MANILA, Philippines – The number of displaced workers in the Philippines as a result of the global financial crisis went down in April, indicating that the country is slowly recovering from the difficult economic tide, National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) director for policy and planning Dennis Arroyo said yesterday.

The Supreme Court (SC) en banc has “denied with finality” the motion for reconsideration of oil companies seeking a reconsideration of the tribunal’s decision ordering oil firms to move out of the Pandacan Oil Depot.

The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) yesterday asked Malacañang to instead use the proposed P25-million informants’ reward for the improvement of the country’s law enforcement, judicial system and witness protection program to end extra-judicial killings.

The Commission on Human Rights said Thursday that it was unsure about efficacy of the P25-million reward fund to counter political killings, even as a Cabinet member argued that money was a good incentive.

Palace creates employment task force President Gloria Arroyo created the Presidential Task Force on Emergency Employment to thwart the effects of the global economic crisis in the country’s economy.

The United Nations’ Office of the High Commission on Human Rights will subject the Philippine government to “a higher level of scrutiny” when it comes to protecting the rights of migrant workers, after the Philippines claimed to be a global “model” among countries sending out workers overseas.

The country is not yet ready to embrace nuclear power. This was the stand made by Energy Secretary Angelo Reyes, when asked if the government was seriously pushing through with nuclear technology for the country’s power requirements.

ADB compares living standards around the world   It would take nearly two centuries for the Philippines to catch up with the living standards of industrialized countries at its current pace of economic growth, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) reported Thursday.

MANILA, Philippines—While he welcomed the job opportunity for the country’s health workers, Nueva Vizcaya Representative Carlos Padilla warned that the conditions set by the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA) on the hiring of Filipino nurses and caregivers could only lead to their exploitation.

MANILA, Philippines—The Philippine National Police (PNP) plans to offer a P3.235-million bounty for the arrest of 19 suspects in the killing of several militant leaders across the country, a police spokesman said on Thursday.

MANILA, Philippines—A 14-year-old high school student of the Chiang Kai Shek College (CKSC) in Manila got a perfect score while 246 other young Filipinos were among the top scorers in a correspondence-based Canadian Mathematics Competition (CMC).

MANILA, Philippines—As one of the biggest sources of migrant workers in the world, the Philippines should step up initiatives to ensure the protection of the rights of its workers, an arm of the United Nations (UN) said in a report.

MANILA, Philippines—Filipino nurses are still welcome in New Zealand, executives of the New Zealand Nursing Council told the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Association of Deans of Philippine Colleges of Nursing.

Malacañang approved the 2009 Investment Priorities Plan that grants fiscal incentives to investment-generating activities and to those seeking to preserve jobs amid the global economic slump.President Arroyo said the Board of Investments and other agencies drew up the 2009 IPP as a tool to generate investments and create jobs as well as preserve employment amid…

MANILA, Philippines—The country’s two biggest oil firms Wednesday disputed the National Economic Development Authority’s claim that local gasoline is overpriced by P8 per liter.

MANILA, Philippines—The Philippines and the rest of Asia may reel longer than expected from anemic exports as demand from the United States and other advanced economies may not immediately respond to pump-priming initiatives, the International Monetary Fund said.

MANILA, Philippines—(UPDATE 2) Microsoft Philippines finally revealed that their Philippine operations would be among those affected by the recent global job cuts announced by the software giant.

MANILA, Philippines – A bill seeking to extend the Rent Control Law was passed in the House of Representatives on Tuesday night.

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) has put up a P15-million reward for the arrest of Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) chairman Jose Maria Sison and New People’s Army (NPA) spokesman Gregorio “Ka Roger” Rosal.

MANILA, Philippines – The Government Service Insurance System (GSIS), the state-owned pension fund for government employees, reported yesterday that its income from loans and investments went up by 30.39 percent to P46.42 billion in 2008 from P35.6 billion recorded in 2007, GSIS data showed.

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines may import up to two million metric tons of rice this year, based on a standby authority approved by the National Food Authority.

Members of the House of Representatives have approved a bill that would extend the Rent Control Law which expired on Dec. 31 last year for another four years even as it lowered the ceiling allowed for increases from 10 percent to only four percent per annum.

Six newly installed party-list lawmakers have warned of unrest if Congress fails to pass the bill seeking to extend the implementation of the agrarian reform law.

Lawmakers yesterday slammed President Arroyo for putting up a P25-million bounty that she said was needed to end the spate of political killings in the country, saying that dangling such “bribe” only manifested her apparent inability to govern and to resolve issues involving political violence.

SINGAPORE: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Wednesday sharply slashed its growth outlook for Asia, predicting a “long and severe recession” for the region’s wealthier but export-reliant economies.

The world’s scientific community has been talking of unprecedented warming of the global climate system these last 1,300 years. Most of this warming has been attributed to human influence or anthropogenic factors.

The indigenous people under the banner of Kalipunan ng Katutubong Mamamayan ng Pilipinas (KAMP) held a picket rally at the gate of Camp Aguinaldo to condemn the recent extrajudicial killings against the indigenous people.

State-run Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) said its investment income rose last year despite the global turmoil, citing its prudent investments strategy.

Trade officials of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) have identified the priority sectors in the creation of a single market and seamless production base under the Asean Economic Community, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said.

President Arroyo has approved the 2009 Investment Priorities Plan (IPP), which contains a unique “contingency list” that will grant incentives to firms that save or generate jobs amid the global economic slowdown.