A Pinoy world, after all Victor S. Barrios, convenor of the Global Filipino Nation, talks about the upcoming International Conference 2008, the largest assembly of overseas Filipinos that will be held at the University of Makati. With the deployment of Filipino workers continuing, raising issues about brain drain, the economy and the social fabric, organizers hope the conference can generate productive discussions. --RHOY COBILLA

Elevated skills and higher deployment allowed the remittances of overseas Filipinos to push 14.1-percent higher in the first 11 months of 2007 to $13.1 billion, lifting hopes of another banner year.

The forecast was for the remittances to grow by at least 10 percent during the year to $14.74 billion, but already the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) expected the goal to be breached.

FOREIGN Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo said the Philippines will seek greater international support for better management of remittances that would benefit an estimated 8 million Filipino migrant workers during sideline meetings at the World Economic Forum (WEF) to be held in Davos, Switzerland.

WITH its assets pool that’s slated for privatization shrinking, the government could end up imposing burdensome taxes this year, the independent think tank Ibon Foundation said Tuesday.

APART from the slowdown in the global economy, other factors will likely cause the country’s economic problems to worsen in 2008, causing the public more burdens as unemployment swells and tax increases become imminent, private think tank Ibon Foundation Inc. said Tuesday.

PRESIDENT Arroyo on Tuesday urged the Senate and the House of Representatives to pass the proposed P1.227-trillion budget for 2008 at the soonest possible time to ensure the speedy implementation of government programs and projects.

THE economic environment in the Philippines has not essentially changed and remains restrictive for businesses and laborers, according to the 2008 Index of Economic Freedom released by a Washington-based think tank Tuesday.

IT has become clear the hoped-for double-digit lending growth would not be forthcoming very soon, with data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showing the banks’ outstanding loans as of November 2007 having grown at an annual clip of 6.9 percent to P1.907 trillion.

WHAT tax?

This was the question of the Bureau of Internal Revenue when the Fort Bonifacio Development Corp. (FBDC) filed for a refund in the courts. The BIR told the court FBDC had not paid the claimed creditable tax when it purchased parcels of land within the so-called Global City.

TWO Senate committees are now finalizing a report endorsing ratification of the controversial Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (Jpepa) despite its inherent flaws, Sen. Mar Roxas reported Tuesday.

THE primary witness to the alleged anomaly in the gathering of ratings for television in Bacolod and Iloilo alleged at a press meeting that representatives of GMA Network, Inc. and AGB-Nielsen had manipulated the ratings.

Mark Dumago, a 23-year-old employee at a radio station in Bacolod, was presented to media by ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corp. Tuesday.

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‘Friendly antagonists’ Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez is surrounded by mediamen at a press conference Tuesday at the DOJ building in Manila. The secretary, who has been drawing flak since Friday for his memorandum reminding journalists to follow “lawful” orders during crisis situations or face sanctions, gamely fielded questions on raging issues like the Jalosjos case and plans to free priestkiller Norberto Manero, among others. --ROY DOMINGO