MANILA, Philippines – The country posted a consolidated public sector surplus of P32.3 billion in 2008 or 0.4 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), marking the third consecutive yearly surplus for the public sector, the Department of Finance (DOF) reported during the weekend.

“Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has described Bernie Banton as a “great Australian hero” for his tireless campaigning for justice for asbestos victims. But despite serious warnings from scientists and risk assessors that carbon nanotubes could pose similar risks to asbestos, the Rudd government is refusing to bring in new regulations to ensure we don’t repeat…

The renewable energy industry has grown steadily over the past decade, adding jobs at more than twice the national rate, according to a study by the Pew Charitable Trusts.

MANILA: Nuclear power is emerging as an option key source of “green energy” for most developing Asian countries, in order to stem the spike in greenhouse gas emission which came along way with the region’s economic success, experts who participated in a Manila forum said.

THE energy needs of Asia and the Pacific implies a rising trajectory of carbon dioxide emissions.

TOKYO — Talks to expand the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA) are already underway to increase the deployment of Filipino workers and the export of more Philippine products, six months after the free trade agreement took effect, President Arroyo said yesterday.

MANILA, Philippines – Backyard poultry growers are holding back on expansion plans, while big corporate growers such as San Miguel Corp. (SMC) are expanding in the face of the forthcoming implementation of the ASEAN Free Trade Agreement (AFTA).

Japan’s Diet has passed a new measure that would give more protection to Filipino seafarers particularly those deployed in vessels plying the pirate-infested waters of the Gulf of Aden.

An international group of lawyers, judges, jurists and law students has criticized the Arroyo government for its alleged refusal to seriously investigate human rights abuses and to prosecute State security forces widely perceived to be behind these abuses.

A GROUP of private power-plant operators wants the government to let go of its control over the domestic spot market for electricity.

Dear PAO, I recently resigned from my previous employer after almost 10 years of service because of the delay in my salary increase due to promotion. I was promised that I would be promoted as assistant fleet manager in November 2008. I went through the necessary procedure to earn my promotion that came in March…

I’ve been arguing that the central characteristic of the Philippine state is its continuing weakness, which prevents our political system from delivering development to our patient people until now.

Content providers found to be the cause of vanishing cell phone loads or credits would be heavily penalized by the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC), an official of the regulator said over the weekend.

HOUSING and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) Chairman Vice President Noli de Castro said the Philippines is looking to complete the housing backlog of close to 3.8 million, as more potential buyers have been flooding the mass housing market. Majority of the people looking for new houses or condos come from the business process outsourcing…

Dear PAO, Good evening! I would like to ask for legal advice regarding my problem. Someone borrowed money from me three months ago and, until now, he has not paid the amount.

Mobile phone penetration rate in the Philippines will hit 147 percent over the next five years, according to a report by research firm Business Monitor International.

THE Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) on Saturday agreed to receive a high level mission from by the International Labor Organization (ILO) to consult with various stakeholders regarding workers’ freedom and protection from abusive employers.

OPPORTUNITIES abound for integrating climate change in economic policies.

ASIA and the Pacific are at a critical crossroad. In recent decades, rapid development has lifted hundreds of millions of people out of poverty while bringing the region to higher living standards.

CLIMATE change argues for a close integration of mitigation and adaptation plans into development thinking.

RICE production will decline by as much as 75 percent in the Philippines if it is not quick enough to adapt to and put in place safeguards against climate change.The decline starts in 2020, according to a study made by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and released this week during a high level regional meeting…

(Last part)   THE Philippines’ disappointing first-quarter economic performance has shattered the official consensus about the country’s supposed resilience amid the worst financial crisis since the 1930s Great Depression.Before the shocking admission that it was “teetering into recession,” the country’s economic managers were unanimous in saying four things.

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Massive disenfranchisement of voters, a chaotic voting process and the imminent failure of elections appear certain with the announced plan of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to reduce the number of precincts nationwide and squeeze some quarter of a million precincts into 80,000 precints. Currently, the precincts stand at 250,000 and will be reduced to…

MANILA, Philippines – More jobs overseas await Filipino nurses and other professional workers, the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) reported recently.

LEGAZPI CITY, Albay, Philippines—A top Senate official and one of President Macapagal-Arroyo’s close economic advisers on Friday urged government to lower income taxes for ordinary wage earners as this could help reduce poverty and increase investments.

CEBU, Philippines – As labor union officer and representative of the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines in Congress, partylist Rep. Raymond Mendoza is expected to pull packages in Japan that would benefit workers.

CEBU, Philippines – The simmering discontent escalated into open protest as members of Keppel union have launched another strike starting early morning yesterday following the strike of Paul Yu workers.

CEBU, Philippines – Amid the global financial meltdown, officials of the country’s biggest cargo-handling company voluntarily slashed their allowances and some of their benefits.

TOKYO (Via PLDT) – The Philippines will seek Japan’s assistance on the possibility of putting up nuclear power plants as the country moves to reduce its dependence on imported oil for power and energy, President Arroyo said yesterday.