Due to heavy rains these past few weeks, landslides and floods are now creeping the country, damage properties, vehicles are all around us...

Here are some tips to all road users, please avoid the "red" coloured road during heavy rains and flood times nowadays in order to avoid your car getting damage, avoid accidents and heavy traffic jams...

Another sad news for Filipino Kababayans ... For some year 2009 will be a challenge ...

News source : http://www.chinapost.com.tw/business/asia/philippines/2009/02/03/194366/Philippines-fears.htm

MANILA -- Some 800,000 Filipinos are in danger of losing their jobs this year as the global economic slowdown hits the export sector, Economic Planning Secretary Ralph Recto said Monday.

“Roughly 800,000 are vulnerable to the global crisis,” he told a news briefing at the presidential palace. He said workers in the export sector, including in the key electronics industry, as well as Filipinos working in export-driven economies abroad, were most at risk. Recto's figures are nearly triple initial projections made by Labor Secretary Marianito Roque last week, when he warned that 300,000 jobs could be lost in the Philippines amid the global crisis this year.

More than 15,000 workers have been laid off in the past two months, mostly in the electronics and garments sectors, while 19,000 others saw their work weeks shortened as exports plunged, according to government data.

Recto said it would be “tough” to meet the government's target of creating one million jobs a year in 2009, even assuming that the economy grew at 4.6 percent, as it did in 2008.

“Chances are you can probably create 500,000 jobs, so there's a deficiency,” he added.

The 800,000 who are expected to be laid off this year would make for an even tougher job hunt for some 900,000 Filipinos who will be looking for a job for the first time, including those graduating from university and technical schools, Recto said.

He did not say what percentage of those expected to lose their jobs would be Filipinos laid off abroad.

Some 8.5 million Filipinos work or live abroad, sending some US$15 billion to their families back home in the 11 months to November 2008 according to central bank figures.

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Let's Pray for Our Country, Our Countrymen as well as for the World Economy Crisis to end soon ...

Another sad news for our country Philippines because of World Economy Crisis ...

Manila, Philippines (AHN) - The imminent closure of several Japanese and Korean IT companies in the Philippines, as well as the downsizing of operations of some, will cost the jobs of over 40,000 Filipinos in the first quarter of the year in south-central Philippines, a workers group said.

The Pagkakaisa ng Manggagawa sa Timog Katagalugan-Kilusang Mayor Uno or Pamantik-KMU (Union of Workers In Southern Tagalog-KMU), said those facing lay-off are mostly non-union members in electronics and car manufacturing sectors in the Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon processing zones.

Romeo Legazpi, chairman of Pamantic said workers from Samsung, Yazaki, F-Tech, Fujitsu, NEC, TDK, and Matsushita are facing lay-offs in the first quarter of 2009. In September 2008, Amkor wiped out all its 3,000 contractual women workers.

Integrated Microelectronics Inc. (IMI), which used to employ 17,000 workers, 90 percent of which are women, terminated 3,000 contractual workers last December, in addition to the 1,000 regular workers in forced leaves also last month.

Last week, U.S. chipmaker Intel Corp., said it is closing down its assembly test facility in Cavite, that would affect 1,800 workers.

The group also assailed various schemes implemented by car manufacturing companies affected by the global financial crisis.

In the car industry sector, Toyota Motor Philippines implemented this month a Monday-no-production day and it announced to "temporarily" get rid of its 500 contractual workers and on-the-job trainees by March.

Nissan Motors laid-off 40 regular employees in December and plans to retrench an additional 70 more this February. Keihin Philippines plans to implement a four-day work month this February. Ford now maintains only 18 employees out of the previously 400 workforce. Isuzu Philippines will soon follow the steps of its mother company, which displaced 30,000 Japanese employees.

Article © AHN - All Rights Reserved

Got this sad news from a certain website about the closure of Intel's assembly lines in our country Philippines and other areas. Here it goes :

Got the official statement from Intel Corporation today and it turns out bigger than we originally expected and involves around 5,000 to 6,000 employees worldwide, including 1,800 in the Philippines. Copy of the full disclosure below:

Chuck Mulloy Intel Corporation

Santa Clara, California, Jan. 21, 2009 – Intel Corporation today disclosed plans to restructure some of its manufacturing operations and align its manufacturing capacity to current market conditions. The company will consolidate and streamline some older capacity without impacting the deployment of new, leading-edge 45-nanometer and 32-nanometer manufacturing capacity.

The company plans to close two existing assembly test facilities in Penang, Malaysia and one in Cavite, Philippines, and will halt production at Fab 20 an older 200mm wafer fabrication facility in Hillsboro, Ore. Additionally, wafer production operations will end at the D2 facility in Santa Clara, Calif.

The actions at the four sites, when combined with associated support functions, are expected to affect between 5,000 and 6,000 employees worldwide. However, not all employees will leave Intel; some may be offered positions at other facilities. The actions will take place between now and the end of 2009.

Here’s the copy of the statement for the Intel Philippines operation in Cavite:

Arlita Narag
Corporate Affairs
Intel Technology Philippines Inc
Gateway Business Park, Javalera
General Trias, Cavite

As announced by Intel Corporation today, the impact of the economic downturn on our business was more severe than we anticipated and the outlook is uncertain. As a result, we have decided to restructure some of our manufacturing operations by taking older capacity off line and closing five factories during the course of 2009. Included in this action will be the closure of two of our assembly test facilities in Penang, Malaysia; and the assembly test facility in Cavite. Two of our wafer fabrication facilities in the United States will also end production.

Our manufacturing operations in Cavite will cease this year. Approximately 1800 employees will be affected and will be offered a severance package and a range of transition services. We know this is a difficult time for our employees and their families and we will make available the best support systems to ease the transition.

We are deeply grateful for the strong support that the Philippine Government has extended to our operations in the country in the last 35 years. It has been key to our success.

Our Sales and Marketing organization will not be affected by this action. Our major social responsibility programs in the Philippines will also continue, particularly in the area of science and math education.

The effect of US economic downfall is really spreading worldwide. Hope and pray it will end soon! Let's Pray that God will allow a miracle to happen! Only He can do something about it!