Manila: The World Intellectual Property Office (WIPO) has chosen the Philippines to be the pilot country for a new tool that would measure the contribution of creative industries relative to gross domestic product (GDP). WIPO Deputy Director General for Copyright and Creative Industries Sector Sylvie Forbin announced this at the opening of the 2nd Philippine International Copyright Summit in Quezon City on Monday. Forbin said WIPO is closely working with the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) in developing this instrument. ‘We are working for this new activity which is the

Manila: A party-list lawmaker is proposing to institutionalize a comprehensive health insurance package for public school teachers and grant them an annual medical allowance of PHP7,000. According to a news release on Monday, Bicol Saro Party-list Rep. Brian Raymund Yamsuan filed House Bill 10990, which seeks to provide Health Maintenance Organization (HMO)-type coverage as a permanent feature of the benefits package of the Department of Education (DepEd) for its current and future teaching staff. ‘Our bill also promotes preventive healthcare. With HMO-type benefits, our usually overworked public school teachers would be able to maintain their well-being and get treatment when

Manila: Private sector workers in the Ilocos Region would get a PHP33 increase in their daily minimum wage. In Wage Order No. RB 1-23 dated Oct. 9 and made public Monday, the Ilocos Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB) motu proprio granted the measure, raising the daily minimum wage to PHP468 for the non-agriculture sector employing 10 or more employees. It will be PHP435 for the non-agriculture sector employing less than 10 employees, as well as the agriculture sector. The board likewise issued Wage Order No. RB 1-DW-05, increasing the monthly minimum wage of domestic workers by PHP500, raising

Manila: Members of the vulnerable sector would get free rides inside the Manila North and Manila South cemeteries during the ‘Undas’ holidays. In a statement Monday, Mayor Honey Lacuna said eligible for the service are senior citizens, persons with disability and expectant mothers from 5 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Nov. 1 and 2, All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day, respectively. She added that both cemeteries will be off-limits to any political activities during Undas to ensure a solemn observance. The Manila Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office has been directed to provide standby ambulances and staff to attend to

Manila: Once investment-approved railway projects are completed in the 2030s, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) expects more than a threefold increase in the total length of the railway and almost a fivefold increase in daily train ridership. During the Philippine Railway Conference (PhilRailCon) 2024 in Mandaluyong City on Monday, DOTr Assistant Secretary for Railways Jorjette Aquino said the country’s existing railway lines total about 270.16 kilometers and are expected to increase by 356.43 percent to 1,233 kilometers through the completion of investment-approved railway projects. These projects include the North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR) project, the Metro Manila Subway, and several other

Manila: The Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) said a giant transport hub to rival the size of the Parañaque Integrated Terminal Exchange (PITX) will be built on its three-hectare property in Quezon City. In a statement on Monday, GSIS said the transport hub dubbed as ‘Project Hub’, will be located at the corner of the Elliptical Road and Commonwealth Avenue. The project is expected to provide much needed augmentation to several major transport lines already plying through the area. By 2027, the hub is expected to enhance access to the neighboring Philcoa Station of the Metro Rail Transit-7 (MRT-7) when