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Showing posts from September, 2007

Australia's demand for nurses, skilled workers up

Ayon kay Raul V. Hernandez, honorary consul to Melbourne Ang job market sa Australia para Filipino nurses at skilled workers ay mabilis na lumalaki ang demand. Mag-ingat sa ! Fake certificates of employment na nabibili sa mga sindikato sa Saudi Arabia, laluna sa mga runaway and overstaying OFWs,

Senate : nais ng i- ratify ang JPEPA

Ayon kay Senate Minority Leader Aquilino I –ra-ratify na ng Senate ang controversial na Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA) kung ang Tokyo ay committed not to export toxic wastes and it would respect the Philippine laws on environment, Hindi na dapat pang patagalin ang issue sa JPEPA, kung susundin lahat ng Japan ang mga kasunduan, laluna kung totoong na hindi na nga i-export ang mga toxic waste ng japan sa pilipinas.

Pilipinas pag-aaralan 'special' forex rate para sa OFWs

Bukas naman ang Malacañang na pag-aralan ang petition ng mga overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) na i- peg ang peso at 10-percent premium above the market’s peso-dollar exchange rate, or at a flat rate of P50:$1 for “legitimate" OFWs. “We will ask our economic team to look into it," said Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita in a news briefing at the Palace. “Let us find out from the economic team, especially the BSP (Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas) and the DoF (Department of Finance), but I have no specific reaction coming from our authorities as to how this will affect the economy because that’s one sector, the OFWs, are asking for,"

Huwag tanggapin ang trabaho sa Saudi gamit ang visit visas

Nagbabala ang Philippine diplomatic officials sa Saudi Arabia huwag tumanggap ng job offers using visit visas sa Middle Eastern kingdom. “Unless you are looking for trouble, don’t attempt to come to work in Saudi Arabia without a work visa," said Consul General Pendosina N. Lomondot after learning of the plight of seven OFWs who were hired to work in a chain of supermarkets on visit visas and later abandoned at the airport without exit visas when they demanded to be sent home.

US stepping up immigration efforts, raising fines on illegals

WASHINGTON — The Bush administration plans to step up immigration enforcement by raising fines on employers who hire undocumented workers, overhauling temporary worker programs and speeding up deployment of border agents, according to a summary of the plans. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff and Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez planned to announce broad immigration changes at a news conference Friday. Some of the initiatives are similar to proposals contained in recent immigration legislation, although they are not nearly as sweeping as the bill that failed to pass the Senate. Other measures are already under way. An outline of the announcement, obtained by The Associated Press from a congressional aide, said the administration plans to expand the list of international gangs whose members are automatically denied admission to the U.S., reduce processing times for immigrant background checks and install by the end of the year an exit system so the departure of foreigners f

1 of 6 OFWs 'trafficked' to Iraq located, says VP De Castro

One of the six Filipinos reported to have returned to the country from Iraq has been located, Vice said on Thursday. De Castro, concurrently presidential adviser on overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), said Johnny Baviera has been found to be residing in Pasay City and whose testimony would be a key to the reported trafficking of Filipino laborers to Iraq. He said Baviera was repatriated to Manila after he suffered a heart attack in Iraq. The residence of another OFW, Marciano Cabacaba, had also been found but his relatives in Paranaque said he is still in the Middle East, De Castro said. Cabacaba is among the five OFWs earlier reported still in Iraq. “Ang sabi nasa Iraq pa raw. Pero baka ayaw lang ipaalam ang kinalalagyan n’ya ng mga kamag-anak. Pero sana ‘yung mga na-recruit mag-file sila ng kaso para lumakas ang kaso natin," the Vice President said. The six Filipinos being located are among 11 OFWs that First Kuwaiti General Trading and Contracting Company has admitted to hiring i

RP worries few OFWs seek amnesty in Dubai

Nag-alalala ang Pilipinas dahil sa halos kalahating buwan na ay bago ang amnesty period for "illegals" na matapso (lapses,) kakaunti pa lamang ang pinoy na nag-a-apply ng amnesty program, Ayon sa POLO-OWWA administrative staff Teresa Pablo Karamihan sa pinoy ay ayaw mag-apply dahil sa proseso na kanilang pagdadaanan. “Once they learn that they would have to go through a set of procedures in order to obtain their outpass, they get discouraged," she said. “We are concerned that if they do not take advantage of the amnesty, they might get themselves into deeper problems later on," she said. To further encourage Filipinos to seek amnesty, the Philippine missions in Dubai and the Northern Emirates have earlier waived the Dh120 (P1,482) application fee for travel documents. An intensified campaign has also been launched in cooperation with the Filipino community leaders to help disseminate information about the UAE government’ s amnesty scheme.

RP-trained nurses hired as domestic helpers in Canada

May mga ilan Filipino domestic helpers sa Canada ay mga dating nurses ang napilitan na iwanan ang pilipinas para sa isang mgandang kinabukasan pero ang iba ay hindi naging maganda ang kinahantungan sa naturang bansa. Ayon kay “said Joane Vasquez, of the Filipino Nurses Support Group-Quebec (FSNG-Quebec) and chair of the Philippine Women’s Center of Quebec. “There has been a majority of domestic helpers going to Canada who are nurses, about 96 percent of domestic helpers in Canada are Filipinos, and most of them are nurses from the Philippines.” Ayon pa sa balita ang mga pinoy nurses ay nagtatrabaho ng domestic worker ay inaabuso laluna sa usapin sweldo nakakatangap lang ng c$ 8 per hour. Samantalang ang mga professional nurses ay nakakatanggap ng C$25 per hour.habang ang iba namang pinoy nurses,nag- avail of the caregiver program where they are said to be “de-skilled." ayon pa sa report: “They have been studying for four years as nurses and they will just wo

Video Links

Abstaining from Reality: US Restrictions on HIV Prevention - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpabeOOJeoQ Filmed in Kenya and Uganda, this short documentary provides a snapshot of the Bush administration's abstinence-only approach to HIV prevention as part of its global HIV/AIDS assistance. But according to many studies, including two recent reports from the General Accounting Office and the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies, we know that abstinence-only programs do not work. STAND UP Against Poverty (17 October 2007) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A24E2j5x7AQ - Promotional video of this year's STAND UP SPEAK OUT campaign. Bunnies STAND UP - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dUh83xBas1E STAND UP SPEAK OUT video by Micah Challenge in the UK - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAxGZkR6-eU Six Billion Voices - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11ZunhoRSLo - Michael Douglas pitches for the MDGs We Believe - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eday9AT92eg - Alyssa Milano speaks o

Cultural heritage may explain RP economic malaise--study

MANILA -- Poor Philippine economic performance may be due to a Latin cultural heritage giving rise to powerful political families pursuing their own rather than the state's interests, a new study has said. Some 330 years of Spanish rule had influenced the Philippines greatly, an impact that survived nearly 50 years of later colonial occupation by the US, the study by Robert Nelson of the University of Maryland said. This Spanish Catholic influence, in contrast to the US Protestant model, had led to a "dominant political role" by large landholding families in the Philippines just like in Latin America, Nelson said. A weak government and powerful political oligarchies combined to put the state in the service of private interests, he added. "If culture is now to be considered an important economic influence, it may be that this common Spanish Catholic heritage is a main contributing factor in the economic histories of the Philippines and most of Latin America," the

Coercion of victim key in human trafficking - US gov’t report

ISAGANI DE LA PAZ and PATRICIA MARCELO / 09/26/2007 08:40 PM MANILA—Ruby, 17, felt her heart bob with the ferry boat taking her and three other girls to Manila as she overheard their male escort described how “fresh and young" they were to another male passenger. Then there were also the cursory glances toward her body –not my face, nor my eyes, she told herself as odd. She hugged herself tightly to bolster a belief her decision to work as a household help would raise her family from poverty in General Santos City. From that southern Philippine city, thousands of kilometers from the capital of Manila, Ruby would have been sold –like others before and after her trip, she suspects– like merchandise in a trade profiting from human bondage and sexual slavery. And according to a United States Department of Justice report, the movement or migration of people is non-essential to the debate. It’s the context of that movement or migration that is at the heart of the criminal sale of young

Pimentel takes up cudgels for abandoned Japinoys

Minamadali ni Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Q. Pimentel Jr. ang negosasyon sa pagitan ng Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) at ang Pamahalaan ng Japan para sa bilateral agreement ang karapatan ng mga batang pilipino na inabandona ng kanilang mga hapones na ama. ipinaliwanag ni Pimentel na ang kinabukusan ng may 200,000 na kabataang inabandona ng kanilang mga hapon na magulang- na kilala rin sa katawagang Japinoys ay hindi malinaw hanggat hindi nakikilala ang kanilang mga tunay na ama upang suportahan ang kanilang mga pangangailangan. "It is better to immediately raise this issue as a concern of the government of the Philippines by directly talking with the foreign office of Japan and suggesting that we should have some agreement to help these children of Japanese parents in the Philippines," sinabi ni Pimentel sa isang pagtitipon ng mga japinoy sa Traders hotel Ballroom sa Roxas Boulevard, Pasay City.Fidel Jimenez, GMANews.TV

OFW remittances spent mostly on food in 3rd qtr

Ang mga pamilya na nakakatanggap ng remittance mula sa kanilang pamilya sa abroad ay naglalaan ng mas malaking halaga sa pagkain at iba pang kailangang pambahay kesa sa pangangailangan para sa sasakyan nitong third quarter ng taon kumpara sa nakaraang quarter. Ang third quarter consumer expectations survey ng bangko sentral ng pilipinas ay nagpapakita ng 94.1 porsyento ng 5,093 na kabahayan( 2,558 sa metro manila at 2,535 sa labas ng NCR.) ay karaniwang gumagastos para sa pagkain at iba pang pangangailangan mula sa 91.8 porsyento noong second quarter.

OFWs leaving families is top OWWA problem in R7

Sinabi ng Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) Region7 noong martes na ang pagaabandona ng mga pamilya ng mga overseas filipino workers ang pangunahing problema ng naturang rehiyon. Ayon sa tala ng OWWA7, may apatnapu't anim na kaso ng pagaabandona ang naitala sa taong kasalukuyan. Dadag pa sa report, ang mga pamilyang inabandona ay kadalasang humuhingi ng tulong sa OWWA at kadalasan sa mga nangiiwan ay mga kalalakihan.Ang ilang mga guidance councilor sa University of San Jose Recoletos (USJR) sa Cebu City ay sinasabi na ang mga OFW na may problema sa kanilang kasal bago mangibang bansa ay madalas iniiwan ang kanilang pamiya. Karamihan sa mga private colleges at universities sa Cebu ay mayroong counseling unit para sa mga anak ng mga OFW.- GMANews.TV

OFWs leaving families is top OWWA problem in R7

Sinabi ng Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) Region7 noong martes na ang pagaabandona ng mga pamilya ng mga overseas filipino workers ang pangunahing problema ng naturang rehiyon. Ayon sa tala ng OWWA7, may apatnapu't anim na kaso ng pagaabandona ang naitala sa taong kasalukuyan. Dadag pa sa report, ang mga pamilyang inabandona ay kadalasang humuhingi ng tulong sa OWWA at kadalasan sa mga nangiiwan ay mga kalalakihan.Ang ilang mga guidance councilor sa University of San Jose Recoletos (USJR) sa Cebu City ay sinasabi na ang mga OFW na may problema sa kanilang kasal bago mangibang bansa ay madalas iniiwan ang kanilang pamiya. Karamihan sa mga private colleges at universities sa Cebu ay mayroong counseling unit para sa mga anak ng mga OFW.- GMANews.TV

OFW Unidentified

Ang balitang ito ay tungkol sa isang pilipino na namatay dalawang buwan na ang nakakaraan sa Hai Al-Jamaea Hospital sa Jamea District ng Jeddah. Ayon kay Rico Silva, officer ng Assistance to National Section (ANS), kinilala ng ilang mga naroroon ang namatay na si Fernando Bohol pero hindi pa ito lubos na napatutunayan. Ang kapalaran ng lalaki ay ipinabatid sa kaalaman ng konsulada noong Hulyo ni Dr. Mohammed Rashed, director ng Hai Al-Jamaea Hospital. Sa isang sulat sinabi ni Rashe na ang lalaki ay walang malay nang dinala sa ospital noong July 6 ng isang pilipina na nagpakilala lamang sa pangalan na Iluminada. Dagdag pa niya, walang dokumento ang lalaki na magpapakita ng pagkakakilanlan nito at ang babae ay nagiwan ng contact number at address na napagalamang hindi totoo. Ang lalaki ay nasa singkwenta anyos at namatay dahil sa "cardiopulmonary arrest due to markedly elevated blood pressure and possible brain hemorrhage". Para sa impormasyon tungkol sa bangkay, maaring tawaga

16 OFWs in Saudi reported missing

May labing anim na (16) overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) napagalaman na nawawala sa western region ng Saudi Arabia, ayon kay Philippine Consulate General sa Jeddah.Ayon pa sa balita ng Online news site Arab News, Samanatala ayon kay Consul General Pendosina Lomondot , humingi ang labinganim na pamilya ng ofws na hanapin ang kanilang mga mahal sa buhay.pinangalanan naman ang mga nawawalang ofws na sina: Armando Petros, Jovencia Terol, Marites Ciocson, Hernando Evilla, Zubaina Baganian, Dioscoro Yacap, Lea G. Saladaga, Riza Ulanday, Arnold O. Bangoy, Elvie Dignadice, Elena Mansia, Christopher G. Samaniego, Aniceta Velarde, Hazzle M. Hora, Alfonso L. Fallera Jr., and Raymond Hernandez.

KAKAMMPI Radio --Launched!!!

Great News! KAKAMMPI ONLINE LIVE can now be heard in full streaming audio, via StreamerP2P. Visit our website and go to KAKAMMPI Radio, then click "Listen Now".

12 - 2007 OFW deployment, remittances seen to ...

12 - 2007 OFW deployment, remittances seen to hit above target - DoLEGlobal deployment and total remittances of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) are seen to hit above target for the rest of 2007 with strong employment opportunities abroad, the Department of Labor and Employment expressed. Labor and Employment Secretary Arturo D. Brion said deployment of OFWs is expected to reach and breach the 1-million mark, while total OFW remittances are expected to approach the US$ 14 billion level by December this year.As of mid-2007, OFW deployment had already breached the 0.5 million mark in more than 190 destinations worldwide, records said.He expressed confidence that at this growth rate, total deployment figures will reach if not surmount the one million level worldwide this year. He said that based on the latest report of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA), global OFW deployment had reached 725,999 as of August 31, 2007, representing more than two-thirds (72.6 percent)

15 - DOLE assures supply of quality Pinoy ship officers,

15 - DOLE assures supply of quality Pinoy ship officers, seafarersThe Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) on Saturday bared several vital undertakings being pushed to reinforce and sustain the Philippines' position as the number 1 maritime manpower source of the world, and ensure the unfaltering supply of quality, highly skilled seafarers and maritime officers for the global shipping industry. Labor and Employment Secretary Arturo D. Brion bared that the thrusts will be pushed through the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), which is the agency responsible for assessing and certifying Filipino maritime workers. "Our thrusts to ensure quality training for seafarers are geared at strengthening the Philippines' leadership as the world's most preferred maritime manpower source through our consistent adherence to the International Maritime Organization's (IMO) Standards of Training, Certification, and Watchkeeping (STCW)," he said. He

15 - [WARNING] POEA warns caregivers going to Canada

The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) has warned overseas Filipino workers who are working in countries like Hong Kong, Singapore and Israel and are planning to work as caregivers to Canada. POEA Administrator Rosalinda Baldoz advised the OFWs to have their employment contracts verified at the Philippine Overseas Labor Offices or POLO at the Philippine embassies in their respective worksites to ensure that they really have legal employers in Canada. "We are advising the overseas Filipino workers in other countries who are going to work as caregivers in Canada to have their employment contracts verified at the labor offices in the country they are now working in," she said. Baldoz said the POLO in Canada has reported cases of two Filipina caregivers from Dubai and Hong Kong who arrived in Canada without genuine employers. She added that according to the report, one worker was facing deportation and the other was reportedly abused by her employer but could no

16 - DOLE to put up 4 new labor offices abroad

The government will strengthen the protection of OFWs by establishing four additional Philippine Overseas Labor Offices (POLOs) in strategic areas of the globe where there are great concentrations of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs). Labor and Employment Secretary Arturo D. Brion said the DOLE plans to put up four additional POLOs to cover the OFWs in Australia and New Zealand, western Canada, Ireland, and central China.Brion, in a recent budget hearing conducted by the House of Representatives Appropriation Committee chaired by Rep. Edcel Lagman, said that the POLOs worldwide are indispensable, considering that global OFW deployment now reaches one million annually, and that we have a stock of about 8.0 million Filipinos, both temporary and permanent migrants, overseas. There are 34 POLOs currently providing necessary protection and other pertinent services to OFWs in strategic areas with productive OFW presence, including Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Brunei Darussalam, Brussels, Dubai, Geneva

18 - Retail chain holds "new bags for old" sale to benefit OFWs

A travel accessories retail firm has decided to mix business with social responsibility to benefit overseas Filipino workers (OFWs). Travel Club launched last Friday at the Marriott Hotel Cebu City a three-day trade-in sale that allows store clients to obtain new bags at a discounted price when they turn in their old but functional luggage. Travel Club will turnover the used luggage to the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), which will distribute the items to qualified OFWs.Only Citibank credit card holders, though, are qualified to participate in the trade-in sale. Raquel Serrano, Travel Club channel manager, said this is the third trade-in organized by the retail firm in the country but the first one in Cebu.While the program diminishes the store's income, Serrano said the trade-in has received good feedback from customers. Travel Club, a member of Primer International Holdings Management Inc., plans to hold a similar event in Davao.Besides, Serrano said Travel Club e

18 - OFW exodus blocks expansion of RP businesses

Filipino business leaders blame the lack of skilled workers in the country as a major factor that hinders corporate expansion, according to a study released by accounting, tax and business advisory firm Punongbayan & Araullo (P&A). The survey, conducted by Grant Thornton International, showed that 43 percent of Filipino businessmen consider the prevailing brain drain caused by the high number of Filipino professionals and skilled workers who leave the country for overseas employment as a major roadblock to their expansion plans. The figure was a significant jump from the 15 percent in 2006, thus landing the Philippines above the global average of 38 percent from respondents all over the world who worried about manpower shortage, said a press statement from P&A, a member of Grant Thornton International. "The results this year clearly reflect the problem that employers across the industries are experiencing, which is the draining of our local talent pool," said P&am

What are we getting for our OWWA & PhilHealth payments?

To fellow Overseas Filipino Workers and concerned Filipino citizens all over the world: It is so sad to know that when we need to seek "financial benefits" from our government, paid from own pocket, we have to go through like hell, and at the end we get nothing. I may not have directly experienced this but I have been seeing it with my own eyes, hearing it directly from the affected people over and over again every time I am at POEA OWWA-PhilHealth Section. One OFW who went to POEA main office caught my attention - an OFW beneficiary whose parent was hospitalized. The OWWA office in their provincial branch asked him (the OFW himself) to bring other documents until he got irritated as they kept on asking him to come back, asking for so many papers. It was as if they were begging for something the OFW had already paid! The OFW stopped going back and forth as they had spent so much in transportation fare as though they would be reimbursed for it and the time spent. As we all kno

RP faces a better future says VP Noli

Despite the political bickerings, Vice President Noli "Kabayan" De Castro gave hope to Filipinos, saying the Philippines is facing a better future. Speaking during the Centro Escolar University (CEU) Centennial Quality Awards in Mendiola, Manila yesterday, De Castro said he sees better days ahead for the country owing to the kind of education that the youth is getting from schools today. De Castro particularly cited the educational institutions that can be found in the University Belt in Manila such as the CEU and the University of the East (UE) where he graduated.Proof to this, he said, is the growing number of Filipinos who are being employed in foreign lands because of their competitive will in almost any field."Our educational system continues to produce quality graduates who can make it abroad," De Castro, who is also the Presidential Adviser on Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs), said. The Vice President cited the benefits of having more OFWs among which is that

Banks to develop special remittance system for OFWs

The country's largest banking institutions have joined hands to develop a special and more affordable remittance system for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) as part of their efforts to support the National Reintegration Center for OFWs (NRCO) in ensuring the effective reintegration of OFWs from the time they decide to leave for abroad until their eventual return to the Philippines. Labor and Employment Secretary Arturo D. Brion said that nine major cooperating banks have jointly expressed their support and commitment to collaborate with the NRCO to actively engage in delivering programs, services, and projects or activities aimed at reintegrating returning OFWs to the social and economic mainstream. Brion said the cooperating banks issued a joined statement of support to the NRCO during the recent stakeholders' workshop held at the Blas P. Ople Development Center Bldg., which houses the NRCO in Intramuros, Manila.The banks, which were represented at the stakeholders' worksh

DOLE starts issuing certificates to successful

DOLE starts issuing certificates to successful nursing exams retakersThe Department of Labor and Employment on Monday started issuing Certificates to successful examinees who took the June 11, 2007 nursing licensure retake examination. Labor Secretary Arturo Brion said his office started issuing Certificates upon presentation of the examinee's PRC license from 9 a.m. and from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m.The DOLE set up a schedule for the successful examinees to follow for the release of individual certificates. Brion said those residing outside of Metro Manila who wish to claim their Certificates via the DOLE Regional Offices are advised to register with the Regional Office nearest their place of residence/work.Proxy claimants or representatives are required to present an authorization letter and a photocopy of the examinee's PRC License. The original license must be presented, it said.The schedule for the issuance of certificates is as follows: September 3, 2007 AALA - ANGELES September

Turkish court clears 5 Pinoys drug case

A Turkish court acquitted this week a Filipino ship captain and four of his crew of charges of smuggling marijuana into Turkey last May. The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) reported Friday night that the 14th criminal court in Istanbul found no evidence to substantiate the charges against the accused. Philippine Ambassador to Turkey Bahnarim Guinomla said those cleared were Captain Reynaldo Derige, Second Officer Julio Cagampan, Chief Engineer Othoniel Bungalso, Chief Officer Alberto Jose and Bosun Franciscio Pontillas.Guinomla said he has asked Mrs. Ana Maria Cristina Oben-Nazareno, Vice President of Wallem Maritime Services, Inc., to help coordinate the early repatriation of Capt. Derge and his crew with the shipping agent in Istanbul. The case against Derige and his crew stemmed from the discovery of marijuana inside metal containers and attached to the bottom of the ship “Federal Fuji" that they were manning.Court records showed that the marijuana was discovered when the s

Pinoy seaman dies, 9 rescued off South African coast

A Filipino seafarer died while nine others were rescued off Port Alfred in South Africa when their ship, MV Douala Tide capsized on Aug. 23.Philippine ambassador to South Africa Virgilo Reyes reported to the Department of Foreign Affairs on Thursday that the 37-foot anchor handling tug was sailing from Dubai, United Arab Emirates to Douala, Cameroon when it ran into six to eight-meter swells with 20 to 25-knot winds around 25 nautical miles offshore from the Fish River Lighthouse in Port Alfred.The DFA is withholding the identity of the lone fatality pending notification of his immediate family.The nine Filipinos who survived the sinking are: 1. C/Engr. Genovevo Albarracin2. 2/Engr. Fidel Mascardo, Jr.3. 2/Mate Exserio Olasiman4. Bosun Jessie Villanueva5. Jose Feliciano, Jr.6. Ronelo Supot7. Octavio Omaguing, Jr.8. Nilven Dieron, and9. Warren Erlano.The ship’s Honduran captain was also rescued.The South African National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) reported that Maritime Radio Services

Added course for seamen is unjustified - Pimentel

Senate minority leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr. on Thursday called for a Senate probe on the move of the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) to require seafarers to take additional management-level course (MLC). Pimentel said he found no justifiable reason for the additional subject requirement, which will cost each seaman P42,000 for marine deck course and P52,000 for engine course.The PRC junked the appeal of seafarers’ groups to scrap the MLC as a requirement for the issuance of certificate of competency that seafarers need for employment."The mandatory MLC, besides being an additional cost to seafarers, is allegedly a repetition since most of the topics in the course are already part of four to five-year marine deck and marine engineering courses," Pimentel said.The Standards of Training Certification and Watchkeeping Convention (STCW) does not require the MLC. Moreover, foreign employers do not also require the course as a condition for employment, the senator said.He

9 Pinoys rescued off S. African coast coming home Monday

The nine Filipino seafarers rescued off Port Alfred in South Africa when their ship capsized and sank on Aug. 23 are due to arrive at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport shortly before noon Monday. Claro Cristobal, spokesman of the Department of Foreign Affairs, said the survivors from MV Douala Tide will be planing in via Cathay Pacific flight CX 901 from Hong Kong at 11:15 am.It was not known if the remains of the lone Filipino fatality would also be arriving on the same flight. Philippine ambassador to South Africa Virgilo Reyes reported to the DFA last Thursday that the 37-foot anchor handling tug was sailing from Dubai, United Arab Emirates to Douala, Cameroon when it ran into six to eight-meter swells with 20 to 25-knot winds around 25 nautical miles offshore from the Fish River Lighthouse in Port Alfred. The nine Filipinos who survived the sinking are:1. C/Engr. Genovevo Albarracin2. 2/Engr. Fidel Mascardo, Jr.3. 2/Mate Exserio Olasiman4. Bosun Jessie Villanueva5. Jose Fel

Manpower firms want improved PhilHealth coverage for OFWs

Manpower agencies sending Filipino workers to Saudi Arabia have urged the Department of Health to widen the coverage of health insurance for dependents of OFWs. The Philippine Association of Service Exporters, Inc. lamented that the program as limited in time, funding and coverage, according to online news site Arab News (www.arabnews.com) Sunday. “You cannot expect to achieve something significant with a pittance of funding considering the big number of Overseas Filipino Workers and their dependents," said PASEI president Victor Fernandez Jr. Fernandez also said PhilHealth has to be more vigilant to prevent fraudulent claims, which were reported to have deprived the agency of at least P1 billion the past few years. Under the current arrangement, vacationing OFWs and their legal dependents would get enhanced medical benefits under a “zero co-pay system" or free medical services with accredited hospitals until December. Acting PhilHealth president Lorna Fajardo said there wil

Arroyo wants mandatory SSS coverage of OFWs

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo instructed the Social Security System on Monday to expand its membership base by covering all overseas Filipino workers. Currently, OFWs are covered by the SSS on a voluntary basis. Documented workers overseas are estimated at more than eight million. In a speech marking the pension agency’s 50th founding anniversary, the President said OFWs should be included in its roster of more than 27 million members by making their coverage mandatory. SSS members regularly paying their monthly contributions may be entitled to benefits such as death, disability, maternity (for females), retirement, sickness, funeral, medical care, 13th month pension and dependent’s pension. Members can also apply for loans for salary, educational, calamity, housing, stock investment, privatization, livelihood lending and other business loans. During the anniversary rites at the agency’s main office in East Avenue in Quezon City, Mrs Arroyo also directed the SSS executive

Noli to endorse OFW petition for special forex rate - report

Vice President Manuel "Noli" De Castro Jr. will endorse to President Arroyo a petition by overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) to establish a preferential foreign exchange fund for them. Online news site Arab News ( arabnews.com ) reported Tuesday that De Castro agreed to endorse the letter seeking a fixed P50:$1 rate instead of the varying daily market price. The website of De Castro posted a press release regarding the matter, which said that, "For his part, De Castro explained to the (OFW) group that he would endorse their letter to the President and will monitor the progress of their request." "De Castro said that the government should reciprocate OFWs sacrifices with more incentives and protection," De Castro's website said.It said the petitioners Center for Migrants Advocacy (CMA) and the V-Team – Advocacy and Community Service sought "a fixed 10% premium above the exchange rate prevailing in the market or a flat rate" of P50 pesos to a dol

KAKAMMPI Online --- on its BETA stage

Hello all. As everyone has been using the Web as their medium of communication, KAKAMMPI has launched its website and other online materials to continue reach to more and more OFWs and OFW migrants all over the world. KAKAMMPI.org a.k.a. "KAKAMMPI Online" will be hosting various medias such as OFW Radio Drama, Weekly OFW News (via YouTube) and hopefully, Peercast OFW Radiostation. Please check back our site always for new updates.