Philippine labor force situation

Source: BusinessWorld

The country's gross international reserves (GIR) rose to $99.7 billion last month from $96.1 billion at the end of December, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported late on Tuesday...

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Unemployment picked up in December from a month earlier but job quality appears to have improved, data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed...

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A 6- to 7-percent growth in the Philippine gross domestic product (GDP) is  doable this year despite several global headwinds that pose risks to the domestic economy,  according to Albay 2nd District Rep. Joey Salceda said...

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Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Felipe Medalla is not discounting the possibility of inflation going even higher than January's above-expectations 8.7 percent...

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President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. is hopeful that his visit to Japan will result in the implementation of projects that have been abandoned because of the pandemic, as well as the signing of key agreements in agriculture, energy, digital transformation, defense and infrastructure...

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Despite the entry into the country of highly immune-evasive and fast-spreading Omicron subvariants, the COVID-19 situation remains manageable as hospital admissions and severe and critical cases stay low, according to the Department of Health (DOH)...

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Monetary authorities have approved changes to electronic money (e-money) guidelines in a bid to mitigate risks and protect user interests...

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The prices of some basic commodities, such as canned meat, sardines, noodles and bread, have gone up by as much as 10%, according to the new suggested retail price (SRP) bulletin released by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) on Wednesday...

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A husband concealing a child born out of wedlock can be held liable for fraud, a legal basis for ending his marriage, according to a bill filed at the House of Representatives...

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The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) has temporarily stopped processing applications of first-time Filipino domestic helpers bound for Kuwait...

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Lawmakers are pushing for the establishment of specialty hospitals across major regions in the country to bring quality health care closer to people residing outside Metro Manila...

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The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has set liquidity and capital requirements for e-money issuers (EMIs) based on the scale of their operations to help ensure the industry’s resilience and protect customers amid increased technology risks...

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Capital A Bhd, the parent company of low-cost carrier AirAsia, introduced on Wednesday its new chatbot Ask Bo, powered by artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), to replace its previous bot AirAsia Virtual Allstar (AVA) launched in 2019...

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Once-secret ammunition bunkers and barracks lay abandoned, empty and overrun by weeds — vestiges of American firepower in what used to be the United States' largest overseas naval base at Subic Bay in the northern Philippines...
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President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has called on stakeholders from both the Philippines and Japan to revitalize partnerships made dormant by the COVID-19 pandemic, expressing optimism that his official working visit would yield fruitful results...

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The Department of Energy (DoE) said on Wednesday that China has expressed its intention to participate in the process of integrating nuclear power in the Philippine energy mix...

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The United Nations (UN) representative in the Philippines said the government needs to prepare its budget in a manner that would help it better achieve the UN’s sustainable development goals (SDGs)...

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Asia will for the first time use half of the world's electricity by 2025, even as Africa continues to consume far less than its share of the global population, according to a new forecast released Wednesday by the International Energy Agency (IEA)...

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The death toll from a massive earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria rose above 11,200 on Wednesday as rescuers raced to save survivors trapped under debris in the winter cold...

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No new coronavirus variants emerged in Beijing in the weeks after China ended its zero-Covid policy late last year, a new study revealed on Wednesday...

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Microsoft's long-struggling Bing search engine will integrate the powerful capabilities of language-based artificial intelligence (AI), Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella said on Tuesday, declaring what he called a new era for online search...

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Sri Lanka would remain bankrupt for at least three more years, President Ranil Wickremesinghe said on Wednesday as he works to repair battered government finances following an unprecedented economic crisis...

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky embarked on a European tour on Wednesday to drum up aid, winning a British pledge to train Ukrainian pilots on advanced NATO fighter jets, a big step up in Western military support...

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France and Germany have the opportunity to be “game changers” in the war against Russia by not hesitating in delivering heavy weapons and modern fighter jets to Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelensky said during a visit to Paris on Wednesday...

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Containing and cleaning up environmental pollution, especially in waterways, is crucial to controlling increasingly bulletproof superbugs which could kill tens of millions by mid-century, a new United Nations report said Tuesday (Wednesday in Manila)...

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President Joseph R. Biden challenged Republicans to lift the US debt ceiling and support tax policies that were friendlier to middle class Americans on Tuesday in a State of the Union speech that served as a blueprint for his 2024 re-election campaign...

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The United Kingdom's Royal Mail on Wednesday unveiled the first postage stamps to feature the image of King Charles 3rd, following his ascension to the throne last September...

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Stepping into a “minefield” about how to slow global warming, scientists in developing nations have won new funds to study whether dimming sunshine by mimicking volcanic eruptions can be a sufficiently safe way to temporarily cool a hotter planet...

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Shoppers around the world will pay even more for groceries this year than they did in 2022, according to retailers, consumer goods firms and investors, unless commodity costs decline or the shift to cheaper store-brand products accelerates...

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Melting mountain glaciers pose a growing flood risk to some 15 million people around the world, researchers said in a report published on Tuesday, with communities in Asia facing the biggest danger...

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For Representative Michael Peiyung Hsu of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (Teco), the Year of the Rabbit bodes good fortune for Taiwan’s tourism sector...

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The Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) said on Wednesday that it has issued a circular that will empower the local government units (LGUs) to address the shelter woes in their localities...

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The Government has allocated P326.97 million to support onion production this year, with the bulk of the package going to cold storage facilities, the Presidential Communications Office said in a statement...

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The Supreme Court has dismissed a petition filed in 2017 by the women’s group Gabriela and more than 70 children who sought to compel the government to address the health risks posed by the controversial Dengvaxia dengue vaccine...

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The government has asked the International Criminal Court (ICC) to reverse its earlier decision to proceed with an investigation into the killings committed under the Duterte administration’s antidrug war...

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Public policy think tank Infrawatch PH has expressed concern over the slow progress in the registration of subscriber identity module (SIM) cards, saying the current pace might result in only around 69.52% of the total number of subscribers getting registered...

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More than 70,000 kilograms of smuggled onions earlier seized by authorities were destroyed in Zamboanga City due to public safety concerns...

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Tax and finance experts on Wednesday urged President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. to pay his family’s P200-billion estate tax to make his government credible in going after tax evaders...

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President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. on Wednesday said his five-day visit to Japan would cement Philippine ties with major Asia-Pacific countries amid regional challenges...

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A Lawmaker has proposed imposing an entry tax on foreign visitors to help fund tourism development programs...

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Senator Cynthia A. Villar is pushing for the passage of several bills that will create new protected areas and expand declared sites to remove the Philippines’ tag as a biodiversity “hotspot” where ecosystems are under serious threat by human activities...

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The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) believes inflation may have already peaked in January 2023...

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Lawmakers who are pushing for Constitutional amendments have reached a consensus to lift “overly-protective economic provisions” that restrict the inflow of foreign capital, the leader of the House of Representatives said on Wednesday...

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Despite higher interest rates and the threat of a global recession, Albay Rep. Joey Sarte Salceda said GDP growth for this year could hit the low end of the Development Budget Coordination Committee’s (DBCC) target...

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The Malampaya consortium has turned over $13 billion to the national government (NG), representing the total royalties remitted since the Malampaya deep water gas-to-power project in offshore Palawan started...

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The Philippine government, through the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG), has filed a notice of appeal before the International Criminal Court (ICC)-Appeals Chamber seeking the reversal of the January 26 Pre-Trial Chamber’s (PTC) decision authorizing the resumption of the investigation on the abuses and deaths related to the anti-illegal drug of the Duterte administration...

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Lawmakers on Wednesday questioned the data discrepancies between the Bureau of Plant and Industry (BPI) and the Philippine Statistic Authority (PSA), which they say might have resulted in possible hoarding and price manipulation on agricultural commodities, particularly onions and garlic...

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Following the 7.8 magnitude earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria on Monday, February 6, the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) is gearing up to respond in the event that any place in the country may be hit by a tremor of similar magnitude...

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The Supreme Court (SC) has ordered the dismissal of the graft charges filed against former Senator Juan Ponce Enrile and several others in connection with the alleged siphoning of coco levy funds amounting to P840.7 million...

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To boost agriculture and fisheries production in Basilan, a lawmaker has filed a bill seeking to establish a tertiary educational institution that aims to develop the two most important sectors in attaining food security...

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The Supreme Court has junked the petition for mandamus filed by 70 children through their parents and guardians, together with Gabriela party-list group, seeking to compel the government to provide free medical services and treatment to children inoculated with the controversial Dengvaxia vaccine...

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The Department of Energy (DOE) on Wednesday said the Philippines and China are working on a cooperation agreement on the use of nuclear energy, particularly small modular reactors (SMR)...

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The Philippines has the best incentives among the Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) countries, according to the House of Representative Chairman of Committee on Ways and Means Jose Maria Clemente "Joey" Salceda...

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The Philippines’ gross international reserves (GIR) rose for the fourth month in a row, approaching the $100-billion mark at a preliminary $99.7 billion at the end January thanks to fresh foreign debt, according to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP)...

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An estimated total of 9.6 million adult Filipinos were jobless as of December 2022, showing an increase of 800,000, or 0.09%, from the October 2022 figure of 8.8 million...

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The Philippines’ vehicle output continued its five-month rally in December of last year, posting its second highest monthly growth in the year, but still ended up in fifth place in terms of yearly production among six Asian economies with available data...

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Senate Minority leader Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel 3rd on Wednesday called on the country's economic managers to hasten solutions to the rising inflation, which peaked at 8.7 percent in January 2023. This is an all-time high since November 2008...

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The Philippine Chamber of Agriculture and Food Inc. (PCAFI) on Wednesday called on the government to immediately implement measures to mitigate the decline in the fisheries sector, urging the review of current regulations as well as the establishment of a database of crucial agricultural statistics...

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The Department of Agriculture (DA), headed by President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr., has allocated P326.97 million for onion interventions this year through its High Value Crops Development Program, Malacañang said Wednesday...

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The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) said it would come up with a final list of major projects under the Marcos administration at the end of the first quarter of 2023 following the initial release of seven high-impact projects this week...

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The Association of International Shipping Lines (AISL) on Wednesday assailed once more the container monitoring and tracking system planned by the Philippine Port Authority (PPA) even as port authorities defended its merits...

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The Philippines’ unemployment rate eased to a three-year low of 5.4% in 2022, despite a slight uptick in December, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said on Wednesday...

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The Department of Agriculture (DA) conducted training on cacao fermentation, drying and bean grading in Kabacan, North Cotabato in an effort to boost the country's production of the crop...

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Prime Infrastructure Capital, Inc. (Prime Infra) said a 15-year extension has been sought for the Malampaya gas field concession, with additional gas production expected from a new well by 2026...

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Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Asia Pacific intend to increase cybersecurity budget by 17 percent in the next three years to beef up defenses against hacking and other cybersecurity incidents that could cause business disruptions, according to a study by Kaspersky...

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Given the latest labor data and recent economic developments, local economists on Wednesday said they are not confident that job prospects in the Philippines will improve in the coming months...

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Reducing parking fees, imposing price control on essential goods, and providing aid to businesses can help minimize the adverse impact of high inflation on the country’s workforce, according to labor groups...

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Some 14 European ambassadors led by Ambassador Luc Véron of the European Union (EU) Delegation visited this free port and Subic Bay Freeport Zone for their Business Mission to the Philippines recently...

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