NTUC Blog

The publisher and editors of Hong Kong Magazine yesterday apologized for the “politically incorrect” article written by its columnist Chip Tsao which has sparked outrage among Filipinos at home and in the former British colony.

I MENTIONED LAST WEEK how various East Asian scholars, in a recent forum in Tokyo, affirmed the need for East Asia to rethink and rework the export-driven growth model that had propelled the region’s economies in recent decades.

CLARK FIELD—Over 121,000 Filipino workers have either lost their jobs or suffered pay cuts or reduced work loads because of the economic crisis, according to a Labor Department official.

12,000 overseas workers laid off–Labor official The economic crisis has cost over 121,000 Filipino workers their jobs, pay cuts or reduced work loads, a government official said on Sunday.

TOP companies raised by a fifth the cash reward for their owners last year amid an economic slowdown that has seen more firms slash jobs.

UN General Assembly, 25 to 27 March, 2009 Member States of the UN General Assembly participating in the Interactive Thematic Dialogue of 25 to 27 March 2009 viewed the dialogue as an opportunity to build worldwide consensus for global action to address the deepening crisis. The Interim Report of the Commission of Experts on reforms…

TONY Blair knows what he is talking about. As prime minister of the United Kingdom for 10 years (assuming the office at the young age of 43), Blair knew what it was to lead a nation. Now envoy of the Quartet (United Nations , European Union, the United States and Russia) to the Middle East,…

very adjustment in our projected economic growth rate for this year has been downwards. That is not very encouraging.

WASHINGTON (AP) — With the US sinking deeper into recession, the Federal Reserve launched a bold $1.2-trillion effort Wednesday to lower rates on mortgages and other consumer debt, spur spending and revive the economy.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) said the sluggish growth in earnings of Filipino workers over the last decade is “alarming,” particularly because the figures did not expand faster than the economic growth rate.

The world economy is set to shrink by between 0.5% and 1.0% in 2009, the first global contraction in 60 years.

MANILA, Philippines – Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ralph Recto yesterday assured that the government would step up efforts to address the rising unemployment rate in the country.

MANILA, Philippines – Despite its resilience, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said the Philippine economy is still sensitive to a deeper and protracted global economic downturn requiring prompt and decisive policy action.

As jOB losses mount, the Social Security System will make available P500 million in emergency loans for its members who have been displaced by the global economic crisis.

It’s clear that the current recession is not going to be a fleeting phenomenon. Managers need to learn how to lead under extraordinary marketplace pressures and decreased morale, amid pay cuts, spending cuts on strategic projects, and staff reductions. As a leader, you can get through this mess in a positive manner if you take…

Borrowers with delinquent loans from any government financing institution (GFI) or housing agency may now apply for loan restructuring and condonation under a new program that aims to save their homes from foreclosure, Vice President Noli de Castro, chairman of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC), announced yesterday.

MANILA, Philippines – The National Statistic Office (NSO) reported yesterday that there are now 2.855 million jobless Filipinos in January as the local unemployment rate increased to 7.7 percent owing to the global economic crisis.

Edited version of address at the Employment and Social Policy Committee, International Labour Organisation, 17 March 2009.

MANILA, Philippines – Malacañang yesterday renewed President Arroyo’s call on government agencies to tighten their belts and use their savings to provide emergency employment to the poor to help tide them over in the coming months.

WE OFTEN HEAR IT SAID THAT we in the Philippines have no lack of good plans, programs, policies and laws, but our problem lies in enforcement and implementation. For example, we pride ourselves as being among the first in the world to have formulated a national strategy for sustainable development after the 1992 Rio Earth…

‘No dislocation of gov’t workers’ MANILA, Philippines — President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo said “no one shall be dislocated” in the government workforce when a rationalization program is implemented.

ASIA’S export-dependent economies have been plunged into their worst crisis in decades as the global recession saps demand for the region’s consumer electronics, cars and semiconductors.

It was like throwing a bucket of water at a house ablaze. The results might not be quite promising.

MANILA, Philippines — Workers who stand to lose their jobs due to the global economic meltdown can now call the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) for help at (632)527-4437.

Infra spending to ease demand woes–Citigroup   Nearly half-a-million Filipinos could lose their jobs, according to Citigroup. In a report, the US financial services giant said Philippine gross domestic product (GDP) is projected to grow 3 percent this year and recover to 4.6 percent next year. A proxy for a country’s economic output, GDP measures…

Proposals to re-open the mothballed Bataan Nuclear Power Plant has sparked anew debates regarding its safety, economic viability and sustainability issues.

BRUSSELS – The New People’s Army and the Communist Party of the Philippines, and 45 other organizations worldwide, remain on the European Union’s list of terrorist groups after the removal of The People’s Mujahideen of Iran on Monday.

Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago is certainly sick.

MOST of the rich Filipinos evade taxes, and many are members of civil society groups preaching compassion and demanding the rule of law, an official said yesterday.

Now we know: between associate justices endorsing a decision and the Chief Justice promulgating it lies Purgatory.