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Showing posts from August, 2019

OFWs run to Supreme Court to contest mandatory SSS contributions

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Unlike Philippine-based workers whose employers shoulder part of their SSS contributions, overseas workers have to pay the entire amount even before they go abroad Lian Buan @lianbuan Published 1:48 PM, August 27, 2019 Updated 1:52 PM, August 27, 2019 Facebook Twitter Reddit Email SSS CONTRIBUTIONS. Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW) contest new law provisions making SSS contributions mandatory for land-based overseas workers. File photo from Agence France-Presse MANILA, Philippines – Overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) filed a petition with the Supreme Court on Tuesday, August 27, seeking to nullify the requirement for them to pay Social Security System (SSS) contributions. Nine OFWs, represented by left-leaning lawmakers and the labor group Migrante, filed the petition which seeks to declare null and void provisions of Republic Act 111999 of the SSS law concerning OFWs. President Rodrigo Duterte  approved the law in Febru

OFWs in China as spies? 'Preposterous,' says Lorenzana

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Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana points out that Chinese companies are mandated to provide intelligence to their government, unlike overseas Filipino workers JC Gotinga Published 5:15 PM, August 18, 2019 Updated 5:15 PM, August 18, 2019 Facebook Twitter Reddit Email DEFENSE CHIEF. Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana (center) with Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Zhao Jianhua (left). Photo from the Chinese embassy in Manila MANILA, Philippines – Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana lashed back at Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Zhao Jianhua, who reportedly said overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in China could be accused of spying just as well as Chinese workers in  Philippine offshore gaming operator (POGO) hubs  near military camps. "That's the most preposterous statement I heard in a long while," Lorenzana said in a statement on Sunday, August 18, in which he questioned Zhao's comparison of POGO wo

OFWs at kanilang mga kaanak, maaari nang magnegosyo sa abot-kamay na kapital

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August 18, 2019   Cha Echaluce   OFW NEWS   0 Images by Cha Echaluce Maaari nang makapagnegosyo ang overseas Filipino workers at ang kanilang mga kapamilya nang hindi nangangailangan ng malaking kapital Sa Kabuhayan ni Kabayan program, puwedeng bumili ng livelihood tools na may kasama pang training sa mag-o-operate Kabilang sa mga mabibili ay popcorn maker, ice cream machine, fryer, shawarma machine, atbp Gusto mo na bang makapiling ang iyong mga mahal sa buhay? Pagod ka na bang ma-homesick habang nasa abroad? O nais mo bang bigyan ng negosyo ang iyong mga kaanak para mas mabilis na makaipon? Mula sa pagiging “bagong bayani”, maaari ka nang maging “bagong negosyante”; ikaw at maging ang iyong mga kapamilya. Image by Cha Echaluce Sa bagong programa ng Duty Free Philippines, maaari nang makapagnegosyo ang overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) at ang kanilang mga kaanak nang hindi nangangailangan ng malaking kapital. Ibinahagi ng mga opisyal, sa ginanap na tour  sa Fiestamall bran

Drilon fears loss of P19B fund if OFW department created

By:  Christia Marie Ramos  - Reporter /  @CMRamosINQ INQUIRER.net  / 02:44 AM August 28, 2019 MANILA, Philippines — Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon expressed concerns that the creation of a new department for overseas Filipinos workers (OFWs) would expose the P19 billion OFW trust fund to the “sticky hands of politicians.” On Tuesday, during the organizational meeting of the Senate labor committee and labor officials, Drilon and other senators said they were puzzled as to why the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) changed its stand on the creation of an OFW department. ADVERTISEMENT “Does the plan to create a separate Department of Overseas Filipino Workers have anything to do with the disposition of the P19 billion trust fund?” Drilon asked. According to Overseas Workers Welfare (OWWA) Deputy Administrator Vivian Tornea, the agency’s trust fund amounts to approximately P19.4 billion per year. Under the proposal, several agencies deal

Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific warns against protest outside its premises

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Reuters Posted at  Aug 28 2019 12:50 PM Save Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Anti-extradition bill protesters are surrounded by tear gas during clashes with police in Tsuen Wan in Hong Kong, China August 25, 2019.  Thomas Peter, Reuters HONG KONG - Hong Kong carrier Cathay Pacific Airways warned against what it described as an illegal protest planned outside its facilities on Wednesday and that it had zero tolerance for "violent activities" and any staff who took part. Cathay has been caught in the crosswinds between authorities in Beijing and anti-government protesters who have staged sometimes violent demonstrations since June that have grown to pose the city's biggest challenge since it returned to Chinese rule in 1997. The carrier said in a statement late on Tuesday police had banned a planned protest around its Cathay City headquarters on Lantau island, next to Hong Kong's international airport, on Wednesday evening, making it illegal. &

Teen pregnancies pose the deadliest risks to both pregnant girl and infant

The Forum for Family Planning and Development (The Forum) joins the call of the government to once and for all address the challenge of teenage pregnancies in the country through a policy that calls for its prevention. Benjamin de Leon, president of The Forum, an advocacy organization that helps educate communities on reproductive health and rights, said the reality of pregnancies among girls aged 15-19 is alarming especially in localities where awareness and education about reproductive health is lacking. “We work on the ground, and  the problem is real and worrisome,” De Leon said. “Our most recent encounter was a 10-year-old pregnant girl,” he added. “We come face-to-face with teen girls who have stopped schooling because they have started childbearing, and this scenario worsens in areas with poverty and lack of education.” Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia , through   a speech  given on his behalf by Commission on Population Executive Director Juan  Antonio 

Israel delays deportation of Filipina worker, Israeli-born son

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The lawyer for Rosemarie Perez and her 13-year-old son Rohan has requested an urgent hearing on their status in a bid to have them remain in Israel Agence France-Presse @afp Published 8:44 PM, August 12, 2019 Updated 9:22 PM, August 12, 2019 JERUSALEM – The deportation of a Filipina migrant worker and her Israeli-born teenage son was delayed at the 11th hour to await a final decision on their fate, an association said Monday, August 12. Rosemarie Perez was arrested by immigration officials along with her 13-year-old son Rohan last Tuesday, August 6, for remaining in the country illegally. They were taken to Ben-Gurion airport near Tel Aviv on Sunday night, August 11, but later taken off the plane, said Beth Franco of the United Children of Israel (UCI) association. The lawyer for the family, Carmel Bensur, has requested an urgent hearing on their status in a bid to have them remain in Israel, she told Agence France-Presse (AFP).