Governance

MANILA, Philippines – Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile has assured the public that the Senate will pass urgent bills as it resumes session today.

Ganito tayo noon, ganito tayo ngayon (Social development)

The Arroyo administration’s claim that it has the best record in setting up infrastructure since the ouster of former President Ferdinand Marcos in 1986 is flawed and insistence on it “is being intellectually dishonest,” former Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno said.

MANILA, Philippines—The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Monday unveiled new safeguards for whistleblowers in a crackdown on corruption.

MANILA, Philippines – The Senate ended 2009 by standing up to President Arroyo’s declaration of martial law in Maguindanao following the Nov. 23 massacre of 57 people in the province.

MANILA, Philippines – The government will implement the first wave of the controversial Unified Multipurpose Identification System (UMID) cards in March, initially for members of the Social Security System (SSS) and the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS).

The Social Security System will release the first two million unified multi-purpose identification cards in March, with four other state agencies adopting it for their common use.

International ratings agency Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services (S&P) noted the government’s failure to adopt measures to address the worsening fiscal situation after officials recently announced that the budget deficit for next year is expected to match this year’s P300 billion.

MANILA, Philippines – Barely six months before President Arroyo steps down, a majority or 61 percent of Filipino adults continue to be dissatisfied with her performance, the Social Weather Stations (SWS) said in its survey.

MANILA, Philippines – State auditors have tagged as highly irregular the electronic portal project of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) involving funds worth more than P30 million, even recommending the investigation of agency officials who “disregarded” rules on bidding in approving the questionable contracts.

Good corporate governance among listed firms matter to stock market investors, a recent study by the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) revealed.

MANILA, Philippines – How do you keep sane when money flies out of the window and the bills just keep on coming? You look at your wallet and see nothing in it and then you count silently when the next paycheck would come and you realize instantly that you have a shortfall. It’s difficult and…

Public satisfaction with Vice President Noli de Castro’s performance went down, but his rating is still the highest among the top government officials, a recent survey showed. Results of the survey conducted by the Social Weather Stations (SWS) showed that 58 percent satisfied and 26 percent dissatisfied with the performance of de Castro.

MANILA, Philippines – President Arroyo yesterday lifted martial law in Maguindanao on the recommendation of her security officials.

WASHINGTON – The Philippines was thwarted in its bid to get a multimillion-dollar grant from the US Millennium Challenge Corp. (MCC) for failing to meet performance benchmarks, particularly control of corruption, but was allowed to continue the process of developing a compact grant in 2010.

MANILA, Philippines – Senator Panfilo Lacson revealed that more than P568 million has been used to fund at least eight non-working call centers for the “Patrol 117” hotline last year.

MANILA, Philippines – Malacañang downplayed yesterday the reported concerns raised by the International Monetary Fund on the country’s budget deficit, which has already breached the government’s full-year target as of October.

Despite the record fiscal blowout which most analysts believe will shoot past P300 billion by the end of the year, which prompted the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to place the country back on its danger watchlist, economic officials insisted yesterday the current budget deficit level is not something to be alarmed about.

THE Ombudsman has scolded a former woman judge for trying to put down the image of the Philippines in its fight against corruption.

MANILA, Philippines – Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez turned the tables on a former judge yesterday for saying that corruption in the country is still bad despite receiving a better ranking in this year’s Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) report by Transparency International (TI). The Philippines now ranks 139th among 180 countries perceived to be the most corrupt…

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines ranked 139th among 180 countries in corruption watchdog Transparency International (TI)’s 2009 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) released yesterday. The country’s ranking slightly improved from last year’s 141, with a score of 2.4 in CPI this year.

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines exceeded its 2009 budget deficit goal in just 10 months due to weak revenues and higher spending on reconstruction following strong typhoons that damaged crops and infrastructure in Luzon.

NEW YORK—All United Nations member-countries, including the Philippines, have agreed over the weekend to a new mechanism to monitor and implement a global treaty to fight corruption.

MANILA, Philippines – The Office of the Ombudsman claimed yesterday that corruption ranking of the Philippines according to the latest Washington-based Millennium Challenge Corp. (MCC) index is based on “mere perception.”

MANILA, Philippines – (UPDATE 2) The Philippines has become better at controlling corruption, and in promoting political and civil rights, as well as public accountability, Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo said Tuesday, citing the Control of Corruption indicator, which showed an improved ranking from 39 down to 33.