Drugs are often more than a necessity. They sometimes represent the thin line between survival and death. We know, too, that the prices of drugs in this country are so much more prohibitive than those in other Asian countries.

JOB losses as a result of the global economic meltdown have begun tapering off, with some 14,000 workers retrenched in the first quarter regaining employment in companies that are beginning to recover, an official said yesterday.

AUSTRALIAN banana growers have taken their protectionist lobby to the skies and censured their national carrier, Qantas Airways, for serving passengers with bananas grown in the Philippines on trans-Tasman flights.

This case of Tony, a Filipino seafarer, is an example of the judicial power of the Courts to review and declare as unconstitutional the acts of a co-equal branch like Congress.

GIVEN the severity of the global economic downturn, remittances from overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) may fall by 10 percent to 20 percent this year even if many of them are in recession-proof sectors and in countries that are unlikely to plunge into recession, according to Moody’s Investors Service.

When I did some consultancy work with a large multinational corporation years ago, a top executive told me of a study the company had made. It seems that their executives who retired lived on average only two years. That is, two years after retirement, they were dead.

MANILA, Philippines—Economic Planning Secretary Ralph Recto has announced that job losses resulting from the global financial crisis were “tapering off.”

MANILA, Philippines – The Commission on Elections (Comelec) said it welcomes various groups’ raising “warning flags” on full automation of elections in 2010, saying it’s an indication of sincere concern.

MANILA, Philippines – Farmers, fisherfolk and laborers have started their 54-day camp-out at the House of Representatives to protest renewed attempts to pass a resolution convening Congress into a constituent assembly.

With a gargantuan P11.3 billion budget, poll officials say it will be make or break in next year’s May polls. They insist that the law provides computerization for both the national and local races.

MANILA, Philippines – Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Amando M. Tetangco Jr. said foreign direct investments (FDIs) would slow down this year because of lingering uncertainty over global prospects in the next two to three years.

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) was the top performer among Southeast Asian markets in the first quarter of the year, thanks to its strong fundamentals and wide ranging reforms that have allowed it to stay afloat amid the global economic crisis.

MANILA, Philippines – The peso could weaken to as low as 52 to $1 this year as a result of the slowdown in foreign exchange inflows from overseas Filipinos (OFWs) as well as the decline in interest rates.

MANILA, Philippines – Economic authorities are downscaling the country’s economic growth target for this year to as low as 3.1 percent as a result of shrinking exports.

Of course, we all want to be healthy. But you know you don’t know how. Or you don’t know that you don’t know. You don’t know what we’re talking about, do you? Consumer advocate Kevin Trudeau, who’s built a $2-billion global business empire, calls it unconscious incompetence or conscious incompetence.

Fear of losing their jobs has forced a growing number of migrant Filipino workers to save more, and lessen their home-bound remittances, the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) said. The TUCP now expects remittances from overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) to fall by 5 percent to 10 percent this year, down from a prior…

First of two parts If a minimum wage earner were to be stricken with diarrhea, relief can come cheap from the Department of Health’s Botika ng Barangay outlets, where a 2-milligram capsule of generic loperamide would cost only P1.05.  

SIXTY-TWO companies in the various economic zones are back in the hiring mode and will be employing 4,902 workers within the month, according to Lilia de Lima, director-general of the Philippine Economic Zone Authority.

The government is now looking at a bigger drop in exports and imports as well as a weaker foreign exchange rate amid the global recession.

Freddy and the Lord stood by to observe a baseball game. The Lord’s team was playing Satan’s team.

THE National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) sees even slower growth in 2009 and 2010 in light of the possible increase in export-earnings losses and rising unemployment for Filipinos here and abroad as a result of the global economic recession.

“Always and never are two words you should always remember never to use.” –Wendell Johnson

PATTAYA (AFP) – The dramatic cancellation of an Asian summit after rampaging Thai protesters stormed the venue has set back a regional effort to tackle the global economic crisis, analysts said.

MANILA, Philippines – Sen. Edgardo Angara has filed a bill seeking to update the country’s 100-year-old bankruptcy law, saying failure to do so could be harmful to the economy and financial system especially during this time of global financial crisis.

MANILA, Philippines – The Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM) is optimistic it could still achieve its 100-percent privatization target for National Power Corp. (Napocor) generating assets this year.

MANILA, Philippines – If you’re looking for a cost-effective way to connect your business to the Web, look no further than PLDT SME Nation’s myDSL Biz service. It provides small and medium enterprises (SMEs) with fast Internet access, and quickly gets their network up and running with up to four PCs and one laptop bundled…

MANILA, Philippines – Banks continued to pare down their bad loans, bringing down the proportion of non-performing loans (NPLs) to their total loan portfolio below the pre-1997 level, putting universal and commercial banks in a position of strength.

Playing instruments lowers feelings of job-related burnout: Study   LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – For optometrist Howard Levy, nothing eases the tension of daily eye exams and mounting paperwork like strapping on a guitar and jamming with fellow eye-care professionals in a rock band dubbed OffAxis.

First of two parts The planned automation of national and local elections in May next year could end up a disaster.

MANILA, Philippines – Charter change battle lines are being drawn in Congress, which resumes session this week to decide whether or not to amend the 1987 Constitution.