looking more like being long on show and short on substance.

TWO in every five Filipino families below the poverty line do not have electricity in their homes, according to the National Statistics Office (NSO).

The government expects to complete the country’s rural electrification program or the electrification of all Philippine barangays (villages) before the yearends.

MANILA, Philippines – Global warming is slowly pushing the world to the brink of destruction but the Philippines is doing its share to lessen the impact, according to Presidential Adviser on Global Warming and Climate Change (PAGWCC) Heherson Alvarez.

BANKS have cut further their lending rates after a series of reductions in the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) interest rates, an official said.

PHILIPPINE imports continued to slip for the eight consecutive month in May, but at a slower pace, as purchases of electronic products abroad slightly recovered, the National Statistics Office (NSO) said.

THE Department of Budget and Management (DBM) is considering a second-stimulus package that would be incorporated in the 2010 national budget to ensure President Arroyo’s pump priming program is sustained.