But new score still below investment-grade MOODY’S Investors Service said it has raised the Philippines’ credit ratings one notch, citing the country’s healthy financial system and its ample dollar surplus despite the global economic crisis.

MANILA, Philippines – Businesses should continue to pursue innovation even when the economy is bad, according to the head of the government’s Intellectual Property Office (IPO).

9 years of Arroyo: A review A few hits here, a few misses there (Editor’s Note: On the occasion of the ostensibly final State of the Nation Address of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on July 27, the Philippine Daily Inquirer presents this review of her governance which runs into its ninth year by the time she…

MANILA, Philippines—Belgium is set to regularize the stay of undocumented migrants, including an estimated 2,500 Filipinos, the Department of Foreign Affairs said in a statement Friday.

THE UN Development Program on Thursday said the Philippines has not done enough to curb the rise of HIV infections in this largely conservative Roman Catholic nation of 90 million people.

THE government said imports reached a seven-month high in May, signaling more raw materials are being produced for export in the coming months.

7th in a series on GMA’s 9th State of the Nation Address MANILA – Meralco’s stockholders’ meeting in 2007 saw an angry Winston Garcia on stage, perorating about the “inefficiencies” of the power retailer. That episode had been interpreted as government getting back at a perceived foe: the Lopez family.

POVERTY SITUATION IN THE PHILIPPINES IN 2007 (Selected Non-Income Poverty Indicators from the 2007 Annual Poverty Indicators Survey)

MANILA, Philippines — President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has not been remiss in pointing to employment as one of the main welfare issues, along with poverty, health and education, in her State of the Nation Addresses (SONAs) since 2001.

BANGKOK (AFP): Asian economies will likely bounce back from the global economic slump in 2010 but fears remain over the sustainability of growth if there  is no wider recovery, the Asian Development Bank said Thursday.

GENEVA – TRADE safeguards used by countries to protect their industries risk doing more harm than good in the current global economic crisis, the WTO said on Wednesday.

MANILA – The Philippines is seen to perform better in the second half of the year, especially after posting a positive growth during the worst of the global downturn.

To strengthen the delivert of the government’s Comprehensive Livelihood and Emergency Employment Program (CLEEP), the Department of Labor and Employment in partnership with the Department of Energy and the United Brotherhood of Uniformed Personnel will jointly conduct the Third Serbisyo Caravan for Displaced Workers at Building 64, Celery St., FTI Complex, Taguig City tomorrow, July…

MANILA, Philippines – Moody’s Investors Service has raised its sovereign rating for the Philippines to Ba3 from B1 previously, noting the country’s high degree of resiliency against external shocks.

THE report of the Presidential Task Force for Education (PTFE) containing updates, recommendations and action plans on different issues and concerns in the Philippine education system was presented to the Cabinet at its meeting held at Aguinaldo Hall, Malacañan Palace on December 8, 2008. This was subsequently approved by President Gloria Arroyo.

Alleviating poverty, curbing HIV, managing climate change   Because of global recession, the Philippines has not kept up with meeting the Millennium Development Goals set by the United Nations, a UN official said Thursday.

Remittances may not be as ‘robust’ – bank   The Philippine economic growth forecast was most likely to be revised downward this year because of the expected drop in remittances from overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), Asian Development Bank said.

Last Sunday, I fired our two live-in house helpers after discovering that, instead of keeping an eye on the house while we were out, they themselves went out and then sneaked back in the wee hours of the morning. When confronted, they did not deny that they had done it before. Because we have live-in…

Spain, despite suffering from the global economic crisis, was still in need of foreign nurses including Filipinos, the Department of Foreign Affairs announced Wednesday.

Genetic modification may be the only viable way to produce sufficient quantities of rice in the future as drought, climate change and dwindling acreage impact yields, experts said in a new report.

To reinforce the attainment of the UN Millennium Development Goals by the 192 Member States of UNESCO, the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (DESD) was declared with UNESCO as the implementing agency.

MANILA, Philippines – In response to calls from the business sector for an early announcement of the schedule of holidays, President Arroyo has released presidential proclamation declaring all the holidays for 2010.

When long-time Clark Development Corp. director Benigno N. Ricafort assumed on Aug. 1 last year the position of CDC president and chief executive officer, the cloud of the global financial crisis was there hanging over his head.

Second in a series on President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s 9th State of the Nation Address A yearly calendar of shock-and-awe stories that involve corruption in high places and weak leadership.

Interior and Local Government Secretary Ronnie Puno has ordered the Philippine National Police (PNP) to strengthen and expand its Women and Children Protection Desks (WCPDs) nationwide by forging partnerships with volunteer groups and by continuously training and familiarizing police officers on promoting the women’s and children’s rights.

MANILA, Philippines – Despite the scandals that rocked her administration since she took over the government in January 2001, President Arroyo has “done better” than her predecessors.

The leadership of the Philippine National Police (PNP) should be condemned for its cavalier treatment of the rape and sexual harassment raps filed by six women — including three members of the Women’s and Children’s Protection Desk of the Davao del Sur provincial office, as well as the wife of a junior officer — against…

MANILA, Philippines – With recent forecasts of major world economies moving out of recession and the revised outlook on the US economy, the Philippine government has become even more confident the country would avoid a recession this year.

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) said 900 local government units (LGUs) nationwide have “committed” to establish materials recovery facilities (MRFs) in their respective barangays in compliance with the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act (Republic Act 9003), as the agency concluded its “Zero Basura” caravan in Davao City last week.

MANILA, Philippines – Sen. Manuel Villar has emerged as the top choice of Filipinos to be the next president in the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey.