MANILA, Philippines – Amid the global financial crisis, Filipino workers appear to be shying away from any work stoppage that could deprive them of their daily income.

MACTAN, Cebu, Philippines – President Arroyo has signed into law the National Tourism Policy Act of 2009, which aims to solidify the status of the tourism industry as an engine of growth and development.

The uninterrupted receipt of the monthly pension of old-age and survivorship pensioners of the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) rests on their dutiful compliance with the annual renewal of active status (ARAS) requirement of the pension fund.

After having been exposed they have robbed the government of P93.3 billion in taxes from the period 2006-2008, Speaker Prospero Nograles yesterday bared Congress would make a much firmer stand against oil smugglers, saying any form of economic sabotage should be dealt with severe penalty.

cThe National Food Authority (NFA) yesterday said there is sufficient rice supply for the country’s requirements amidst the possible early entry of the monsoon season and with barely six weeks before the lean months start.

WASHINGTON (AFP) – US home foreclosures reached a record pace in April for the second consecutive month, underscoring the deepening crisis in the housing market, private data showed Wednesday.

FOREIGN direct investment (FDI) inflows slumped in February amid a global financial crisis, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said.

Philippine exports continued to decline for the sixth consecutive month, because of weak shipments of electronic products, the National Statistics Office reported Tuesday.

Govt sees end of global crisis for Philippines   The government admitted that unemployment figures were growing, with its data showing that jobless Filipinos numbered about 14 million in the first three months of 2009.

Men really do have an excuse for supposedly being wimpy about coughs and colds – their immune systems are not as strong as women’s, research suggests.

A “magna carta” for students is in the works in the Lower House. Party-list Representative Ulan Sarmiento, a colleague at San Beda, furnished me with a copy of one version. I will not comment on that proposal here, but on the proposal of a “magna carta” in general.

A reader asked in relation to our last feature on night cramps, “Which foods are rich in potassium, calcium, and magnesium? I’m always on the go and usually have to eat out?”

During Earth Day last month, I noticed that aside from pesticide usage and a few other issues, most of us haven’t really worried much about the connections between our health and the environment. For our health, we work on our waistlines and fret over our cholesterol levels. For the environment, we recycle and maybe reduce…

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines should allow more foreign products to enter the market to help badly hit nations recover from the global financial crisis, the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) said.

The World Bank said the Philippines’ two investment promotion agencies were “weak,” especially in inquiry handling and providing information to foreign companies looking to invest in the country.

With tears in their eyes, Vilma Balatbat, 39, and her husband tightly embraced each other, knowing it would be some time before they would be together again.

The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) warned yesterday that it will not issue a certificate of franchise to public transport operators who are not registered with the Social Security System (SSS).

A total of 59 Filipino workers are facing death penalty in various countries, a Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) official said yesterday.

In light of the latest report of United Nations Special Rapporteur Philip Alston on the state of human rights in the Philippines, a lawmaker yesterday called on President Arroyo to immediately dismantle the Inter-Agency Legal Action Group (IALAG) and for her government to “drop all trumped-up charges” it slapped against local activists.

Several more Third Force type movements have emerged. So far nameless, a movement led by Independent Sen. Kiko Pangilinan, actress Sharon Cuneta, Akbayan Rep. Riza Hontiveros Baraquel, Naga City Mayor Jesse Robredo and former Bukidnon Rep. Nereus Acosta has surfaced. It looks pretty much like a Liberal Party faction as Pangilinan, Robredo and Nereus Acosta…

The country’s biggest trade group urged both local courts to reconsider their decision ordering the Commission on Audit (CoA) to open the financial books of the three biggest oil companies amid allegations of price fixing.

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) – A Saudi judge told a conference on domestic violence that a man has the right to slap his wife if she spends lavishly on such things as clothing, a Saudi newspaper reported, drawing criticism from rights activists in the conservative kingdom.

WASHINGTON (AFP) – The global financial crisis is taking an increasing toll on Asia’s corporate sector with the region’s economies now among the world’s hardest hit, a senior IMF official warned Tuesday.

MANILA, Philippines—An alliance of Filipino worker groups in the Middle East Monday called on the government to come to the aid of a Filipino woman who had complained that she was raped by her employer’s son but who ended up being jailed for adultery in the United Arab Emirates.

MANILA, Philippines–The level of software piracy in the Philippines remains at 69 percent in 2008 but revenue losses increased to $202 million, according to a recent global report by the Business Software Alliance (BSA).

Brussels (ITUC OnLine): The ITUC has welcomed a new ILO Global Report on forced labour worldwide, which will be submitted to the ILO’s annual International Labour Conference in Geneva in June.

London – Being obese can take years off your life and in some cases maybe as dangerous as smoking, a new study says.

MANILA, Philippines–Several years after being mandated to set up websites, some government offices have yet to allow public to do transactions online, a National Computer Center (NCC) report showed.

BERLIN–The global economy has already passed the worst of the economic crisis and should soon pull out of its slump, led by Asia and China in particular, Hungarian-born US billionaire George Soros said on Monday.

MANILA, Philippines—The semiconductor industry may be on its way to recovery, as capacity utilization of manufacturing plants worldwide have started to pick up this quarter.