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Showing posts from July, 2019

OFW remittances in January to May hit $13.7 billion

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Bussiness Mirror By   Rea Cu  - July 16, 2019 91 Overseas Filipino workers wave as they arrive at the Naia Terminal 1 in this 2018 BusinessMirror file photo. PERSONAL remittances made by Filipinos working abroad amounted to $2.9 billion in May this year, pushing remittances to reach $13.7 billion during the first five months of 2019, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has reported. Latest data from the BSP showed the personal remittances from overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in May represented a 5.5-percent increase, from the $2.7 billion recorded in the same month for 2018. The January to May 2019 total remittances of $13.7 billion, meanwhile, are 4.1 percent higher than the $13.2 billion recorded during the same period for 2018. According to the BSP, the steady growth in personal remittances for the five-month period came from the remittance inflows from land-based OFWs with work contracts of one year or more, which

Recruitment leader backs department for OFW

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Business Mirror By   Recto Mercene  - July 15, 2019 239 Migrant workers from the Middle East wait for their luggage at the Naia Terminal 1 in this 2018 file photo. The government is looking to set up a one-stop shop Department of Overseas Workers to better protect them from the unfair practices and abuses, and facilitate the process of vetting and documentation of migrants. THE recruitment industry said on Sunday it welcomes the creation of the Department of Overseas Workers (DOOW), which President Duterte wants to set up by year-end. “The DOOW is long overdue,” said recruitment consultant Manny Geslani. “This will be for the benefit of 3 million temporary migrant workers.” He expressed optimism that the one-stop shop department will relieve hundreds of  thousands of workers of the burdens of “simply going from one government office to another.” He said the current setup “taxes many of the applicants [as they]procure tra

POEA backs OFW bid to delay SSS fee rule

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By   Samuel P. Medenilla  - July 11, 2019 311 The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) is now pushing to defer the implementation of a new rule, which, if applied, would make it mandatory for overseas Filipino workers (OFW) to remit premium payment to the Social Security System (SSS) prior to the issuance of their overseas employment certificates (OEC). The POEA submitted a recommendation to the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to suspend the said rule stipulated in Rule 14, Section 7 of the implementing  rules and  regulations (IRR) of Republic Act (RA) 11199, or the Social Security Act. POEA Administrator Bernard P. Olalia said the deferment of the rule, together with Rule 15 of the IRR containing the provision of date of effectivity of SSS coverage, stays until the completion of further review by the Joint Committee of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), DOLE and SSS. He said POEA made the decisio

Amid increasing air strikes, OFWs in Tripoli told to take precautions

Business Mirror By   Recto Mercene  - July 5, 2019 41 The Philippine Embassy in Libya has advised Filipinos residing or working near military facilities “to relocate if necessary while taking precautions” following the announcement by the Libyan National Army (LNA) that they will be carrying out more air strikes against military targets inside Tripoli. According to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), 40 people were killed and another 80 were wounded after an air strike at a migrant detention center in Tripoli on Wednesday. The DFA said it is repeating the advisory issued earlier by the embassy in Tripoli shortly after the incident that took place in Tajoura District, about 5 kilometers from a hospital compound, where around 40 Filipino nurses and their dependents are staying. There are an estimated 1,000 Filipinos in the Libyan capital and its immediate outskirts, most of them nurses and other hospital workers. Ambas

Sotto, Pimentel: Death penalty will have a better chance if limited to drug trafficking

By AMITA LEGASPI, GMA News Senate President Vicente Sotto III and Senator Aquilino Pimentel III expressed belief Monday that the proposal to reimpose death penalty would have a bigger chance of approval if it will be limited to one heinous crime — drug trafficking. “I was glad that he did not particularly center on what type because we are looking at the possibility of the Senate being able to pass it if it is confined to high level drug trafficking only,” Sotto told reporters. He said if plunder would be included, other senators might oppose it. “We will try to convince some of our colleagues. It’s a heavy debate but we just have to work on it,” he said. Pimentel said the proposed measure will face an uphill climb if it will include other crimes. “That expands the coverage so sa proponents ng death penalty this is all I can say, as soon as you expand the coverage to more than one heinous crime, then you will have a more uphill climb,” he said in a separ

Duty Free PH sells pasalubong packs online

July 29, 2019   By Cristina Lee-Pisco   People's Journal TO match up with the latest trend of online shopping, the Duty Free Philippines (DFP) is now selling its exclusive pasalubong packs (chocolates sold in bags) through online. Exclusive pasalubong packs can now be purchased online through dfp.com.ph, the DFP said. When purchasing online, customers’ flight details are required. Shoppers are allowed to buy up to US$1,000 worth of items 48 hours upon arrival and their items will be prepared for pick-up at the airport. Chocolates remained the number one category in terms of sales in all DFP outlets, with 30 percent share in the total consolidated sales from January to June. The confectionery category is led by Toblerone, Cadbury, Hershey, Mars, Nestle, and Lindt. These top six brands have a combined share of almost 65 percent of the total sales under the said category. Currently, there are about 100 chocolate brands from premium to tradition

Pinoy on seized ship in good spirits; envoy in Iran vows he'd be free –DFA

Published  July 28, 2019 2:57pm  The Filipino seafarer on the oil tanker seized in Iran was in good health and "good spirits," the Department of Foreign Affairs said on Sunday. In a statement, the DFA said that Ambassador to Iran Wilfredo C. Santos has reported that Philippine Embassy officials got a chance to get onboard the seized MT Stena Impero on July 19, and were allowed to talk to the Filipino seafarer who was part of the oil tanker's 23 crew members. “[He] is in good health and in good spirits, and said that the captive crew are treated well and allowed free movement while inside the vessel for their normal duties,” the DFA said. Also, they were also given the opportunity to communicate with family and allowed Internet access from time to time. While the vessel is embargoed in Iranian waters, the Filipino seafarer asked authorities that his family to be taken care of. He also thanked his manning agency and the PHL Embassy for thei