NTUC Blog

By: Daxim L. Lucas, Inquirer Business, Mar 11, 2019 MANILA, Philippines – Long term equity investments into the country weakened in 2018 as foreign firms infused less capital into local ventures — capping off five straight months of weaker inflows — the latest data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed.

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Manila eyes cutting back on sending skilled workers abroad by as much as 90 per cent by Gilbert P. Felongco, Correspondent, Gulf News, Mar 8, 2019 Manila: The Philippine government will impose limits on sending workers abroad in certain skilled labour categories, officials say, in order to prevent a local shortage of workers.

by Louise Maureen Simeon (The Philippine Star), Mar 5, 2019 MANILA, Philippines — Filipinos can expect more imported rice to enter the country as the law liberalizing the local rice industry takes effect today.

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By DONA MAGSINO, GMA News, Feb 27, 2019 In the age of social media, “trolls” or persons paid to make multiple fake accounts to promote a client have become part of the online community, influencing how the other netizens think and react on certain issues.

by Jess Diaz (The Philippine Star) – Feb 23, 2019 MANILA, Philippines — Following the enactment of a law extending maternity leave to 105 days, a Mindanao congressman is eyeing to lengthen paid paternity leave from seven days to 15 days.

(The Philippine Star), Feb 23, 2019 It’s a dream measure for the millions of Filipinos for whom decent health care is a luxury beyond their reach. President Duterte has signed the Universal Health Care Law, which expands the services covered by state health insurance and intends to include all Filipino citizens in the program.

by Darryl John Esguerra, Philippine Daily Inquirer, Feb 21, 2019 MANILA, Philippines—President Rodrigo Duterte has signed into law the Expanded Maternity Leave Act that will provide longer maternity leave to all working mothers.

By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas & Cai U. Ordinario with a report by Butch Fernandez, BusinessMirror, Feb 21, 2019 THE rice liberalization law will take effect on March 5, but the government has not rolled out the new import rules that will guide traders, according to a senior official of the Department of Agriculture (DA).

by Paolo Romero with Cecille Suerte Felipe, Mayen Jaymalin, The Philippine Star, Feb 20, 2019 MANILA, Philippines — Social Security System (SSS) members who have lost their jobs may apply for unemployment assistance under Republic Act 11199 or the Social Security Act of 2019, which President Duterte signed into law last week.

The measure intends to provide health care for all Filipinos so financial problems will not get in the way of seeking medical attention by Pia Ranada, Rappler, Feb 20, 2019 MANILA, Philippines – In a special ceremony in Malacañang, President Rodrigo Duterte signed a law that seeks to provide health care for all Filipinos.

by Ben O. de Vera, Philippine Daily Inquirer, Feb 17, 2019 President Rodrigo Duterte has signed the Social Security System (SSS) Rationalization Act to allow the SSS to improve its investing capacity and generate more revenue for members and pensioners.

by Czeriza Valencia (The Philippine Star) – Jan 25, 2019 GDP growth slows to 6.2% The Philippine economy grew at a slower pace in 2018, failing to hit the government’s target but still among the fastest in Asia, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) reported yesterday.

by Jovic Yee, Philippine Daily Inquirer, Jan 2, 2019 Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said the approved minimum wage increases throughout the country were short of at least P100 for workers to be able to cope with the rising cost of basic commodities.

by Sheila Crisostomo (The Philippine Star) – Dec 30, 2018 MANILA, Philippines — The number of births in 2017 was the lowest in 10 years but more girls below 15 years have become mothers, the Commission on Population (PopCom) reported yesterday.

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by RONNEL W. DOMINGO, Philippine Daily Inquirer, Sept 04, 2018 Local fuel prices went up for the fourth week in a row as the global market anticipated losing significant output from Iran, which is facing economic sanctions from Western countries.

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by Louise Maureen Simeon With Rhodina Villanueva (The Philippine Star) – Aug 22, 2018 MANILA, Philippines — Despite the continuous arrival of rice imports, prices of the Filipino’s main staple remain in an upward streak for eight months now, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported.

by Edu Punay (The Philippine Star) – with Mayen Jaymalin, Aug 14, 2018 MANILA, Philippines — The Duterte administration’s campaign against “endo” or end of contract labor practice got another legal boost.

by Jovic Yee, Philippine Daily Inquirer, Aug 14, 2018 Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said he had secured from the country’s biggest group of employers its commitment to regularize by yearend 300,000 workers as its contribution to the government’s campaign to end to contractualization.

Pernia: Security of tenure bill must be fair to both employers, workers Ben O. de Vera July 24, 2019 04:26pm MANILA, Philippines – The country’s chief economist on Wednesday said the pending security of tenure bill awaiting President Duterte’s signature needed to be tweaked in order to be fair to both business and labor sectors.…

‘Philippines on track to cut poverty’ by Julito G. Rada, Manila Standard, Jul 7, 2018 The 6.8-percent growth experienced in the first quarter this year puts the Philippines on track to sharply reduce poverty over the next four years, the country’s top economic managers said Friday.

(5TH UPDATE) Inflation climbs to another fresh high, exceeding market expectations and government forecasts by Ralf Rivas, Rappler, Jul 5, 2018 MANILA, Philippines (5th UPDATE) – Inflation continued to accelerate in June, reaching a fresh high of 5.2%, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported on Thursday, July 5.

By Matthew Campbell, Bloomberg, Jun 30, 2018 In imposing sweeping tariffs, President Donald Trump is betting he can give domestic companies a boost while beating back foreign competitors. The problem is figuring out which one is which.

by Paolo Romero (The Philippine Star), Jun 13, 2018 MANILA, Philippines — Saying that prices of goods in the country have gone out of control, Sen. Paolo Benigno Aquino IV is urging the government to contain it by amending certain inflationary provisions of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) law.