Manila Bulletin back issues from May 2008:
ADB holds annual meeting in Madrid amid food crisis.(Business News)
May 01, 2008 ... The soaring price of basic foods such as rice -- the benchmark Thai variety now fetches some $ 1,000 a ton, up threefold on a year ago -- has led to a supply crunch that is worrying governments wary of popular unrest. There are other tough issues facing the bank, notably a ...
Lopezes not hiking stake in Meralco.(Business News)
May 01, 2008 ... "Maybe not, maybe not," said First Philippine Holdings Corporation chairman Oscar Lopez in response to questions on whether they will buy more shares to solidify their hold on Meralco amid reports that government-controlled shareholders may try to engage them in a proxy war. ...
Directors' fees liable to withholding tax.(Business News)
May 01, 2008 ... The BIR in a statement said directors' fees, which are considered as "compensation income," should be slapped with the creditable withholding tax based on tax on wages in the Tax Code. The amount subject to the 10 percent or 15 percent creditable withholding tax is not confined ...
BPC sells stake in Medical City owner.(Business News)
May 01, 2008 ... In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) yesterday, Benpres said LAIII is the third Asia-focused private equity fund managed by Lombard Investments, Inc. Lombard is a leading international private equity investment manager with offices in Bangkok, Hong Kong and San ...
P/$ rate closes at P42.265/$ 1.(News In Brief)
May 01, 2008 ... BSP warns of inflation spike The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas warned yesterday that annual inflation in April could come in as high as 7 percent, the highest in two years. BSP Governor Amando Tetangco told reporters that the bank expected April inflation between 6.4 and 7 ...
IFC allots $ 300-M new lending to RP; bulk for power projects.(Business News)
May 01, 2008 ... In an interview, IFC Philippines Resident Representative Jesse O. Ang indicated that the multilateral lending firm will continue to scour for opportunities in the power industry, primarily at prospects offered by the continuing privatization of the National Power Corporation. ...
Atlas Mining earns P289 M.(Business News)
May 01, 2008 ... In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) yesterday, the firm said the better performance was due principally to the higher revenues generated by its nickel subsidiary Berong Nickel Corporation whose direct shipping operations in Palawan started early in 2007. At ...
PNB, Allied Bank boards okay merger.(Business News)
May 01, 2008 ... In a press conference held yesterday afternoon, PNB President and Chief Executive Officer Omar Mier announced the betrothal of the two lenders, both majority controlled by cigarette tycoon, Lucio Tan, with the marriage set in place once the approval by the regulators have been obtained. ...
RP to get $ 300-M new loan from ADB for judicial reform program.(Business News)
May 01, 2008 ... Finance Undersecretary and Acting National Treasurer Roberto Tan said they have programmed the loan for 2008, called the "Philippine Comprehensive Justice Reform Program." "We want to include this loan in our ODA (official development assistance) list this year," said Tan. The ...
ASEAN cement firms push 'green' campaigns.(Business News)
May 01, 2008 ... Ordonez, who is also the president of the Cement Manufacturers' Association of the Philippines (CeMAP), issued the statement during the 21st AFCM technical symposium and exhibition held recently in Bangkok, Thailand. The event had for its theme "Progress and Sustainability in ...
Business Options.(Business News)
May 01, 2008 ... She may not have been fully equipped-technically for governance and public office -- but she displayed a character trait that Marcos and many other presidents never had -- the virtue of honesty. It is a virtue that describes what you do when no one is looking. Six coups may have ...
The four most beautiful Pinays.(Celebrity World)
May 01, 2008 ... They were presented to the media last Monday at the poolside of the Intercontinental Hotel Manila. Too bad not all of the invited members of media could wait for these beauty goddesses to make their appearance. The invitation said for them to come at 6 p.m. but it was only after ...
'Entourage'goes out of comfort zone in Season 4.(Entertainment)
May 01, 2008 ... As Adrian Grenier (who plays hot Hollywood property Vincent Chase) described "Entourage" side by side with the real dead Hollywood, the series even underplays the whole fantasy of the business' reality. Grenier expressed, "When I read the first episode, I though it was a little ...
Buffet of jokes, wasted humor.(Reel Score by Mario E. Bautista)
May 01, 2008 ... It's made by some of the makers of the team that parodied the "Airport" movies before in "Airplane," and in all fairness, they have more laughs to offer than the Wayans Brothers who also indulge in this kind of genre. The superhero flicks they spoof here include "Spiderman," "X Men" and ...
RJ Jimenez seizes the day.(On the Rise)
May 01, 2008 ... Never mind if he's not acting or part of a teleserye. RJ has his hands full in his debut album entitled "RJ JMNZ" under Star Records. "Mas importante sa akin yung mga contribution ko sa OPM," he said. "I owe everything to PDA at malaking pasasalamat ko sa Star ...
Non-wage benefits for workers.(Main News)
May 01, 2008 ... With the theme "Filipino Worker: Partner in the Progress of our Nation," the nation celebrates Labor Day with activities lined up by the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE), Labor Secretary Marianito Roque said. The secretary said free assessment services to students and ...
Teodoro, Reyes, Fernando, Gonzalez stay at posts - GMA.(Main News)
May 01, 2008 ... In an interview in Camiguin Tuesday night, the President said Secretary Gilberto Teodoro of the Department of National Defense (DND) will keep his Cabinet portfolio as she put to rest speculations that he would be transferred to the Department of Justice (DoJ). Secretary Angelo ...
DA chief calls for global rice buffer stocks.(Main News)
May 01, 2008 ... Arthur Yap said the stockpile could be initiated by the United Nations or the World Bank to prevent sharp increases in rice prices. ''It's time to put up an international buffer stock, perhaps with a special drawing rights system that would be available to any country in the ...
Joker: Charter change is wrong and untimely.(Main News)
May 01, 2008 ... The Pimentel resolution sought the convening of Congress into a constituent assembly to change the current system to a federal form. Pimentel sought the change to federalism from the current form which he claims has "spawned a host of problems including massive nationwide ...
House panel clears PAGC on $ 21-M anti-corruption fund.(Main News)
May 01, 2008 ... In Committee Report No. 332, the Committee on Oversight declared that based on the inquiry it conducted, there appears no reason to believe that the PAGC, the Ombudsman and other government agencies entrusted with the P2 billion fund have misappropriated the money. Chaired by ...
Feast of St. Joseph the Worker observed by Church today.(Main News)
May 01, 2008 ... A mass in honor of St. Joseph and in recognition of all Filipino workers will be celebrated by Manila Archbishop Gaudencio B. Cardinal Rosales at 10 a.m. at the St. Joseph the Worker Parish in Palanan, Makati City. A mass will also be held at 6 p.m. Commemorative rites will also ...
Estrada sees frequent and intense protest actions from masses.(Main News)
May 01, 2008 ... Estrada issued the warning on the eve of Labor Day, even as numerous groups indicated their intention to join street rallies by militant organizations calling for wage increases and an end to the intensifying rice crisis. "Labor Day is the one time of the year when our workers' ...
Backyard & commercial planting of malunggay urged in Senate measure.(Main News)
May 01, 2008 ... In a bill filed in the Senate, Senator Legarda also urged government to support commercial planting of malunggay for its oil extract from its seeds, which can be used as lubricant for machinery as well as ethanol, biofuel, and other uses. In Senate Bill 1799, Loren proposed the ...
RP, Macau sign air agreement.(Main News)
May 01, 2008 ... Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for Finance and Administration Franklin Ebdalin said the signing was held last April 24, which paved way for more seat capacity for country's commercial aircraft. Ebdalin is the vice chairman of the Philippine negotiating team for air deals with foreign ...
Political will now needed, says solon.(Main News)
May 01, 2008 ... "Approval of this law is one step; effective implementation is another. All the tools that can be used to lower the prices of medicines are in this measure, and it's up to the executive branch to undertake its implementation with courage and conviction in partnership with different ...
Labor Relations Courts proposed.(Main News)
May 01, 2008 ... "With courts in every region, the workers are assured of their constitutional right to speedy disposition of their complaints, and the employers will be spared long and costly litigation," she said. As of June of last year, the NLRC had a backlog of 7,736 cases -- 5,000 more ...
Nearly all pensioners now have cards - GSIS.(Main News)
May 01, 2008 ... Based on the records of the GSIS, 98.3 percent -- or 168,148 out of the total 170,996 -- of all old-age pensioners on record have enrolled for and activated their eCard Plus as of April 18. Almost all GSIS servicing offices have reported a perfect accuracy rate in eCard Plus ...
Bad governance is anti-labor, former senior officials say.(Main News)
May 01, 2008 ... In a statement issued on the occasion of the nation's Labor Day celebration today, the senior officials said the so-called "economic performance" of President Arroyo has actually penalized the average Filipino worker with declining purchasing power. They noted that official ...
BCDA speeds up work on SCTEX farm crossings.(Main News)
May 01, 2008 ... SCTEX spokesperson Robert Gervacio said the locations of the eight overpasses were determined after talks with farmers whose rice and sugarcane fields were temporarily rendered unreachable since they were fenced off as part of safety precautions after the expressway sliced through them. ...
File charges against rice hoarders - President.(Main News)
May 01, 2008 ... Mrs. Arroyo said she would follow up on the filing of cases before the courts against the 22 rice traders charged by the task force in its campaign against rice hoarding and price manipulation. Department of Justice (DOJ) Senior State Prosecutor Roberto Lao reported that of the ...
P.5-M narra flitches seized in Mauban.(Main News)
May 01, 2008 ... Manuel Beloso, chairman of the Provincial Multisectoral for Environment Protection and Management Council (PMEPMC), said the confiscation of the illegally sawn flitches was led by the Quezon Police Provincial Office under its newly installed provincial director, Senior Supt. Fidel Posadas ....
B'laan, other tribesmen support MNLF's Sema.(Main News)
May 01, 2008 ... The ethnic group of B'laans and Kalagan- Tagakaolo adopted a resolution supporting the decision of the MNLF Central Committee to elect Sema as new chairman in place of founding chairman Nur Misuari. B'laan tribal chief Luis Vicente and Kalagan- Tagakaolo tribal chief Monic Amoro ...
Geodetic engineers set meeting tomorrow.(Main News)
May 01, 2008 ... Palacol is also a member of the Geodetic Engineers National Board of Governors. Highlight of the regional convention are technical presentation of topics related to the upgrading of the Geodetic Engineering profession such as the ASEAN framework arrangement for the mutual ...
Officials ordered to complete Eastern Nautical Highway.(Metro & National News)
May 01, 2008 ... The President asked the Department of Transportation and Communications (DoTC) and the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to prepare the eventual "lateral" interconnection of all three nautical highways in the western, central, and eastern seaboards. Mrs. Arroyo ...
SC affirms ruling clearing Pleyto of gross misconduct.(Metro & National News)
May 01, 2008 ... In a resolution, the SC denied with finality the motion for reconsideration filed by the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) on the 2007 decision written by Justice Minita V. Chico Nazario. The SC decision reversed the ruling of the Court of Appeals (CA) that upheld the order ...
AMWSLAI elections valid -- SC.(Metro & National News)
May 01, 2008 ... In a resolution written by Justice Consuelo Ynares Santiago, the SC's third division ruled that the omnibus motion to annul the elections filed by the group of retired Col. Luvin Manay should be denied "for lack of merit." With the ruling, the SC validated the election to the ...
Villar proposes P1-B fund to help distressed OFWs.(Metro & National News)
May 01, 2008 ... While there may be comprehensive set of laws protecting the overseas workers, its implementation in reality remains wanting. In particular, the funding requirement needed to effect a meaningful and truly caring OFW (Overseas Filipino Worker) environment is negligible, Villar said. ...
President hails passage of Cheaper Medicines bill.(Metro & National News)
May 01, 2008 ... The President thanked the two houses of Congress for crafting the legislation that would further reduce the cost of quality medicines for the poor. "President Arroyo is very pleased that this long awaited bill has finally been passed," Press Secretary Ignacio R. Bunye told ...
DENR suspends firm's mineral pact in Batangas.(Metro & National News)
May 01, 2008 ... In a letter to Asturias Chemical Industries Inc. president Antonino Buenaventura Jr. dated April 17 and signed by Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) Director Horacio Ramos, MPSA No. 07197IV granted to the company was temporarily suspended "to prevent any untoward incidents in the ...
Around The Nation.(Metro & National News)
May 01, 2008 ... PNP recycles loose guns The Philippine National Police (PNP) is closely coordinating with the regional branches of the judiciary and prosecution services for the retrieval of confiscated firearms submitted as evidence in court proceedings. PNP chief Director General ...
A salute to the nation's labor force.(Opinion & Editorial)
May 01, 2008 ... Dispersed across economic sectors, from agriculture to manufacturing and a wide range of services, the millions who constitute the Philippine labor force provide the most important variable in sustaining the nation's progress. President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has gone around ...
Visible failures.(Opinion & Editorial)
May 01, 2008 ... And for about the same period government boast to clean the Pasig and Laguna de Bay successively met and inherited a succession of failures. Irrigation first First, let's talk about irrigation before directly addressing abundant harvest. We can name the big islands ...
Undisguised political act?(At Issue)
May 01, 2008 ... The other day I got a letter from an irate former government lawyer denouncing the recent appointment of the new chairman of the Commission on Audit as "undisguised political act to favor an undisguised protegee" of the Arroyo administration. The writer who requested temporary ...
Celebrating May Day.(Landscape)
May 01, 2008 ... Looking at sedate Great Britain and the USA today, it is hard to imagine that these two countries were once cradles of labor unrest, starting from the XIXth century, as the Industrial Revolution unfolded. Movies have been made about the most radical and violent labor movements in the ...
Diplomacy trumps conflict, according to Jimmy Carter.(Opinion & Editorial)
May 01, 2008 ... According to Carter, a Middle East peace deal is not sustainable unless it includes Hamas. The US has always been staunchly pro-Israel. But one would think the object of the exercise would be to try to attain peace in the Middle East, with the so-called "two state solution" instead of ...
Speech.(Opinion & Editorial)
May 01, 2008 ... To save time, let me go straight to the proposal to adopt the federal system. Seminal in '82 Our formal espousal of the proposal started when the PDP-Laban was organized in 1982 to provide our people a third way of getting out of the mess the country was in. Or, if ...
National Day of the Marshall Islands.(Opinion & Editorial)
May 01, 2008 ... The Marshall Islands is a Micronesian island nation in the western Pacific Ocean, located north of Nauru and Kiribati, east of the Federated States of Micronesia and south of the United States territory of Wake Island, to which it lays claim. Although the islands were settled by ...
Analysis.(Opinion & Editorial)
May 01, 2008 ... Setbacks for press freedom outnumbered advances 2-to-1 across the globe, although the Internet and blogs helped slow the decline, particularly in Iran, reported Freedom House, a nonprofit organization that released the report in advance of World Press Freedom Day on Saturday. ...
Regulating deregulation.(Medium Rare)
May 01, 2008 ... Four days later, on April 28, I was shocked and peeved and mad that at the same station, the price had gone up to R46.07, or a difference of R1.50, when price increases were supposed to go up by 50-centavos each time. A brief interview with one of the staff produced an ...
Veggie noodle project.(Opinion & Editorial)
May 01, 2008 ... As an offshoot of the working visit of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to La Trinidad, Benguet last March 22, 2008 (Black Saturday), where the project was presented, Presidential directives were given to ensure that BSU's vegetable noodle project is carried out and credit assistance to ...
The rejection at Nazareth.(Reflections Today)
May 01, 2008 ... The people's lack of faith so distressed Jesus that He couldn't work many miracles there - not that He chose not to, but because of their hardness He couldn't. He moved His mother to live at Capernaum and worked out of there. It took a great deal of courage for Him now to return to ...
Cordillera provinces get P2.89 B for infra projects.(Provincial News)
May 01, 2008 ... This was disclosed by Engr. Mariano R. Alquiza, regional director of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) in the Cordillera, who added that the huge allocation for various projects in the region is an indication of the Arroyo administration's sincerity in promoting rural ...
SCTEx opening seen to boost nat'l economy.(Provincial News)
May 01, 2008 ... CDC president Levy Laus said the economy will improve tremendously with the opening of the P27-billion SCTEx because of the accelerated movement of goods and persons. "Clark is now closely linked with Subic and the industrial estates of Tarlac. Through the completion of the ...
Region I to benefit from GMA hunger mitigation program.(Provincial News)
May 01, 2008 ... The towns were named sites for "Tindahan Natin" stores, a project where the local folk would buy low cost rice and noodles. Regional Coordinator Victoria Manez from the National Nutrition Council (NNC) said in a radio interview that out of the 60 towns identified, 11 towns are ...
Ifugao religious groups unite vs gambling.(Provincial News)
May 01, 2008 ... Fr. Valentin Dimoc of the Social Action for Development Council of the Catholic Mission said that gambling was minimized when there was proper coordination with the provincial government and the provincial Philippine National Police (PNP) command. "With the ongoing municipal ...
Roxas says rice sufficiency key to solving crisis.(Provincial News)
May 01, 2008 ... Roxas arrived here last April 24 to visit the public market and hold consultations with various sectors in this city. The senator participated in a dialogue with marketgoers at the Lucena City public market in the morning. He was accompanied during the market visit by Quezon ...
C. Visayas crime rate down 42%.(Provincial News)
May 01, 2008 ... From 2,700 incidents of crimes around the region in the first three months of 2007, Roderos said crime volume in the region dropped to 1,553 or a decrease of 42 percent. Roderos cited police visibility has become an effective crime deterrent. "President Arroyo was so ...
Cebu anti-indecency board doubtful over PopCom's programs.(Provincial News)
May 01, 2008 ... CAIB head Dr. Rene Joseph Bullecer has appealed to the faithful and Catholic priests not to compromise their faith by adopting PopCom's campaign for scientific and natural family planning, describing the methods as "anti-family and life programs." Earlier, PopCom Regional ...
New Region 7 wage increase known this month.(Provincial News)
May 01, 2008 ... RTWPB Chairman and Department of Labor and Employment Director Elias Cayanong said that if all members of the wage board will be present in the series of discussion, the rate for the new salary increase will be decided before the end of May. "We are trying our best to arrive at ...
Leyte Kasadyaan Festival preparations under way.(Provincial News)
May 01, 2008 ... Leyte Gov. Carlos Jericho "Icot" L. Petilla has assured Tacloban City folk this year's Kasadyaan would even be more exciting that the previous year's events as about 21 contingents from different towns in the province had already signified their intention to join the festival. ...
94 CHED-Congress scholarships in Biliran discontinued.(Provincial News)
May 01, 2008 ... Most of the students, coming from poor families, were granted scholarships under the CHED Study Grant Program for Congressional Districts. For the lone district of Biliran, the scholarships of the 94 students was sponsored by Espina. The scholarships were terminated ...
Army troops, Marines overrun main Abu Sayyaf camp in Sulu.(Provincial News)
May 01, 2008 ... Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP)'s counter-terrorism Task Force Comet chief, Brig. Gen. Juancho Sabban, said they were able to overrun the camp, which they said had a bomb-making facility, after they had launched a surgical assault in Sitio Candinamon in Indanan, Jolo. The ...
5 N. Cotabato towns declared in calamity state.(Provincial News)
May 01, 2008 ... Data from the provincial government showed that more than 8,500 hectares of agricultural lands planted to rice, corn, and other vegetables were damaged by floods as a result of continued heavy downpours. The most affected towns were Pigcawayan, Libungan, Midsayap, Aleosan, and ...
KMU to lead Mindanao mass action on Labor Day.(Provincial News)
May 01, 2008 ... KMU Southern Mindanao Chairman Romualdo Basilio stated in a press conference that "Arroyo's blatant dereliction of the workers' rights will earn her stronger people's opposition and indestructible ouster movements." "The people are being forced to suffer from the high cost of ...
DoLE announces search for model employers, employes.(Provincial News)
May 01, 2008 ... In a press statement yesterday, the DoLE Caraga said the board of judges are already scrutinizing and verifying the working performance and records of the candidates. The board of judges is composed of the government sector, labor and management sectors, representatives from the ...