MANILA, Philippines – Fewer Filipino families consider themselves “mahirap” or poor, according to the latest survey by the Social Weather Stations (SWS).

MANILA, Philippines—Children and parents from anti-child pornography groups gave white roses to lawmakers to press for the passage of a law against child pornography.

MANILA, Philippines—Overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) may soon be provided with compulsory insurance to cover monetary claims or damages awarded to them in the course of doing their jobs.

The World Bank said Tuesday it would triple its social safety net investments to 12 billion dollars over the next two years to help developing nations weather the global financial crisis.

MANILA, Philippines – Senators Loren Legarda and Manuel Villar Jr. cautioned yesterday members of the House of Representatives against reducing the proposed pay increase for teachers.

MANILA, Philippines – More and more Filipinos are leaving the country either for work or leisure despite the global financial crisis, official records show.

MANILA, Philippines – It shouldn’t be raining in summer, and the intermittent rains could be an indication of climate change, the chief of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) warned yesterday.

MANILA, Philippines – After the 25-point cut in the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ rates last week, Treasury bill (T-bill) rates fell across the board yesterday with the benchmark 91-day rate falling to an average of 4.287 percent.

More than 10 years since the Skyway opened in the late 90s, the second segment of the Skyway that will connect Bicutan to Alabang started this year. This was the original design of the Skyway system to connect Makati to Alabang, which is the segment with the heaviest volume of vehicles during rush hour. Given…

President Arroyo says economy and people of Bicol will benefit from this very positive development.

MANILA, Philippines — An increase in the hiring of casual workers is seen among companies exercising cost-saving measures to combat the global financial crunch, labor experts and economists said on Tuesday.

President Gloria Arroyo has ordered a ban on the deployment of Filipino sailors for commercial ships that travel in the Gulf of Aden in order to prevent more of them from being held hostage by Somali pirates.

The proposal of the government to stop the deployment of Filipino seafarers shipping vessels that pass through the pirate-infested Gulf of Aden is ridiculous, the head of a local maritime group said Monday.

INACTION on the part of legislators is one of the reasons some parts of the Philippines outside Metro Manila remain waterless, NEDA officials said Monday.

Europe’s top aid official yesterday admonished developing Asian countries such as the Philippines to improve governance and not to rely on foreign support, saying not one country has been able to rise from poverty through financial help alone.

Back pains are very common and the in the Philippines, about 80 percent of Filipino adults suffer back pain at some time of their lives, according to Dr. Ken Sison, a graduate of the University of California in Los Angeles (UCLA) and Cleveland College of Chiropractic, also in LA.

NASHVILLE, Tenn (Reuters) – Top U.S. officials on Saturday offered reassurances that the worst of the economic downturn is likely over, helped by unprecedented efforts to keep credit flowing, though the recovery will be slow.

NEW YORK (Reuters) – The Federal Reserve allowed the global credit crisis to happen and must be redrawn as a tough regulator to stop big financial institutions from taking excessive risks, prominent Wall Street economist Henry Kaufman said on Friday.

The backers of the RH bill have again strutted out statistics from a policy research organization based in New York, U.S.A. The report allegedly covers a study on women’s contraceptive needs in the Philippines showing that 4,600 mothers and 52,000 babies died in the country last year from unwanted pregnancies and birth related causes. Of…

MANILA, Philippines – Two electoral watchdogs denied yesterday reports that they have severed ties with the social arm of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines.

MANILA, Philippines – Secretary Lito Atienza has created a Climate Change Office (CCO) at the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to “strengthen” his office’s position as lead agency for climate change mitigation and adaptation initiatives.

MANILA, Philippines – The expansive grounds of the Meralco compound in Ortigas was recently transformed into a carnival setting for three days to celebrate the company’s 106th year and “Employees Week.” It turned out as a meaningful endeavor for its employees who pooled their resources in treating the streetchildren to a “Fun-tastic Friendship Fair.”

MANILA, Philippines – They zip by quietly, running under 30 kilometers per hour around ritzy Fort Bonifacio Global City. But it’s enough to get attention from shoppers and promenaders.

MANILA, Philippines – The government should seek a review of the tax perks given to investors instead of resorting to an increase in the value added tax (VAT) imposed on consumers, the Consumer and Oil Price Watch (COPW) said.

MANILA, Philippines – The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) will soon allow convenience stores, store chains and other mass retailing outlets to function as e-money agents, especially in areas not served by actual banks or automatic teller machines.

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Mines and Geosciences Bureau (DENR-MGB) projects a total of $606.86 million in investments in priority mining projects this year, 17.6 percent higher than the $515.86 million invested last year.

The global financial crisis has affected the tourism business in the Philippines, according to the National Statistical Coordination Board.

President Arroyo is reminding all government agencies to set aside 1.5 percent of their operating budget for job-creating activities as part of measures to shield the Philippine economy from the adverse effects of the global financial crisis.

The property arm of the Gokongwei group that rate of residential project cancellations stood at the double-digit mark amid a global financial crisis.

A LOWER economic growth coupled with a higher budget deficit and borrowing costs due to the global financial crisis could accelerate the vulnerability of countries like the Philippines to debt stress, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) warned.