In an effort to raise the compliance of establishments to labor standards, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) is planning to hire an additional 372 labor inspectors this year.

Major oil companies Pilipinas Shell, Petron Corp. and Chevron Philippines yesterday announced incremental rollbacks in respective pump prices.

The Bureau of Internal Revenue has pressed for the prosecution of gold traders for tax evasion even after many of them stopped selling the precious metal to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).

To ensure that the country’s public schools are ready for the opening of classes on June 4, the Department of Education (DepEd) yesterday kicked off with its annual national schools maintenance week or the “Brigada Eskwela” in Justo Lukban Elementary School in Paco, Manila.

Taiwan sees no further escalation of the tension between the Philippines and China which are both claiming territorial rights over areas in the South China Sea.

The Russian Federation is open to the idea of conducting military joint exercises with the Philippines in the area of anti-piracy, and search and rescue operations, similar in nature to what it conducted with Indonesia at the beginning of the year.

 Around the Nation

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has ordered the recall, seizure, and ban of 26 slimming products found to contain amphetamine, sibutramine, and steroids. 

Lacoste Chief Executive and French clothing magnate Michel Lacoste, whose shirts are identified for its iconic crocodile logo, traveled to the Philippines for a rendezvous with the Philippine crocodile, or Crocodylus mindorensis, the most severely threatened crocodile species on the planet endemic to the Philippines.

Court operations are expected to be paralyzed as thousands of judges, court employees, and other supporters of embattled Chief Justice Renato C. Corona vowed to rally behind him when he takes the witness stand today in his ongoing impeachment trial to address all accusations hurled against him, including his alleged US$10 million dollar accounts in several banks.

Most Catholic bishops think that President Aquino is making a parody out of the impeachment trial of Chief Justice Renato C. Corona, exposing a string of foils and fumbles instead of addressing the real problems of the nation, Lipa Archibishop Ramon Arguelles said yesterday.

Malacañang assured that there is ample security in preparation for the two-day concert of American singer and songwriter Lady Gaga.

President Benigno S. Aquino III met yesterday with Iglesia Ni Cristo (INC) Executive Minister Eduardo Manalo to "touch base" and explain his position on the impeachment of Chief Justice Renato Corona.

Days before the opening of the new school year, the Quezon City government asked the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to open satellite stores that will sell school supplies and other basic commodities at highly discounted prices in the city’s thickly populated and underprivileged communities to spare them from further financial woes.  

With still no sign of the actual wreck site and its passengers, authorities expressed hope yesterday that the two pilots of the ill-fated SF-260 trainer plane are still alive.

Former President Joseph “Erap” Estrada expressed yesterday confidence in his bid to run for mayor of Manila next year, with or without the support of President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III, who is allied with the incumbent.

An on-going survey of commuters suggests that government did not consider passenger preference when it decided to construct a centralized terminal for provincial buses.

A 43-year-old senior desk editor of a national daily is now recuperating from stab wounds he sustained after being mugged and robbed near his house in Caloocan City shortly after midnight yesterday.

The umbrella organization of the country’s steel industry asked yesterday the Bureau of Customs (BOC) to clamp down on some 15 importers engaged in alleged technical smuggling of steel products.