KAKAMMPI News

Some 956 Filipinos who died during the destructive cyclones Ondoy (Ketsana) and Pepeng (Parma) will be forever remembered in Australia after a memorial plaque for them was unveiled in New South Wales. The plaque was unveiled at the Pinegrove Memorial Park in Minchinbury, New South Wales, according to a report from the Philippine Consulate General in Sydney. According to the Philippines' Department of Foreign Affairs, the plaque is now a permanent marker in a section of the cemetery called the “Filipino Memorial of Christ the Risen Lord." Philippine Consul General Eva Betita and Invocare General Manager Arman Mikaelian were present at the unveiling held during the solemn rituals concelebrated by the priests of the Filipino Chaplaincy of the Sydney Diocese and the Filipino Chaplaincy of the Parramatta Diocese. Figures from the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) show at least 956 deaths in the wake of the two cyclones, including 492 from Pepeng and 464 from Ondoy. As o

CHICAGO, Illinois - Chicago-based media organizations – including a group of Filipino journalists in the United States – have begun raising funds for one of the 31 media workers who were killed in the Maguindanao massacre. Donations have begun to be collected by members of the National Press Club of the Philippines in the United States (NPC Philippines-USA) for the survivors of the late Alejandro “Bong" Reblando, reporter of Manila Bulletin, who was among the slain journalists. Although NPC Philippines-USA aims to donate to survivors of other victims, its limited resources “would only be good for the survivors of Reblando as we want to return him the favor when he paid us a visit eight years ago," former NPC Philippines-USA president Yoly Tubalinal, said. “Perhaps, if we can get more donations, we can consider giving away donation to other victims’ survivors in the future," she added. [See: Journalist in Ampatuan town carnage saw himself on front page] To start the fund

First the good news: Filipinos in Dubai are not likely to lose their jobs just yet. Then the bad news: Filipinos in Dubai are not likely to receive a Christmas bonus. While massive layoffs in Dubai are not imminent, delayed payments and reduced work hours have already been felt by overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in the debt-hit emirate, the Labor department said. Labor Secretary Marianito Roque said most OFWs’ wages in Dubai are delayed by one to two months but quelled fears of a repeat of the massive layoffs similar to the onset of the US-led economic crisis last year. "Some might not get their Christmas bonus," Roque told GMANews.TV during the 76th anniversary of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Tuesday. "They won’t lose jobs yet, their income would just be lessened." The so-called Dubai debt crisis took place after a United Arab Emirates (UAE) investment company deferred debt payments for six months. This stalled the ongoing development of Dubai’s a

Two government agencies have been tasked to provide assistance – and possibly even redeploy Dubai-based Filipino workers to other Middle Eastern countries – after a debt crisis erupted in the city-state. The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) were mandated to take charge of distributing assistance to Dubai-based workers, Press Secretary Cerge Remonde said. Issued by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, the order also instructed both agencies to look into the possibility of redeploying workers to other Middle Eastern countries, Remonde added. The so-called Dubai debt crisis – which took place after a United Arab Emirates (UAE) investment company deferred debt payments for six months – may eventually cut jobs of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs). Next to Saudi Arabia, the UAE is the Philippines’ biggest source of remittances in the Middle East. The crisis could force Dubai-based firms to cut jobs in real estate, construction, fin

For her study on mitigating food and environmental problems, a Filipina researcher brought honor to the country after being conferred a commendation award in Japan this month, the Department of Foreign Affairs said. Dr. Maria Junemie Hazel Leonida Lebata-Ramos won the Japan International Award 2009 for Young Agricultural Researchers from the Japanese Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Research Council. Ramos is a researcher for the Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center (SEAFDEC), the DFA said, citing a report from the Philippine Embassy in Tokyo. The Filipina researcher was conferred this Commendation Award last November 4 for her study entitled ‘Stock Enhancement of commercially important and threatened marine invertebrates in tropical areas,’ the DFA said. Ramos is currently the Program leader in the Aquatic Ecology Program at SEAFDEC. The organization provides sustainable fisheries development in the region on various activities such as fisheries and aquaculture technologies

At least 10 illegitimate Filipino children aged four months to four years were repatriated to the country from Kuwait, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Saturday. The DFA said the 10 children arrived Friday and paid a courtesy call on DFA Secretary Alberto Romulo and DFA Undersecretary for Migrant Workers’ Affairs Esteban Conejos Jr. “The children were repatriated to prevent the expulsion of their parents from Kuwait, which has very strict laws against immorality and illegitimate children," the DFA said. It said the children arrived via Kuwait Airways, accompanied by Carlito San Diego of the Philippine Embassy in Kuwait. A contingent from the DFA Office of the Undersecretary of Migrant Workers Affairs (OUMWA) led by Atty. Enrico Fos welcomed them at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport. Funding for the airfare of the six children came from the Embassy’s Assistance to Nationals Fund (ATN), while the rest were funded by their parents. Seven of the children came from the

JOSEPH HOLANDES UBALDE, GMANews.TV With only 24 days before Christmas, some 71 Filipinos who are held captive by Somali pirates in the Horn of Africa are likely to spend the holidays locked up on their ships than at home with their loved ones, the head of a seafarers’ group said Tuesday. “Although the Philippine government began to move swiftly in calling for the release of the seafarers, there is a big possibility that they will spend the holidays there," said Nelson Ramirez, president of the United Filipino Seafarers (UFS). Interviewed by GMANews.TV, Ramirez said the government needs to send out more men to Africa to pressure shipowners in facilitating the release of the captured seafarers. Hijacked ships in Somalia with Filipino seafarers on them -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Win Far 161 - Hijacked on April 6 with 17 Filipinos. MV Charelle- Hijack

11/29/2009 | 06:36 PM President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has named a congressional ally as the country’s next envoy to Italy, a Malacañang official said on Sunday. Press Secretary Cerge Remonde said President Arroyo designated Cebu City Rep. Antonio Cuenco as ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary to Italy. “You are hereby nominated as ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary to the Republic of Italy with rank and emoluments of Chief of Mission Class 2," Remonde said on government-run dzRB radio, reading from a directive of President Arroyo. Cuenco, 73, presently chairs the House of Representatives’ committee on foreign relations. He is a member of the Promdi-BOPK-Lakas party and is on his third and last term. On the other hand, Remonde said Tourism Secretary Ace Durano is no longer keen on running for an elective post next year and is likely to stay at his Cabinet post. “Last time nag-usap kami, tinatanong ko siya, ayaw tumakbo. Mananatili si Ace sa Department of Tourism

A court in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has upheld a two-year jail term for a Filipino accountant who was convicted for torching two offices in his former workplace. The UAE Court of Appeals also upheld the Filipino’s deportation once he serves his jail term, according to a report on UAE news site Khaleej Times. It referred a separate embezzlement charge against the Filipino to the UAE Court of Misdemeanors. Last October 13, the Court of First Instance sentenced the Filipino accountant to two years in prison followed by deportation for arson. Court records showed the female director of the company where he used to work accused him of embezzling Dh10,000 (P127,865) while he was the accountant there. She also accused him of setting her office and his office on fire. She alleged that he had been absent from work frequently. The Filipino admitted to the prosecutors to setting the offices on fire. On the other hand, the criminal evidence report showed that there were marks of tampering wi

CHICAGO, Illinois – Several news organizations in the United States have launched fund drives for the families of the Filipino journalists slain in the politically motivated killings in Maguindanao. Los Angeles-based Media Breakfast Club (MBC) will be launching a “Support for the Orphans of Slain Journalists" (SOS-J) drive. MBC head Bobby Reyes said the group had discussed the plan among their members. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- We must never forget their courage and willingness to risk their lives to get their stories to the public. – Allen Rafalson, president of the Chicago Journalists Association -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Meanwhile, the Chicago Journalists Association will hold a brief ceremony for the slain journalists at their upcoming 71st annual dinner. “Far too many men and women in our profession have been killed reporting on wars, corruption and crime. We must ne

For promoting cooperativism and entrepreneurship, two families – one each from Batangas and Masbate provinces - were named model overseas Filipino worker (OFW) families for 2009. Labor Secretary Marianito Roque said Saturday the winners of this year’s Model OFW Family of the Year Awards (MOFYA) are the Lubis family from Lipa; and Bello family from Baleno, Masbate. Engineer Rodolfo Pita Lubis of Lipa, Batangas represents land-based OFWs, while Capt. Emilio Bajar Bello of Baleno, Masbate represents sea-based OFWs. Roque, who conceived the MOFYA when he was still the head of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), said the Lubis and Bello families exemplify OFWs model families in the country who have demonstrated the best practices of OFWs and their families in overcoming the challenges of migration. Lubis worked in Saudi Arabia for more than 30 years, while his family invested his overseas earnings in various agri-business enterprises that employ more than 200 workers. The Lu

The Philippines should actively safeguard “the welfare of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs)" to further boost the economy, the country’s acting socioeconomic planning secretary said. Ensuring their safety and well-being will help keep steady growth of remittances, which in turn, boost the domestic economy, Augusto Santos, acting director general of the National and Economic Development Authority (NEDA) said. Money sent home by OFWs are used by beneficiaries to purchase goods and services, helping the Philippines’ consumption-driven economy. Remittances also provided the Philippines some “cover" in its trade gap, measured as the amount left over after its imports are subtracted from its exports. Unlike its export-dependent Asian neighbors such as Taiwan and Singapore, the Philippines also depends on remittances to support its economy. Santos said one of the advantages of the Philippine economy is that it is not solely reliant on exports, unlike its Asian neighbors such as Taiwa

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and the Commission on Elections (Comelec) agreed to spend P40 million to conduct the polls, after they signed a memorandum of agreement on the matter Friday. At least 606,414 registered overseas absentee voters worldwide - including the 128,272 in Hong Kong and Singapore - are expected to participate in the overseas absentee voting from April 10 to May 10, 2010. [See more election-related topics at Your Vox] DFA Undersecretary for Special and Ocean Concerns Rafael Seguis and Comelec Commissioner signed the agreement at the DFA office in Pasay City. Seguis chairs DFA-Overseas Absentee Voting Secretariat (DFA-OAVS), while Velasco chairs the Comelec Committee in Overseas Absentee Voting. According to Seguis, Hong Kong and Singapore were chosen because they are nearest to the Philippines, among other foreign service posts that obtained the highest number of registrants “It will be easier and will cost less to send technical people to Hong Kong and Si

Two Filipino seamen were injured after their ship caught fire five miles off Khor Fakkan port in Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) last Wednesday. UAE-based Khaleej Times reported Friday the two Filipinos were among four crewmen injured in the incident. A Greek crewman died while an engineer from Ghana and a Sri Lankan national were also injured in the incident, the report said. The Khaleej Times report quoted a Sharjah police officer as saying fire broke out in the engine of the Liberian-flagged ship, which was being used as a bunker to refuel other ships. “Apart from the Greek, four others suffered serious burns," the officer said. He added the Greek man likely died after inhaling smoke that billowed out into the sky after the engine caught fire. The four other crew members were immediately taken to a Fujairah hospital with one of the survivors discharged the same day. Investigators are working with Sharjah Ports Authorities to find out what caused the fire. The injured

Organizers of the third annual international meeting on global migration are being criticized for allegedly silencing the sector that they were supposed to serve. An advocacy group claimed that the Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD) recently held in Athens, had “deliberately sought to alienate the role of migrants in the discussion process." “(It) has demonstrated a clear lack of transparency and accountability where many non-binding agreements are made in closed-door meetings outside the scrutiny of rights-based observers," the Coordination of Action Research on AIDS and Mobility Asia (CARAM) said in a statement. While the group acknowledges the GFMD as the largest platform for international dialogue on issues related to migration, CARAM said the annual meeting had failed to address the real problems of migrants. “The GFMD will never become a platform of positive change in the field of migration until it seeks to engage directly with migrants and their communit

A Filipino woman visiting Hong Kong for the first time would be staying in the Chinese province’s jail for four months after immigration authorities found out she had fake passport entry/exit stamps, the Philippine Consulate there reported Thursday. The tourist, who hails from Batangas province, was returning to the Philippines with her family last Oct. 28 when Hong Kong airport authorities discovered that her immigration stamp showed she had been to the former British colony a couple of times before. According to the Philippine Consulate in Hong Kong, the Filipina was brought to Shatin Magistrates’ Court two days later and pleaded guilty to the offense of possession of a false instrument. She was sentenced to four months imprisonment. "The Consulate has made a recommendation to authorities in Manila for the investigation of the case," the office of Vice Consul Val Roque said in a statement. Filipino tourists and workers are often lured by unscrupulous agencies to obtain forg

Besides bringing discrimination and threats of job losses, the global crisis has also restricted the movement of migrant workers the world over, a United Nations official said. This has reduced migrant workers’ opportunities, causing a slowdown in remittance flows, said Carlos Lopes, executive director of the UN Institute for Training and Research. “Many countries which depend upon these flows will be adversely affected not only economically, but also socially," Lopes said at the opening of the 3rd Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD) in Greece on Thursday. The 2nd GFMD was held in Manila in October last year. Lopes, who also chairs the Global Migration Group, said that while remittance was relatively resilient, the World Bank forecasts that flows to all developing regions will decline between seven and ten percent in 2009. “Too often this will negatively affect development outcomes, for example in the area of children’s and especially girls’ education and health,"

JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia – Several Filipino groups in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia have called on political parties to field at least one overseas Filipino worker (OFW) in the senatorial ticket for the 2010 elections. “It’s high time that they consider the OFWs to have a representation in the Senate," said Vic Aguila, chairman of KASAPI Congress, an umbrella organization of Filipino migrant groups in Saudi Arabia. In an open letter to the political parties, KASAPI said it was important to have OFW representation in the Senate to recognize their importance in the decision-making process in the country. Money coming from OFWs is considered the lifeblood of the Philippine economy. A record-breaking $16.4 billion was remitted by OFWs in 2008. Another group, Ang Ating Gabay OFW, said an OFW senator would help push for pro-migrant worker legislation that have otherwise gathered dust in Congress. “Ever since we do not have any representative in the Senate. Whatever passes in the Lower House m

More A total of 89 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) have called on the Philippine government to repatriate them from Saudi Arabia after their employer allegedly committed labor malpractices. According to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), the OFWs stopped working last October 12 to protest their employer’s alleged labor malpractices that included unauthorized salary reduction, illegal salary deduction, and delayed payment of salaries. The DFA has called on the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) in Riyadh to discuss with the OFWs’ employer, Annasban Group of Companies, a local outsourcing company, to return home even after completing their contracts. “POLO-Riyadh has asked for the early repatriation of those Filipino workers who wish to return to Manila under their employer’s expense. Those who would opt to stay, however, may continue their work under improved working conditions," the DFA said in a statement Tuesday. This is not the first time Annasban figured in labor m

More The Philippine government is now working for the repatriation of an overseas Filipino worker who finished serving his prison term for a drug-related offense in Saudi Arabia. Citing a report from the Philippine Embassy in Riyadh, the Department of Foreign Affairs said Jose Jonathan Botor Bigas had finished serving his term in August 2008. "Mr. Bigas was scheduled to be repatriated last month but due to administrative procedures between the Saudi court and the Governor’s Office, he remains incarcerated at the Dammam Reformatory Jail," the DFA said in an article posted on its Web site. The DFA said Philippine Embassy officials asked concerned Saudi authorities to inquire into this matter. Also, the Philippine Embassy has requested the DFA to disburse funds for Bigas’ repatriation "for humanitarian consideration," the department said. - GMANews.TV

abs-cbnNEWS.com An alliance of Filipino migrant groups expressed concern that the repatriation of distressed overseas Filipino workers in Saudi Arabia could have been put on hold to wait for the visit of President Arroyo. “But their repatriation will not happen any day from now until Mrs. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo arrives in Saudi Arabia reportedly on 21st September,” said John Leonard Monterona, regional coordinator of Migrante-Middle East chapter. Monterona said Migrante chapter in Jeddah informed them that the number of stranded workers in Jeddah seeking repatriation is now estimated at 300. “Just like her previous visit in the Kingdom, she will make sure that she has a trophy to present to the public –the 300 stranded OFWs; this is cheap publicity stunt at the expense of OFWs lives and well being,” Monterona said. He said the repatriation of distress OFWs usually increase during and after the Ramadan. He added that this has been a problem that the Philippine Consulate General fail

abs-cbnNEWS.com MANILA - An advocacy group called for transparency after the appointment of a person allegedly in close association with President Arroyo to the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) Board of Trustees. “Our question on the lack of standard in handing out appointments has not been addressed,“ said Daphne Ceniza of the Center for Migrant Advocacy. Ceniza was referring to the appointment of Jose Jouelito Sapio to the OWWA Board of Trustees representing the Land-based sector. OWWA chief Carmelita Dimzon said Sapio was appointed by President Arroyo. A portion of Dimzon’s letter to CMA Executive Director Ellene Sana read: “We cannot question the authority and prerogative of Her Excellency in the appointment of Mr. Sapio. Having been appointed, he needs all your support and cooperation so that he can perform his duties and responsibilities as the trustee for the land-based sector. Let us give him a chance to represent you and be your voice in the Board.“ However, Cen

by Hector Pascua, ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau Filipinos in Austria have mixed feelings about the decision of Senator Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III to run for president in next year’s polls. "Noynoy doesn't seem to have solid credentials. Indeed, he is a good guy at isa pa anak ng mga sinasabing heroes ng Pilipinas. He is Okay but he has no charisma and so far no leadership or even management skill,” a United Nations employee in Vienna who declined to be named told ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau. Sen. Noynoy Aquino is the son of democracy icon President Corazon “Cory” Aquino and the late senator Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr. who was assassinated in 1983. “The Aquino’s possesses a very clean record. Their record of decency will surely be Noynoy’s ‘political capital’ in winning widespread grassroots support from Filipinos. Di ba, kung malinis kang tao, marami kang ma-aatract din na malilinis at honest na tao? Decency coupled with dedication will surely help to make our country move

HARD WORK. Nearly 10 percent of the country's 90 million people work abroad — many as nurses, maids, engineers, construction workers and seamen. Charlie Magno file photoRemittances from Filipinos working abroad amounted to $1.5 billion in July, up 9.3 percent from a year earlier due to sustained demand for Filipino manpower and increased access to money transfer facilities, officials said Tuesday. Cental Bank Governor Amando Tetangco said Tuesday he expects remittances to remain stable for the rest of year because of the “sustained remittance flows at the onset of the second half of the year and continuing signs of improving global economic conditions." Remittances in January-July have totalled $10 billion, up 3.8 percent from a year earlier. The United States, Canada, Saudi Arabia, Britain, Japan, Singapore, United Arab Emirates, Italy, and Germany have been the major sources of remittances this year. Nearly 10 percent of the country's 90 million people work abroad — many

Almost 200 Filipino workers still remain at the Hajj terminal in Jeddah - a safe house temporarily provided by the Philippine Consulate for stranded workers who are awaiting repatriation. - Ronaldo Concha A total of 66 stranded Filipino workers have finally returned to the Philippines from Jeddah after they were repatriated by Saudi deportation authorities, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Tuesday. In a statement, the DFA said the group consisted of 24 adults and 42 children. They arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport at 6 a.m. Tuesday. According to Anthony Basil, administration staff of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), most of these workers were runaways from Riyadh and the Eastern Province. But instead of seeking help from the Philippine Embassy in Riyadh or the Philippine Overseas Labor Office in Alkhobar, many of the workers opted to travel to Jeddah in hopes of being sent home for free by Saudi authorities through a deportation process. S

22 RP SEAFARERS STILL HELD HOSTAGE Win Far 161 - Hijacked April 6 with 17 Filipinos. MV Charelle- Hijacked June 13 with 3 Filipinos. Sichem Peace - Hijacked July 4 with 2 Filipinos.* * Except for the Sichem Peace, all the ships mentioned are in the hands of pirates in Somalia. - Data collected by GMANews.TV (Updated: 3:43 PM) After more than five months in captivity, 22 Filipino seafarers on board a Greek merchant ship were freed by their Somali captors, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said. In a statement on Tuesday, the DFA said the local manning agency of MV Irene confirmed the safe release of the all-Filipino crew on Monday. "Negotiations for the release of the vessel and its crew had been successful and that it is now working on the repatriation of the Filipino seafarers," the DFA said. The St. Vincent-flagged merchant ship was hijacked off the Gulf of Aden last April 15. This latest development has brought down to 22 the total number of Filipino seafarers still

Consulate officials give medical attention to stranded Filipino workers who got sick while staying at a safe house in Jeddah before repatriation. - Ronaldo ConchaJEDDAH, Saudi Arabia - - Because of the hot weather and lack of supplies, many of the stranded Filipino workers staying at the Hajj terminal in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia have been falling sick. “We have lots of the stranded here in the safe house who (are) suffering from high blood pressure, others have flu. Some of the stranded females here are pregnant. We have also some children and they need milk and pampers and our problem is we do not have any more resources to support or daily expenses," said Conrado Soriano, one of the leaders of the stranded Filipinos. According to Anthony Basil, administration staff of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), most of the stranded OFWs are runaways from Riyadh and the Eastern Province. But instead of seeking help from the Philippine Embassy in Riyadh or the Philippine Overs

Overseas Filipino workers (OFW) should be wary of recruitment agencies that are still operating despite having their licenses suspended or canceled, the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) warned Monday. "The (POEA) advises the public to be wary of recruitment agencies with canceled or suspended licenses that are still actively recruiting for overseas jobs," the agency said in an advisory. It has canceled the licenses of 451 recruitment agencies since the start of its operations and placed 44 others under preventive suspension. From 2008 until the first eight months of 2009 alone, the POEA had canceled 74 operating licenses and suspended or fined 22 agencies due to recruitment violations. To verify the status of a certain agency, you may log on here. Earlier, the Task Force Against Illegal Recruitment (Tfair) named the suspected illegal recruiters with the most number of pending warrants of arrest. Senior Superintendent Gilbert Sosa, Tfair operations chief, s

The Philippines has assured the United Nations (UN) that it will send a 336-strong peacekeeping battalion to the Golan Heights in Syria to help them keep peace in the conflict-ridden area, the Department of National Defense (DND) said Monday. "It is a great honor for the Philippines to be given the opportunity to participate in United Nations peacekeeping operations. Despite our own constraints and requirements, we can be expected to continue to fulfill our obligations as a responsible and reliable troop-contributing country," Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro assured UN Undersecretary for Peacekeeping Alain Le Roy on Monday. Teodoro just arrived from a six-day official visit to the US. During the visit, he held talks with US Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Philippine Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Hilario G. Davide Jr. The DND chief assured Le Roy that the Philippines will strictly enforce “a zero-tolerance policy" against misconduct and select only t

Despite an ongoing ban on illegal matchmaking agencies, a number of Filipino women were married to their South Korean partners as mail-order brides, according to a Philippine envoy. In a report to the Department of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Luis Cruz said that as of April 2009, around 6,000 Filipino women met their South Korean spouses through matchmaking agencies. “Many were quick to accept the whirlwind marriage in order to seek employment abroad and have better opportunities in life," Cruz said. However, aside from receiving complaints about false information regarding their partner’s background, the envoy also said he has been getting reports about domestic violence against Filipina wives, noting that the abuses would often lead to abandonment, separation and divorce. Most of these troubled marriages there, he said, were those that had been arranged by illegal matchmaking agencies. While international marriage broker agencies are allowed in South Korea, these firms can not o

by RUBEN JEFFREY ASUNCION www.ofwjournalism.net QUEZON CITY–A STUDY that concluded female migrate to the United States out of filial ties resonates as the nonprofit ethnic media organization behind the study focused on immigrants to celebrate Labor Day. The New America Media group posted on its website a commentary by Manuel Pastor, Professor of Geography and American Studies and Ethnicity at the University of Southern California, which emphasized the importance of immigrants. So much so that he advises taking a new method at viewing this phenomenon as a tool to solve the US ’s pending demographic problems. Pastor’s commentary, which dedicated September 6 to immigrants, compels a review of the results of NAM’s survey titled “Women Immigrants: Stewards of the 21st Century.” The study released last May bared that women immigrants move to the US to help their families start a new life in the country once touted as a nation founded by migrants. According to United States Census data cited

by T. CHRISTIAN MILLER (Pro-Publica), contributor www.ofwjournalism.net MANILA—REY Torres dreamed of a better life for his wife and five children when he left a neighborhood of wooden shacks and burning trash piles to drive a bus on a U.S. military base near Baghdad. He hoped to send his children to college and build a new home with the $16,000 a year he earned in Iraq — four times what he could make in the Philippines. Then, in April 2005, Torres, 31, was killed in an ambush by Iraqi insurgents. His widow and children were supposed to be protected by a war zone insurance system overseen by the U.S. government. They were eligible for about $300,000 in compensation. But Gorgonia Torres knew nothing about the death benefit and did not apply. When she did learn about the insurance, two years later, it was from a reporter. She has since turned down an insurance company's $22,000 settlement offer. Her only hope of receiving full compensation is a legal fight that could drag on for years

by JEREMAIAH M. OPINIANO www.ofwjournalism.net MANILA—LABORERS and unskilled workers, mostly women, have been the country’s top remitters in the last two years. Results from the 2008 Survey on Overseas Filipinos (SOF), done by the National Statistics Office (NSO), show that laborers and unskilled workers sent home P19.491 billion ($397.8 million at US$1=P49) last year compared to the P17.574 billion ($358.7 million) sent in 2007. In both years, laborers and unskilled workers were the top remitters in terms of remittance volumes. The SOF, a rider to the fourth quarter round of the NSO’s Labor Force Survey, captures overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who were in the country from April to September. The survey culls demographic information and basic details about their remittances (including amounts and transmission channels). The biggest gainers from the year-on-year remittance volumes are trades and related workers (mostly men). From P13.220 billion in 2007, Filipinos abroad who are in th

by JEREMAIAH M. OPINIANO www.ofwjournalism.net MANILA — GROWTH rates of remittances are due to sustained sending from two types of overseas Filipinos, University of Santo Tomas economics professor Alvin Ang said. These are residency permit holders and naturalized citizens in Japan, Germany, Norway, Greece, the Netherlands and Canada. They are also in countries whose demand for Filipino workers is next to nil. Ang describes these Filipinos as “non-traditional” remittance senders. But they have helped the Philippines weather the storm of possible remittance declines as a result of the global economic crisis, according to him. “You wonder why they are sending more money at this time. Or first of all, why them?” Ang told the OFW Journalism Consortium. Permanent migrants are sending more money now regardless of what jobs they have overseas. They include Filipinos holding residency permits doing domestic work for foreign households and who have their families with them, Ang says. Data on the