“Once again, Philip Morris International has been caught engaging in cigarette marketing that appeals to children in a developing country and that would not be tolerated in the United States and other wealthier nations,” says Matthew L. Myers, president of the US-based Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.

(The report below is from The International Tobacco-Control Network and was prepared by Ronald M. Davis, M.D. in 1998. Dr. David was the director of the Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention of the Henry Ford Health System in the United States.)
CONTENTS
1. Background and author’s qualifications
2. How tobacco [...]

The economist Mrs. Arroyo is trying to cheat the public over the so-called 50 percent reduction in texting rates which she pompously announced in her eighth State of the Nation Address yesterday,
according to consumer group TXTPower.
“The truth is, text messages may already cost less than 50 centavos. The forward march of mobile technology and the [...]

Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, an international anti-smoking group, has likewise praised singer Alicia Keys for forcing ****** to withdrawal as sponsor of her concert in Indonesia.

Pulling a 21-foot effigy of a sinking ship, members of the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan marched from Tandang Sora Avenue to just beyond EVER Commonwealth to join other anti-Arroyo groups in a “People’s SONA”. The counter-SONA described the state of the nation as “a sinking ship with the captain even robbing its passengers”.

New studies by the University of the Philippines – Center for Labor Justice (UP CLJ) and the Bangkok and Manila-based policy think tank Focus on the Global South revealed
Arroyo’s slow progress towards achieving key targets on economic growth, poverty reduction, and job generation.

According to the July 2008 results of the IBON survey, 83.3% of residents in the National Capital Region believe that the government will not deliver on the commitments that Pres. Arroyo will make in her SONA. Only 5.9% said yes.

In a metro-wide survey conducted by IBON Foundation on July 12-13, 87.33% of respondents agree with the proposals to scrap the VAT on petroleum products.

July 1 marks deadline for tobacco ads
An advertising executive and at the same time, a tobacco control advocate calls on the tobacco industry, the local government units, and those involved in tobacco advertising, to stop tobacco advertising immediately as the July 1 deadline on tobacco ad approaches.
“In light of the tobacco ad ban provided in [...]

While the Big Three oil firms in the Philippines claim losses due to under-recoveries, their mother companies abroad continue to report record billions in profits, according to independent think-tank Ibon Foundation.

There is a growing clamor for the removal of the VAT on petroleum products to ease local prices, especially since it adds from P4 to P6 peso to pump prices. Just recently, the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines echoed the same demand. But the Arroyo government flatly rejected it. What is it with the VAT that the Arroyo government is so adamant at rejecting all proposals to remove this form of taxation on petroleum products?

Singapore & Hong Kong, June 18, 2008 –IDC announced today the results of a regional survey exploring the use and impact of online advertising in Asia, which showed that Internet ads are seen as informative but often relatively weak in prompting consumers to make a buying decision. The survey, which included both Asian consumers and [...]

Reemalum Philippines offers global standard jobs for Filipino engineers, CAD designers
(Manila, Philippines, June 20, 2008) – The strategic design division of a United Arab Emirates-based curtain wall design and fabricator company in the Philippines is spearheading major construction projects in Abu Dhabi, creating new employment opportunities for skilled Filipino workers in the Philippines.
Reemalum Philippines (RAP), [...]