THE Alternative Budget Initiative (ABI), a consortium of 60 nongovernment organizations globally recognized as one of the best practices in budget advocacy, urged senators and heads of Senate offices to adopt the alternative budget proposals for health, education, environment and agriculture so that rehabilitation and reconstruction in the wake of destructive typhoons can be accelerated.

THE World Bank (WB) is extending a $405-million loan to support the Social Welfare and Development Reform Project (SWDRP) that includes the conditional cash transfer (CCT) program known locally as the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps).

In a statement, the WB said the loan will strengthen the capacity of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) as a social protection agency and establish a national household targeting system to identify the poor and improve targeting in social protection programs.

THE Philippine government should focus on prodding its work force in the business-process outsourcing (BPO) sector to take graduate studies, particularly on business management, as countries such as China can overtake the country over time, consulting firm Watson Wyatt Worldwide said.

J. Michael Orszag, Watson head of research, said in an interview that there is a need to push the workers in the BPO sector, or those doing mostly back-office operations for companies in developed nations, to climb up the ladder and take on management positions.