The current dispute between the book industry and the Department of Finance regarding the imposition of taxes on book importation boils down to this.

MALOLOS CITY, Philippines – They went down a tunnel looking for gold hoping for a better life, but it ended their lives.

MANILA, Philippines—Malacañang disputed Saturday United Nations special rapporteur Philip Alston’s claim that the administration had failed to institutionalize the reforms needed to put a stop to extrajudicial killings, and suggested that Alston may have been influenced by leftist propaganda.

MANILA, Philippines — With 12 more months to go before the next elections, veteran community organizers and development workers across the country launched on Sunday a nationwide movement to get rid of the scourge of vote-buying in Philippine elections.

Black men suffer disproportionately from mental health problems. Men are struggling to cope with the emotional impact of the recession, a mental health charity has warned.

MANILA, Philippines — The Bureau of Immigration (BI) has banned from entering the country an American accused of maltreating and abusing his Filipino wife.

MANILA, Philippines — The deployment of newly hired land-based overseas Filipino workers fell by nearly 30 percent in 2008 compared to 2007, according to revised figures released by the Phililippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA).

The chief executive of the state-owned health insurance company urged hospitals and doctors to keep their rates and fees down so that patients can enjoy the full impact of the 35-percent increase in benefits.

CAR sales declined 3.3 percent in the first four month, with a total of 38,552 vehicles sold, and industry officials blamed the fall on the fewer selling days in April.

CEBU, Philippines – Workers of a lamp shade factory inside the Mactan Export Zone went on a work stoppage early morning yesterday to raise certain grievances.

WASHINGTON (AFP) – The global auto industry headed for a major shakeup Thursday as the boss of Fiat prepared to take charge of foundering US manufacturer Chrysler and German icons Porsche and VW moved toward an alliance.

MANILA, Philippines – The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said yesterday that foreign direct investments are expected to drop to only $700 million this year from $1.4 billion in 2008 as investors hold back their plans to invest in the Philippines in the midst of the global economic recession.

Islamic militants justify the move as legitimate on the part of the aggrieved people   COTABATO CITY: The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) hierarchy on Friday issued a statement taking full responsibility for attacks on both military targets and a banana plantation in Tulunan, North Cotabato on Sunday.

Some 49 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) have come home after leaving their jobs in a glass factory in Poland over wage and other issues.

The passage of the Reproductive Health bill would boost the Philippines’ fight against poverty, Ambassador Alistair MacDonald of the Delegation of the European Commission in the Philippines said.

Like most people around the world, the Filipinos’ main worry these days was about jobs because of the global economic crisis, the marketing researched firm Nielsen Co. reported Friday.

Amid massive layoffs worldwide due to the global financial crunch, Filipino nurses and other healthcare professionals are still in demand in US hospitals, an immigration consultant said yesterday.

Iceland asked to ease forex policies MANILA, Philippines—The North African country of Libya is poised to be a strong market for skilled overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) this year as it is in need of more than 16,000 migrant workers, Labor Secretary Marianito Roque said over the weekend.

WASHINGTON (AFP) – US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said “it is going to take a while” for the economy to recover from recession while noting “important signs of some stability.”

Reactions to my articles on anti-life, anti-family measures like “reproductive health”, “reproductive rights”, family planning, population control and the use of artificial contraceptives vary from total agreement to conditional support, to critical rejection or indignant disapproval. This is alright. Freedom of expression or free exchange of views, ideas and beliefs is the essence of democracy.…

Oh, to live and diet! The battle with the bulge rages. You’ve tried every diet program on the planet, every fat-zapping procedure and diet pills there are. But so far, the only thing they’ve successfully reduced is your hard-earned money.

For men and women experiencing the most common type of hair loss — androgenetic alopecia, or pattern hair loss — and pondering what, if anything, could be done about it, there’s a mix of encouraging and discouraging news. There’s still no great way to easily restore your hair to its former glory. No drug treatment…

MANILA, Philippines – Controversial party-list Rep. Jovito Palparan of Bantay vowed yesterday to pursue the revival of the Anti-Subversion Law at the House of Representatives as part of his crusade against communist rebels and their front organizations that he claimed are seeking to overthrow the government.

MANILA, Philippines – Energy Secretary Angelo Reyes admitted that tapping nuclear energy as a possible source of power is an option that the Department of Energy (DOE) wants to take.

BAGUIO CITY, Philippines – CropLife Philippines has called on the public to know the science behind pesticides and fungicides, belying claims that they are toxic chemicals that have killed people in banana plantations in Mindanao and in other farms.

MANILA, Philippines – President Arroyo yesterday said the P25-million fund she put up for reward to solve political and media killings could help reduce possible election-related violence leading to the national and local elections next year.

The government office that acts as advisory board to the President on matters regarding the advancement of women yesterday expressed its support for the Reproductive Health (RH) Bill, believing that “God would understand” a couple’s family planning choice.

MANILA, Philippines – Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap expects the growth results for the first quarter to be mixed due to the uncertain weather pattern and recent events that are impacting food production.

MANILA, Philippines – The government is eyeing to put in place an extensive credit information system by the end of the year, now that the implementing rules of the Credit Information System Act (CISA) have already been drafted, a ranking official said yesterday.

MANILA, Philippines – The government must put in place measures to protect the local steel industry from artificially cheap products dumped into the country.