Amidst the unemployment problem, certain jobs are hard to fill and remain unfilled for unbelievably long period. As a result, 41% of employers in a recent survey struggled to find qualified candidates due to a dearth of talent. Read the rest of this entry »

MANILA, Philippines – Banks in the Philippines have reduced lending rates much faster than those in most Asian countries, thus contributing more to efforts to pump-prime the economy amid the lingering global economic crisis. Read the rest of this entry »

ZAMBOANGA SIBUGAY: Six established Filipino companies, including an electric cooperative in Western Mindanao, have been named regional winners in the prestigious Department of Labor and Employment’s 2009 Productivity Olympics. The six winners were Julies Bakeshop, Philippine Pioneer Rubber Products Corp., Pagadian City Springland Resort, Vic Engineering and Drilling Services, Zamboanga del Sur Electric Cooperative, Incorporated and Zaragoza Foods Corp. They were awarded plaques during a ceremony held in the town of Ipil in Zamboanga Sibugay province, which hosted the Olympics. Read the rest of this entry »

The newspapers report the vast devastation in our agricultural sector wrought by typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng. Rice fields have been inundated, rice warehouses in the North flooded. Thousands upon thousands of sacks of rice were rendered inutile, unfit for human consumption, and there are talks that we may need to embark on hefty importations again to tide us through these difficult coming months. The rice farmers are hard put to cope with the devastation, but where does this put the other staple farmer, the corn farmer? Read the rest of this entry »

Apply the SOS approach, as an initial and interim measure.

This is the essence of the reply I got from former Optical Media Board chairman Edu Manzano in reaction to my column of October 17. That piece raised the possibility of an upsurge in the exploitation of women and children — especially the latter — in the wake of the hardships confronting poor families as a result of typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng. Read the rest of this entry »

MANILA, Philippines – President Arroyo has ordered all government offices to use only the E10 blend of gasoline for their vehicles as part of the state’s contribution to the promotion of bio-fuels. Read the rest of this entry »

MANILA, Philippines – Multi-player online role-playing games, social networking sites, and pornography are officially banned on public high school Internet stations. Read the rest of this entry »

MANILA, Philippines – Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) announced yesterday that effective today the benefit package for normal childbirth or “spontaneous delivery” done in accredited hospitals and maternity clinics will be increased from P4,500 to P6,500. Read the rest of this entry »

MANILA, Philippines – US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has commended the Philippines’ international interfaith initiatives, particularly the Tripartite Forum on Interfaith Cooperation for Peace. Read the rest of this entry »

Heeding the call of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo for all government agencies to provide assistance and relief to areas heavily affected by Typhoons “Ondoy” and “Pepeng”, the Depart of Labor and Employment (DOLE) created the DOLE Crisis Response Team to expedite the necessary interventions and assistance particularly the Ondoy-affected workers in the private sector and informal sector as well as as affected OFW families, and other needy individuals. Read the rest of this entry »