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AT GROUND LEVEL By Satur C. Ocampo (The Philippine Star), Jan. 7, 2017 President Duterte enters the second half of his first year in office unrelentingly pursuing his bloody war on illegal drugs, which during the electoral campaign he had promised to complete in six months. The fulfillment of another campaign promise has now been…

By: Ben O. de Vera – @inquirerdotnet, Philippine Daily Inquirer / January 06, 2017 Pushing through with proposals to slap a two-year ban on farm land conversion as well as hiking the Social Security System’s (SSS) pension benefits without raising members’ contributions will “undermine” the economic growth momentum that the country currently enjoys, a high-ranking…

INQUIRER.net / January 06, 2017 One of the fears revolving around the development of artificial intelligence rises from the possibility that it may eventually replace humans as a workforce. This fear has now become a reality for a number of employees working for a Japanese company.

BY RIGOBERTO D. TIGLAO, Manila Times, JANUARY 6, 2017 SINCE the communist insurgency started in the 1950s led by a Soviet-influenced Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas, President Duterte is the first president to have appointed not only former communist leaders but probably even active communist cadres as members of his Cabinet and as lower-ranking officials.

Written by Kris De Meyer, Jan 6, 2017 Finally a new year is here after the most politically divisive 12 months in a very long time. In the UK, Brexit shattered dreams and friendships. In the US, the polarisation was already huge, but a bitter election campaign made the divisions even deeper. Political rhetoric doesn’t persuade…

By Mayen Jaymalin (The Philippine Star), January 6, 2017 MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) decided yesterday to defer the implementation of the new government policy on contractual employment.

(philstar.com), January 6, 2017 MANILA, Philippines — Charity and corporate social responsibility (CSR) are key issues for business people globally, a recent research from workspace provider Regus revealed.

By Prinz Magtulis (The Philippine Star), January 6, 2017 MANILA, Philippines – The Social Security System (SSS) wants a relaxation of investment restrictions to raise more funding for the agency amid a clamor for a pension hike. “It is so we can redirect our funds to better yielding assets,” SSS president and chief executive officer…

1.5.2017 (DOLE, Intramuros, Manila). TUCP President Ruben D. Torres –in a three-hour DOLE dialogue with organized labor –reiterated TUCP’s opposition against the pervasive and unchecked practice of contractualization.

by ROBBY BERMAN, Jan 4, 2017 For everyone, there are times when a dark cloud just seems to be following you around. You may not even even know why. While we don’t mean to minimize the value of medication for those who experience this on a daily basis, UCLA neuroscientist Alex Korb, author of The…

by Lindsay Murdoch, 4 Jan 2017 Bangkok: A “human trafficking syndicate” has been hiring Filipino women to travel to Cambodia to carry surrogacy babies for foreigners, including Australians, Philippine authorities say.

by Jess Shankleman and Chris Martin, Bloomberg, Jan. 3, 2017 Global average solar cost may fall below coal within 10 years Countries from Saudi Arabia to Mexico planning auctions Solar power is now cheaper than coal in some parts of the world. In less than a decade, it’s likely to be the lowest-cost option almost…

By James Manyika, Michael Chui, Mehdi Miremadi, Jacques Bughin, Katy George, Paul Willmott, and Martin Dewhurst Automation is happening, and it will bring substantial benefits to businesses and economies worldwide, but it won’t arrive overnight. A new McKinsey Global Institute report finds realizing automation’s full potential requires people and technology to work hand in hand.

By Sheila Crisostomo (The Philippine Star), January 3, 2017 MANILA, Philippines – Lack of available contraceptives would easily make the Philippine population balloon to over 106 million this year, the Commission on Population (PopCom) declared yesterday.

by Jess Shankleman and Chris Martin, Bloomberg, January 3, 2017 Solar power is now cheaper than coal in some parts of the world. In less than a decade, it’s likely to be the lowest-cost option almost everywhere.

By Steven Butler, The Daily Dose, January 3, 2017 Because the world economy is in the doldrums and could use some help. The train pulls out of the station as I lean on the throttle — a mile of freight cars in tow — accelerating to over 80 mph. Catching sight of some curves and…

Nyshka Chandran | @nyshkac, 3 Jan 2017, CNBC.com When it comes to Asia’s growth outlook, the south still reigns supreme. India, Indonesia and Thailand are seen as the region’s best performers of 2017 thanks to healthy fundamentals, economists told CNBC.

By Richmond Mercurio (The Philippine Star), January 2, 2017 MANILA, Philippines – The European business community has two special wishes for President Duterte this New Year: that he address concerns on alleged extrajudicial killings and end his verbal assaults on the country’s international allies.

BY REY ELBO, Manila Times, JANUARY 2, 2017 WHICH Philippine employer should be awarded as the most evil to workers, at least for this year? In Japan, advertising giant Dentsu Inc. has been given the 2016 Black Company Award, a.k.a. the Most Evil Corporation of the Year. A group of journalists and rights activists gave…

By Federico D. Pascual Jr. (The Philippine Star), Jan. 1, 2017 YOU have seen or survived the first six months of the six-year Duterte regime. For the new year starting this blessed day (killers do not rest even on the Sabbath), it will be more of the same – only stricter, meaning bloodier.

By Richmond Mercurio (The Philippine Star), Dec. 29, 2016 MANILA, Philippines – Japanese companies operating in the Philippines are the second most bullish across Asia and Oceania in terms of being profitable this year, a new survey by the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) showed.

By Mayen Jaymalin (The Philippine Star), December 29, 2016 MANILA, Philippines – The practice of “endo” or end-of-contract is officially no longer allowed. The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) yesterday issued a new regulation banning it and other “labor only” contracting practices.

By Janvic Mateo (The Philippine Star), December 29, 2016 The 2015 Paris climate change deal took effect with the Philippines’ ratification this year. But after meeting with the Cabinet, President Duterte finally gave in, as joining the deal means necessary funds for the country’s environmental management initiatives.

By Prinz Magtulis (The Philippine Star), December 29, 2016 MANILA, Philippines – A few days after the 2017 budget was signed into law, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez gave both an assurance and a warning on government revenue prospects for next year.

By: Ed Margareth Barahan – @inquirerdotnetINQUIRER.net, December 29, 2016 One person was confirmed dead in a fire at a metal fabricator warehouse in Don Jose Street in Cubao, Quezon City on Thursday.

By Jose C. Sison (The Philippine Star), Dec 28, 2016 The general rule in Labor Law is that the burden rests on the employer to prove payment, rather than on the employees to prove non-payment of the wages she is entitled to. This is one of the issues raised and resolved in this case of…

Sunstar, December 28, 2016 AFTER outlawing subcontracting, the Department of Labor and Employment (Dole) told contractors Wednesday that they are also being prohibited from letting go of their workers once a project with a principal ends.

By Danessa Rivera (The Philippine Star), December 27, 2016 MANILA, Philippines – Shockwaves were felt in the energy sector in 2016, from the change in leadership to various controversies. At the start of the year, solar players were scrambling to beat the March 15 deadline to qualify for the second round of feed-in tariff (FIT-2)…

by E.J.C. Tubayan, Businessworld THE PHILIPPINES is gearing up to negotiate two big free trade agreements (FTA) next year, as countries under the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) approach a consensus on the partnership’s terms, and with trade talks with the European Union (EU) set to resume in the first quarter next year.

by PHILIP PERRY, Dec 27, 2016 The Trump campaign ran on bringing jobs back to American shores, although mechanization has been the biggest reason for manufacturing jobs’ disappearance. Similar losses have led to populist movements in several other countries. But instead of a pro-job growth future, economists across the board predict further losses as AI,…