I’M looking at allowing 100-percent investment or ownership in renewables.”
Energy Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi made this bold statement during an online forum of the Philippine Energy Independence Council in July. Cusi was also quoted having said he is “hoping it could be done with a circular through DOE,...
EVERY effort to develop a new medicine is like launching a ship across the ocean to hunt for riches. Over the years, we’ve improved the hulls and masts, the maps are better, the sailors more experienced. But even so, vessels get turned back or new lands are barren. And, sometimes, a squall...
The two Filipino seamen rescued from the missing Panamanian-flagged vessel Gulf Livestock-1 will be returning home to the Philippines soon, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said.
The seafarers were rescued from the capsized vessel in international waters in the East China Sea.
Japanese Coast Guard...
The Department of Health (DOH) believes it has seen "improvements" in the fight the against Covid-19.
This, despite the the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey that revealed 57 percent or at least six in 10 Filipino adults believe that "the worst is yet to come" amid the...
The Air Force is eyeing three factors that may have caused the fatal crash of one of its Sikorsky S-76A air ambulance in Basilan on Wednesday as it officially identified the four personnel who perished during the mishap.
The S-76A from the 505th Search and Rescue Group boarded by four...
Almost 150,000 applicants have registered in the ongoing online job fair of the Civil Service Commission (CSC).
CSC said a total of 148,461 jobseekers filled out the personal data sheet and uploaded it to JobStreet.com, which served as their private sector partner in the conduct...
JUSTICE Secretary and Task Force PhilHealth head Menardo Guevarra on Thursday said an incumbent health secretary need not occupy the board chairmanship of the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. on a concurrent capacity.
Guevarra said the PhilHealth board chairman post does not have to be reserved for the health secretary...
The Department of Education (DepEd) on Tuesday said the enrollment for school year 2020-2021, which is set to open on October 5, has already reached 24.4 million.
During the briefing on DepEd’s P568-billion budget for 2021, Education Secretary Leonor Magtolis Briones said of the 24.4 million learners, 22.31 million...
The Department of Health (DOH) is appealing to all qualified health-care workers to heed government’s call to apply for jobs under the department’s emergency hiring program. The DOH admitted that it still lacks over 2,600 medical workers to help the country battle the Covid-19 pandemic.
Of the 10,693 openings...
THESE days, Neriza Solidarios is among thousands of public-school teachers feverishly preparing for what’s probably the biggest challenge of their career: ensuring they and their students successfully migrate to a “blended learning” forced by severe limits on classroom interactions as a pandemic rages.
While much of the accounts about...
The one-meter social distancing rule for public utility vehicles (PUV) will remain for now coupled with additional precautionary measures.
Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said President Rodrigo R. Duterte finally ended the debate whether the current physical distancing rule will be reduced to 0.75 meter or not.
Unable to put together her iron game and putting in the regular round, Yuka Saso did what she does best, blasting a 270-yard drive to rule the Driving Queen Contest, a side event to the Desert Ladies Tokai Classic in Aichi, Japan yesterday.
Saso bested 11 others for the...
The Department of Education (DepEd) on Friday warned the public against scams enticing them to join a contest to win free laptops and cellphones from the department.
It also warned the public against unscrupulous individuals soliciting money to buy gadgets for online learning using the name of Secretary...
Amid the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, President Duterte has decided to extend the declaration of state of calamity nationwide for another year.
In his Proclamation 1021, President Duterte said his new order extends the declaration of a state of calamity from September 13, 2020 to September 12, 2021, “unless earlier...
College towns across the US have emerged as coronavirus hot spots in recent weeks as schools struggle to contain the virus. In many cases, surges have been blamed on off-campus parties. The University of Missouri announced this week that it expelled two students and suspended three others for violating rules meant to slow the virus’s spread.
Donald J. Trump and California state officials sparred over whether climate change is contributing to out-of-control wildfires across the West, after the president insisted that poor forest management drives the conflagrations.
Wade Crowfoot, the secretary of California’s Natural Resources Agency, told Trump in a recent meeting in Sacramento that...
Two-way investment between the US and China slumped to the lowest in almost nine years during the first half of 2020 as relations between the world’s biggest two economies deteriorated to their worst in decades.
Combined direct and venture-capital investment between the countries totaled $10.9 billion in the period,...
CAPE TOWN, South Africa—About 12 million people in South Africa have “probably” been infected with the coronavirus, but that startlingly high number has not caused a similarly high death rate and might indicate a widespread “level of immunity,” the country’s health minister says.
More than 20 percent of South...
BRUSSELS—The European Union on Monday urged China to further open its markets up to European companies and prove that it really does want to secure an investment agreement this year with the bloc, its largest trading partner.
After a two-hour videoconference, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, EU Council President Charles...
Developing Asia’s coronavirus-battered economy will shrink for the first time since the early 1960s, with the level of output next year still seen below pre-pandemic projections even as growth recovers, according to the Asian Development Bank.
The region’s gross domestic product will decline by 0.7 percent in 2020, down...
TAIPEI, Taiwan—China warned the United States on Monday of potential “serious damage” to their relations if it does not withdraw from an upcoming economic meeting with Taiwan that is expected to be attended by a senior American official.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin urged the US at a...
NEW DELHI—India has registered a single-day spike of 94,372 new coronavirus cases, driving the country’s overall tally to 4.75 million.
The Health Ministry on Sunday also reported 1,114 deaths in the past 24 hours, taking total fatalities up to 78,586.
Even as infections are growing faster...
JERUSALEM—Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday announced a new countrywide lockdown will be imposed amid a stubborn surge in coronavirus cases, with schools and parts of the economy expected to shut down in a bid to bring down infection rates.
Beginning Friday, the start of the Jewish High...
The Sy siblings of the SM group and former politician, Manuel B. Villar Jr., are still the wealthiest Filipinos in 2020, according to the Forbes list of the richest people in the Philippines.
However,...
AS the economy gradually recovers its footing from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the Philippines and neighboring countries in the region can leverage on eBay’s platform for global export with the launch of its e-commerce accelerator program called “Global 24/7.”
It provides...
MITO, Japan—Japan’s trade surplus widened in August as the pandemic pummeled a wide array of industries and sapped consumer demand.
The 15-percent drop in exports from a year earlier was outpaced by a more than 20-percent decline in imports, according to preliminary data from the Finance Ministry released Wednesday.
The Department of Trade Industry-Export Marketing Bureau (DTI-EMB), Export Development Council (EDC), and Philippine Exporters Confederation (Philexport) held a series of virtual consultations to gather recommendations from exporters in the regions on the implementation of the Philippine Export Development Plan (PEDP) 2018-2022 strategies amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
Consultations were...
The government of the Philippines, as well as those in Asia and the Pacific, must prioritize spending on health in the budget amid the Covid-19 pandemic, finance and health ministers said.
During the 53rd Annual Meeting of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) Board of Governors on Thursday, more than...
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will establish a regional hub to support tax policy and boost tax efforts to finance the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the region’s post-pandemic recovery.
In his speech on Thursday during a webinar organized by the ADB, ADB President Masatsugu Asakawa said the regional...
The ING Bank NV-Manila Branch is seeing Filipinos saving more money amid the implementation of lockdown measures. The Dutch financial company’s local business also believes the trend would likely continue even after the coronavirus pandemic is declared licked.
The ING Bank NV-Manila said in a statement on Thursday that...
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has approved SM Investments Corp.’s (SMIC) P30-billion shelf registration of fixed-rate bonds, a third of which will be offered by the company immediately.
The SEC has approved the said shelf registration, which should be issued in tranches within three years, during its en...
"The recognition given to us awardees is not just a recognition of our excellence. It is a recognition of how much we have given back and how much we have served the community. We perform science not for us but for the good of the community. That is the real value of...
To ensure the safety of occupationally exposed workers, as well as potential victims in the event of a nuclear or radiological emergency, researchers from the Department of Science and Technology-Philippine Nuclear Research Institute (DOST-PNRI) continue to study blood samples for any signs of radiation exposure beyond the allowable regulatory limits.
The long-dreamed of flying cars are around the corner, which are considered “the most significant aviation development since the advent of the jet age 60 years ago.”
Were it not for the coronavirus pandemic, the world would have seen a dozen models debuting in major...
The current quarantine protocols required by the government to prevent the spread of the fatal coronavirus pandemic ruled against the gathering of big crowds, including in schools.
Thus, the Department of Education (DepEd) ordered the blended teaching, including online, in lieu of face-to-face meeting of...
De La Salle University Senior High School’s Dan Alden Baterisna backed up his top-ranked status when he scored 609 points to place first in the National Olympiad in Informatics (NOI.PH) held online on August 8 and 9.
Baterisna’s win came back-to-back with his bagging the...
Its innovative smoke-free product IQOS highlights Philip Morris International’s transformation and sustainability initiatives, according to a top communications executive of PMI.
Tommaso Di Giovanni, PMI vice president for international communications, said that for the company, sustainability means taking care of tobacco-farming communities; protecting the health,...
In the late 2016 at a coworking space in Alabang, Muntinlupa City, a few months after “retiring” as the country’s game development pioneer, Elson Niel S. Dagondon decided it was time to “start working again and tick off one item in my bucket list—invent something” to help modernize...
A Catholic Church-based school organization tapped PLDT to augment their e-learning programs with enterprise-grade online applications and connectivity solutions for their members.
The Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines (CEAP) teachers and school superintendents will readily have access to the applications through the Online Learning...
Quezon City’s oldest Church was formally declared a minor basilica recently, making it the 17th Catholic place of worship in the Philippines with such title and dignity.
The Franciscan-run Santuario de San Pedro Bautista...
THE Clark Development Corp. (CDC) welcomed the decision of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) in choosing the free port as the bubble venue for the league’s 45th season Philippine Cup.
PBA Chairman Ricky Vargas cited the suitability of the free port to host the bubble in terms of safety,...
TOKYO Olympics-bound boxer Eumir Felix Marcial will fly to Los Angeles anytime this month to begin his training in earnest as a professional.
Marcial signed up with world boxing icon Manny Pacquiao’s MP Promotions and is penned to for his first professional fight in November. MP Promotions, however, has...
RIO 2016 Olympics silver medalist Hidilyn Diaz is not only lifting iron as her training intensifies in Malaysia for the Tokyo Games qualifiers the international weightlifting federation postponed for next year.
The Filipino pride who won gold in the Jakarta 2018 Asian Games has an equally novel mission—help hoist...
MULTI-TITLED Ai Suzuki is back with a bang, so did Player of the Year frontrunner Yuka Saso.
But Taiwanese Pei-Ying Tsai quietly worked her way past two of the fancied names in the Descente Ladies Tokai Classic with a blistering bogey-free seven-under 65 to wrest a one-stroke lead in...
THE stars continued to align themselves in Ernest John “EJ” Obiena’s pursuit of a successful Tokyo Olympics as the top Philippine pole vaulter clinched another Diamond League bronze medal this time in the prestigious series’ Rome leg on Wednesday.
Obiena cleared 5.80 meters, a centimeter short of his personal...
PHILIPPINE Basketball Association (PBA) Commissioner Willie Marcial stressed his optimism on the league’s Clark bubble starting on September 26 despite the absence of an official approval on the league’s return to competition by the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) on the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases.
The IATF, chaired by...
WOMEN’S mixed martial arts (MMA) prodigy Victoria Lee—younger sister of world atomweight champion “Unstoppable” Angela Lee and lightweight titlist Christian “The Warrior” Lee—recently signed with One Championship, according to Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong.
“I feel extremely excited and motivated to be part of the world’s largest martial arts...
THE Philippines aims to produce world-class chess trainers and coaches as it hosts the International Chess Federation (Fide) Trainers’ Online Seminar slated from September 25 to 27 via Zoom platform.
World-renowned trainers Grandmasters (GMs) Dejan Bojkov of Bulgaria and Melikset Khachiyan of Armenia, International Masters Jesper Hall of Sweden...
JUST because of the insane amounts we spend on our smartphones and PCs, most of us like to think we’re pretty tech-savvy. But being able to use different apps and upload TikTok...
With classes now being conducted mostly online, exacerbated inequity in education has emerged as a major setback for disadvantaged children who lose out on the opportunity to keep learning.
Humanitarian organization Save the Children Philippines (SCP) aims to reverse these issues by raising funds for students from marginalized families...
BEIRUT—It was a night Dr. Bassam Osman says changed his life. At around 6 p.m. on August 4, the 27-year-old surgical resident was about to leave his daily hospital shift. Then a massive explosion shook Beirut.
The floodgates opened and hundreds of wounded poured into the American University of...
STILL confronted by the Covid-19 pandemic, the Philippine educational system will adapt the distance-learning approach to ensure that classes will continue in October this school year.
This strategy, for Vertiv, a global provider of critical digital infrastructure and continuity solutions, underlines the importance for academic institutions to take advantage...
LONDON—Kim Kardashian West, Katy Perry, Leonardo DiCaprio and other celebrities are taking part in a 24-hour Instagram “freeze” on Wednesday to protest against what they say is parent company Facebook’s failure to tackle violent and hateful content and election misinformation.
Hollywood stars and influencers are lending their backing to...
ONLINE selling used to be a niche market. Now, everyone with a business, whether big or small, is doing it. While I miss going to brick-and-mortar stores, I am glad that e-commerce in the country is growing. We don’t know when this pandemic will be over so...
THE Trump administration’s decision to force the sale of TikTok to a US buyer is, to many, the latest sign the global Internet is splintering into national and regional blocs.
This has been a concern for several years now, as authoritarian countries such as Russia, China and Iran erect...
THE country’s small and medium enterprises (SMEs) don’t need to spend a huge investment in building their information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure as the market keeps on introducing new developments in a rapid manner.
In a recent webinar, Lawrence Ng, managing director of Boomi in Asia, told reporters...
HERE’S some exciting news for you voters: It’s now less than two years until the presidential election. Here’s more exciting news for us workers: It’s certain we’ll have a holiday in May 2022.
So if you want to join in on the fun, just...
SO much in our lives have drastically changed since March 2020. Suddenly our social behavior is racked by rules brought about by a monstrous plague: we need to stay and work from home; we need to shun socializing, even with our own family members; we need to...
DURING this time of the year, marketing professionals would normally be busy organizing conferences, trade shows, concerts, and on-site events. They would also be preparing plans for Christmas, which for many businesses is the happiest time of the year. But that was it seems, in another life—meaning...
SM Foundation (SMFI) distributed 58,100 Kalinga packs worth Php 26.5 million to transport groups and communities across the country through its Operation Tulong Express (OPTE) program.
The distribution of Kalinga packs, each containing rice and other food essentials, aims to relieve the plight of those whose livelihoods came to...
Asia United Bank (AUB)’s Equity Investment Fund receives for the 2nd time, the Best Managed Fund award for the Equity Peso category from the CFA Society Philippines.
Dr. Robert Ramos, CFA,CIPM, CAIA, president of CFA Society Philippines, in his letter to AUB when he confirmed the award said, “The...
As the global pandemic continues to present challenges to our health and wellness, we need to adapt and find ways to keep ourselves strong and in good shape. Eating healthy, exercising regularly, and getting enough sleep are some of the good habits that can keep us physically fit. But when we need...
Manila Marriott’s Chinese restaurant, Man Ho keeps the tradition alive and invites diners to savor authentic Cantonese dishes once again. From September 30 to October 4, 2020, the restaurant will be opened for lunch and dinner in time for the Mid-Autumn Festival.
May it...
The celebration continues for TikTok with stories featuring creators, trends, and meaningful campaigns that all began on the world’s leading short-form video platform. Since the local launch of the campaign #itstartsonTikTok last September 11, 2020, it was followed by an online event on September 17, 2020 titled Creators’ Talk: TikTok’s Impact on...
The International Business Awards (IBA), the world’s premier business awards program, recognized Meralco for its 2019 Sustainability Report (SR) entitled “Sustaining the Future” – a groundbreaking report which highlights the company’s commitment to place sustainability at the forefront while addressing the energy needs of a thriving nation, today and for generations to...
On September 16, Seungri categorically denied all charges except one. The defense proclaimed, "We deny all charges except his violation of the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act."
Seungri began his trial at the Ground Operations Command's General Military Court in Yongin-si, Gyeonggi-do. He entered the court for his 1st hearing...
Based in Sydney but born in the Philippines, singer-songwriter Bryan Estepa found his musical calling during his teens after his family moved to the Land Down Under.
By the time he was 14, Bryan was more drawn towards music than anything else.
“y Walkman constantly played...
Power Pop sextet My Ex-Girlfriend has just released their latest music video for their new single “Sawicide” released by ABS-CBN’s Star Music.
The new video, a collaboration between the band, their immediate family, and friends, is inspired by all activities and everyday routine that we deal with as we...
LONDON (AP) — Van Morrison has never been one to hold back over the years. Why start now?
The 75-year-old singer-songwriter is certainly not holding back on what he thinks of the lockdown restrictions put in place by governments around the world in response to the coronavirus.
US law requires employers to create a workplace free from discrimination and harassment. But what happens when staff members confront a torrent of hate and abuse online? Given that over 44 percent of Americans say they’ve experienced online harassment, chances are employers will have people on staff who have been affected.
By David Sluss
Leading effectively—especially during a crisis—takes patience. If you can’t retain your composure in the face of frustration or adversity, you won’t be able to keep others calm. When your direct reports show signs of strain, you need to support them, not get irritated. Solutions to new...
By Mark W. Johnson & Josh Suskewicz
Mark Zuckerberg recently shared his plans for the future of remote work at Facebook. By 2030, he promised, at least half of Facebook’s 50,000 employees would be working from home. A few days before, Jack Dorsey had announced that Twitter and Square’s...
By Melvin Smith, Ellen Van Oosten & Richard E. Boyatzis
Have you ever responded to a colleague or direct report in a way that left him feeling unheard or unappreciated, even though that was not your intention? Perhaps you gave him a prescriptive solution when what he needed was...
SOME bankers would consider adjustments to the phaseout of Libor less a labor of love, as the end of the 34-year-old financial tool brings additional tasks the sector must undertake.
“The most important number in finance will disappear in 2021,” lawyer Russell Stanley Geronimo wrote in an opinion piece...
MOTHER Nature—if President Trump’s “kung-fu” virus allegation is disbelieved—could be a bitch, sometimes.
She made that point in 2020.
The year had a lot of “should haves” and “could haves,” according to Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick T. Chua.
By Bernadette D. Nicolas and Tyrone Jasper C. Piad
FIVE decades since the The Beatles advised people “to carry that weight” in 1969, the Philippines’s debt burden stood at P7.73 trillion ($159.34 billion) as of end-2019. The dollar amount was equivalent to the budget deficit...
Overnight, what many businesses had taken too long to acknowledge reluctantly complying with the law’s mandate for each workplace to have its own internal implementing mechanism for telecommuting suddenly became a necessity, not an option. Indeed, it became a matter of survival for millions of workers faced with the chilling reality that the colleagues and friends and clients they mingle with each day could in fact be asymptomatic carriers or “super spreaders” of Covid-19. Or, vice versa, they could be threats to them as well.
SECRETARY of Foreign Affairs (SFA) Teodoro L. Locsin Jr., with China’s State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi, cochaired the Asean-China Ministerial Meeting on September 9 by videoconference.
The foreign ministers reviewed the progress in their dialogue relations and discussed ways to deepen their cooperation across the political-security, economic...
WITH the pandemic bringing the world to a halt, the Delegation of the European Union (EU) to the Philippines sees a great opportunity to champion higher education as an essential tool for young people to influence the world today and in the near future.
With that in mind, the...
NOT even a pandemic can stop the Korean Cultural Center (KCC) in the Philippines from putting together its most sought-after annual spectacle for the Korean cineastes.
This year though, to ensure all K-culture fans’ safety while still sharing joy, entertainment and the Korean culture, the Korean Film Festival (KFF)...
Asked how he feels about out working when almost everyone else is locked in their homes, Naia Ramp Controller Engr. Michael Barbieto shrugs his shoulders, not in submission, but more as a defiant gesture. “Mahirap ang napasukan ko, pero ito ay privilege, ito ang sinumpaan kong tungkulin, kaya kailangan gampanan.”
Almost everyone is online right now, but participating in the digital economy — be it socially or for productivity — entails one key ingredient: Internet connection. Without this vital requirement, people would find it hard to cope with...
They’re used to the "drill" of helping grieving relatives give a proper sendoff to their dearly departed. They'd give them all the time they need to say their final good-byes, with their prayers and flowers and rosaries. These days, however, all those extended farewells are gone. Under strict health protocols prompted by the Covid-19 pandemic, they must help those in mourning make swift goodbyes, before they cremate the dead.
Walter Alimusa, 55, has not come home for three weeks now. While most Filipinos work from home while the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) is in effect, Alimusa needs to be physically present in his work area to make sure that the supply of electricity is not disrupted so people would stay at home.
KIA Philippines recently hosted an online media session via zoom meeting. They discussed the current economic situation, its impact on the automotive industry, and how Kia intends to use its Power to Surprise to help ease its...
