KAKAMMPI News

 The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration warns both Filipino workers and tourists looking for work in Macau to be cautious in accepting offers from other Filipinos for supposed employment in mainland China. The Department of Foreign Affairs has endorsed to the POEA the case of a Filipina household service worker in Macau who was allegedly recruited by a Filipina named Pia Ciabacal. According to the DFA, the OFW went to Macau as tourist and was able to land a job as household service worker. Ciabacal allegedly offered her a job in Beijing for the same position with a monthly salary of RMB7,500 per month. The domestic worker was able to enter and work in China but the employer refused to pay her any salary for her services. They even confiscated her passport and cellular phone. Pia Ciabacal and other Filipinos in Macau allegedly work as agent for a certain Chinese recruiter known only as “Fancy”. Fancy allegedly owns an establishment called MMC Enterprises located at Bele

February 24, 2018 Written by Lee Ann P. Ducusin Published in  Overseas Filipino Workers Read: 188 THE Department of Labor and Employment has established and OFW Command Center to serve as the central referral and action hub for the protection and welfare of overseas Filipino workers. Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III issued Administrative Order No.73 creating the 24/7 OFW Command Center for all walk-in, email, text and telephone requests for assistance. The center will also attend to the requests of OFWs through news reports and referrals. The center will also be accessible through the social media and online messaging platforms and shall promptly respond to the OFWs’ employment concerns, welfare cases, repatriation and other related concerns. “The operation of the Command Center will help ensure that all the concerns of our OFWs are attended to, especially if the incident involving them needed immediate action and assistance,” Bello said. The im

February 10, 2018 Written by Efren Montano Published in  Overseas Filipino Workers Read: 629 THE Philippine government is set to seal an agreement with China on opening its labor market to Filipinos, following President Rodrigo Duterte’s order to continue banning the deployment of Filipino workers to Kuwait. “Maglagda kami ng bilateral agreement with China kung saan ay magpapadala rin tayo ng ating mga OFW (overseas Filipino workers),” Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said. Bello said the bilateral deal on deploying OFWs was supposed to be signed on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit in November last year. “Medyo humingi lang ng time ang China para pag-aralang maigi ‘yung lalagdaan namin na bilateral agreement pero ngayon ipagpapatuloy na namin ang pagpirma,” the Labor chief said. Bello, however, did not specify when the agreement will be signed as it is still in the works. Duterte earlier said he will ask

Kyodo News Posted at  Feb 27 2018 10:22 PM  | Updated as of  Feb 28 2018 09:04 AM Japan clamps down on apparent job seekers applying for refugee status Japan clamped down on hundreds of immigration law violators late last year, including those applying for refugee status to seek employment rather than protection in the country, the Justice Ministry said Tuesday. Immigration authorities in Tokyo and Nagoya took action against a total of 341 foreign nationals for immigration violations, including overstays, between Nov. 6 and Dec. 1, according to the ministry. They included 94 asylum seekers, with 80 of them withdrawing by the end of January their applications or appeals against decisions not recognizing them as refugees. "Most of the 94 people applied (for refugee status) with the aim of seeking employment," said a ministry official. From 2010 until mid-January, Japan had been granting work permits to all asylum seekers six months after they filed for ref

Published  February 27, 2018 10:33pm  A Filipina maid who was being abused by her Kuwaiti employers had been rescued and was in contact with her family, GMA News TV program "State of the Nation with Jessica Soho"reported on Tuesday. The rescue came a day after the maid, 24-year-old Marjorie Lizada, told relatives that her  employers had pulled-out her toenails and had abused her sexually . Lizada's distressed family had earlier told GMA 7 news program "24 Oras" that they had repeatedly sought the assistance of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) for a rescue. On Tuesday evening, OWWA administrator Hans Leo Cacdac said Lizada was in good condition, was in touch with her mother, and her exit papers from Kuwait were being processed. The Philippine government has stopped the deployment of Filipino workers to Kuwait following reports of abuse, among which was the killing of domestic Joanna Demafelis whose body was found

Published  February 27, 2018 9:09pm  By ANNA FELICIA BAJO, GMA News Joanna Demafelis did not report the abuse she suffered allegedly in the hands of her employers in Kuwait before she was killed. This was according to Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) Deputy Administrator Arnel Ignacio in an interview with Bawal ang Pasaway. She was later found stuffed inside a freezer at an apartment in the Gulf state. Nonetheless, Ignacio admitted that the agency was also to blame for Demafelis' fate. The OFW was found dead a year after she was reported missing by her loved ones. "She finished her contract eh and she even asked for an extension," Ignacio said. Ignacio said that OWWA's fault was its inaction when Demafelis' sister Jessica reported her missing. "Ito 'yung kasalanan … ng OWWA para maging patas tayo. Si Jessica 'yung kapatid niya, pumunta rito. Ang sa record namin, February nung 2017," Ignacio said.

Published  February 27, 2018 7:14pm  A Filipina domestic worker in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, has been reported missing by her relatives in the Philippines who are hoping that she will not be the next Joanna Demafelis. "Hindi nga namin alam kung ano ang nangyari sa kanya, kung buhay pa o... sana ay buhay pa," said Ric Burlaza, brother of missing OFW Nilda Bongar, in a report by GMA News' Mark Salazar on 24 Oras on Tuesday. Demafelis, an OFW in Kuwait who had been missing for more than a year, was found dead earlier this month in a freezer in an apartment previously occupied by her employer. Bongar, a widow who has four children in Pangasinan, has been missing for a year and five months, according to her family. Her employer had reportedly told Saudi Police in September 2016 that she ran away. Bongar's family doubts she escaped from her employers, especially since she once told them how she is being maltreated by them. "Kapag dumadatin

Published  February 27, 2018 1:05pm  The employers of slain Filipino worker Joanna Demafelis could face the death sentence if found guilty of murder by a Kuwaiti court, Philippine Ambassador Renato Villa said in an interview on News To Go on Tuesday. "Dito sa Kuwait, kung mapatunayan 'yung kasong murder, ay death by hanging [ang parusa]," Villa said. Demafelis' employers, a Lebanese man and his Syrian wife, are accused of killing her and stuffing her body inside a freezer in late 2016 before abandoning their apartment. The body of the 29-year-old Filipino domestic helper was found earlier this month. No confirmation on arrest During the interview, Villa said they have yet to receive official confirmation on the reported arrest of the couple. He said information that the two have been arrested separately came from sources. He said information that the male suspect, Nader Essam Assad, was arrested in Lebanon came from a "security

Published  February 27, 2018 8:44am  Updated  February 27, 2018 4:13pm The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) is still awaiting formal notification from Kuwaiti authorities regarding the arrest of Joanna Demafelis' employers who are suspected of killing her. In a statement, the DFA sought to clarify an earlier report saying the department was "unsure" of the arrest of the couple suspected of killing Demafelis. "The Embassy is awaiting formal notification from Kuwaiti authorities who are the ones taking the lead role in the efforts to locate and apprehend the two and have them repatriated to Kuwait," the DFA said. "While waiting for the formal notification of the arrests, our Posts in Kuwait, Beirut and Damascus have been instructed to gather additional information and make representations to get copies of the appropriate police reports and photos of the suspects," it added. Info from "sources" In an intervie

Anuj Chopra, Agence France-Presse Posted at  Feb 27 2018 08:25 AM Saudi King Mohammed bin Salman drinks coffee during a graduation ceremony in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, February 21, 2018.  Bandar Algaloud/Courtesy of Saudi Royal Court/Handout via Reuters RIYADH - Saudi King Salman on Monday replaced top military commanders including the chief of staff, state media said, in a major shake-up of the kingdom's defense establishment. The monarch replaced the heads of the ground forces and air defences, as well as civilian officials including several deputy ministers, in a series of late-night royal decrees. No official reason was given for the sweeping overhaul, but it comes as Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman pursues military reform and a bloody campaign against Yemen's Iran-aligned Huthi rebels nears the end of its third year. "Termination of the services of General Abdul Rahman bin Saleh al-Bunyan, Chief of Staff," the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) a

News Release Blas F. Ople Policy Center and Training Institute February 27, 2018 The Blas F. Ople Policy Center and Training Institute is now offering language courses as part of its “Skills for Jobs” program to enhance the core competencies of aspiring overseas Filipino workers including seafarers as well as local job applicants. The policy center is a non-stock, non-profit organization that provides assistance to distressed overseas Filipino workers and also serves as a resource center for labor migration concerns and policies. It also provides communications, leadership, and financial literacy seminars and writing workshops for OFWs and their families. Beginning March 5, the Ople Center will be offering basic and intensive Japanese language courses to be taught by proficient Japanese language teachers who have passed the N-5 language proficiency exams. Isabelita Robles, who recently retired from the Philippine Senate as committee secretary and is now also t

Published  February 26, 2018 2:43pm  By VIRGIL LOPEZ, GMA News Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II on Monday ordered a criminal investigation against the recruiters of Joanna Demafelis, the overseas Filipino worker (OFW) whose body was found in a freezer in Kuwait. Aguirre issued Department Order 102 directing the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to probe and file cases, if evidence warants, against Our Lady of Mt Carmel Global E-Human Resources Incorporated. Demafelis died in Kuwait after suffering from extreme physical abuse allegedly committed by her employers. Her corpse was found inside a freezer after a year, prompting the government's total deployment ban to the Gulf state. He also vowed justice for Demafelis. Last week, authorities in the Middle East separately arrested the employers of 29-year-old Demafelis suspected to have been involved in her killing. Nader Essam Assaf, a Lebanese national, and his wife Mona, a Syrian national, h

Published  February 26, 2018 4:02pm  By VIRGIL LOPEZ, GMA News The Philippines has no plans of lifting the ban on deployment of newly hired workers to Kuwait following the arrest of employers of Joanna Demafelis, the OFW whose brutal death pushed President Rodrigo Duterte to impose such policy. "As of now, the deployment ban stays because the latest statement on this made by the President was when he visited the wake of Joanna, and he said that not only must they be apprehended, they must be punished," Duterte's spokesman, Harry Roque, said at a press briefing in Malacañang on Monday. Last week, authorities in the Middle East separately arrested the employers of 29-year-old Demafelis suspected to have been involved in her killing. Nader Essam Assaf, a Lebanese national, and his wife Mona, a Syrian, had been the subject of an INTERPOL manhunt after Kuwaiti authorities discovered early this month the battered body of Demafelis inside a freezer in

TOENAILS FORCIBLY REMOVED Published  February 26, 2018 7:10pm  A 24-year-old Filipino domestic helper in Kuwait has expressed her intention to go home after suffering abuse from her employer, GMA News' Marisol Abdurahman reported on 24 Oras on Monday. Marjorie Lizada, who started working in Kuwait in October 2016, had told her relatives in the Philippines that the abuse started during her first few months of working there. At one time, her employers allegedly forcibly removed her toenails. The abuse was not only physical but also sexual. "Sabi niya, ''Te, gusto ko nang umalis kasi hinipuan ako ng anak pa ng amo ko'," said Juliet Magtanan, Marjorie's cousin. Marjorie's employer has also threatened to kill her, Juliet said. "Sinasabihan ko siya na takas na siya 'pag may chance siya. Sabi niya, 'Wala talaga, 'te, dahil lahat ng pinto dito naka-lock," Juliet said. Marjorie also told Juliet that her em

ABS-CBN News Posted at  Feb 26 2018 08:33 AM The sister of Joanna Demafelis, a Filipina worker who was killed and found inside a freezer in Kuwait, cries over a crate containing the slain OFW's body upon arrival at an air cargo building in Parañaque.  Photo taken February 16, 2018. Erik De Castro, Reuters MANILA - The ban on the deployment of Filipino workers to Kuwait will remain for now, even after the arrest of 2 suspects in the killing of a Filipina in the Middle East state, Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said Monday. Citing President Rodrigo Duterte's pronouncement, the deployment ban would stay until the slain Filipina, Joanna Demafelis, gets justice and Kuwait guarantees the protection of overseas Filipino workers, Bello told DZMM. Kuwait also has not acted on the Philippines' request for a bilateral accord that will bar Kuwaiti nationals from confiscating the passports and moving the place of work of OFWs. "So far, wala kaming nakikitan

Published  February 25, 2018 7:00pm  DOLE Undersecretary for Workers Protection, Human Resource, and Internal Auditing Services Cluster Ciriaco A. Lagunzad III speaks during a meeting with the Filipino community at the Philippine embassy in Kuwait City on February 24, 2018. Yasser Al-Zayyat/AFP KUWAIT CITY, Kuwait — A delegation of Philippine labor officials was in Kuwait City Sunday to assess the impact of a new ban on Filipinos working in the emirate, a source of much-needed remittances. President Rodrigo Duterte earlier this month announced a departure ban for Filipinos planning to work in Kuwait, after the murder there of 29-year-old Joanna Demafelis. Her body was found in a freezer and a Lebanese-Syrian couple suspected of her murder have been arrested in the Syrian capital, Damascus, after an Interpol manhunt. Labor Undersecretary Ciriaco Lagunzad said the delegation was looking at the side effects of the ban, which will likely impact many famili

Published  February 25, 2018 4:27pm  Two overseas Filipino workers supposedly abused by their diplomat employers were featured in a Four Corners, a documentary program of Australian network ABC. According to the  program aired on February 12, two Filipinos were abused by their employers , top diplomats who were deployed to Canberra in Australia. The first Filipino featured was a certain Ruth, who declined to give further details regarding her identity. She was employed by a diplomat at the Saudi Arabian Embassy in 2011. Under the terms of the contract she signed, she was supposed to be paid A$2,150 (roughly P87, 000) monthly, but she only received the equivalent of A$250 to $350 (roughly P10,000 to 14,000) a month. "Of course, I was frustrated. And I said, well... even my family, it's like I failed them because I'm going to Australia with high hopes. I promised them, I told them that it would be a big help but then it was not," Ruth said.

Published  February 24, 2018 9:40pm  By JP SORIANO, GMA News Syrian authorities have arrested the second suspect in the brutal murder of overseas Filipino worker Joanna Demafelis, the Department of Foreign Affairs said. "We have just been informed by the Philippine Embassy in Kuwait that Mona Hassoun, wife of Nader Essam Assaf, who are the principal suspects in the murder of our kababayan Joanna Demafelis, is now in custody of authorities in Damascus," Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano said. JP Soriano @jpsoriano DFA Official confirms second suspect in the brutal murder of OFW Joanna Demafelis Mona Hassoun, wife of Nader Essam Assaf, who are the principal suspects is now in the custody of authorities in Syria. 9:23 PM - Feb 24, 2018 11 See JP Soriano's other Tweets Twitter Ads info and privacy Cayetano assured the public that with the two suspects now in custody, the DFA and the Department o

Published  February 23, 2018 7:00pm  A Filipino worker in Kuwait suffered serious injuries after she fell down the stairs while performing her duties as a household helper, GMA News stringer Shiela Vergara Rubio reported on Balita Pilipinas on Friday. A video circulating on social media shows Divina Dijos on a wheelchair while in a hospital in Kuwait. In an interview, she expressed her intention to go home to the Philippines to recover. "Sana makauwi na ako ng Pilipinas para diyan na lang ako magpagaling," Dijos, who is from Davao City, said. Dijos said she has been suffering from her condition for eight months already. She said she met an accident while rushing to perform an errand ordered by her female employer. "Nahulog sa hagdan. Inutusan ka ng madam mo ng madalian, siyempre mahuhulog ka, matataranta ka," she said. Through information from One Mindanao, GMA News learned that Dijos is already separated from her husband and childr