KAKAMMPI News

Filipino workers bound abroad await the 'green light' from immigration officials at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport GMANews.tv MANILA, Philippines - The owner and two employees of a travel agency allegedly involved in sending four overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Singapore with falsified working visas were formally charged Monday before the Manila Regional Trial Court. Charged with violations of Migrant Workers and Overseas Act of 1995 were Luciano Lim, proprietor of Excellent Travel Inc, and his two employees, Ronald Lingad and Flordeliza Herpacio. The three were arrested last April 15, 2008 after victims – Ermelinda Asis, Marites Potot, Maryjean Estabillo and Lita Castillo – filed a complaint against them. Assistant City Prosecutor Joseph L. Guevarra, the prosecutor recommended no bail for the provisional release of the three accused. Government investigations showed that Lim’s agency had been allegedly involved in the recruitment of prospective applicants by using ...

DAISY C.L. MANDAP, GMANews.TV MANILA, Philippines - The head of the assistance to nationals (ATN) section of the Philippine Consulate in Hong Kong clarified that there are only two Filipinas recently detained in the territory on drug trafficking charges. Vice Consul Val Roque’s statement came in the wake of reports coming from Manila that at least seven Filipinas from the Cordilleras were used as couriers or "mules" by a drug syndicate which may be operating from Africa. The drugs are believed to be destined for China. According to Roque, a check with Hong Kong authorities revealed that only two Filipinas were recently arrested for drug trafficking, and are now detained at the Tai Lam correctional facility for women. "We knew about these cases even before the reports came out in Manila because we extended assistance to both women," Roque said. He said only one of the women is from Baguio, as the other one is from Pangasinan. But just to make sure, he said he contact...

Over 100 runaway overseas Filipino workers temporarily stay at the Philippine consulate office in Jeddah to await deportation. Bong ConchaMANILA, Philippines - Runaway and stranded overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) run the risk of being treated like ordinary criminals with the new fingerprinting system taking effect in securing resident permits. This was the concern of Migrante-Middle East, an alliance of OFW groups, as Saudi’s passport department announced the mandatory fingerprinting for the iqama of all expatriate workers starting last May 10 (Saturday). "With the implementation of ‘fingerprinting’ in Saudi Arabia, we are worried that all runaway and stranded [OFWs] will now be classified and treated as ordinary criminals as such it is leading to [the] ‘criminalization’ status of undocumented workers at deportation centers and resource centers in the entire Kingdom," said Andrew Ociones, Migrante-Saudi Arabia chairperson. According to th...

MANILA, Philippines - The Filipina founder of a non-government organization of domestic helpers and women became the first Asian recipient of an international social entrepreneurship award. Ma. Cecilia Flores-Oebanda, President of the Visayan Forum Foundation was awarded by the Skoll Foundation on April 27 in England as the first Asian to receive the Award for Social Entrepreneurship. Present during the awarding was former US President Jimmy Carter. The Foundation said Oebanda "will join the growing global network of Skoll social entrepreneurs, now numbering 59, who have created innovative, proven solutions for tackling the world’s most urgent social and economic challenges." Maribel Buenaobra, Managing Program Officer at The Asia Foundation, nominated Oebanda for her valuable contribution to addressing gender-based violence, particularly human trafficking, in the Philippines. "Since 2002, we have had a fruitful partnership with Visayan Forum Foundation to support the op...

MANILA, Philippines - There were no Filipino casualties after a 7.8-magnitude earthquake rocked the Sichuan province in China Monday, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said on Tuesday. "Based office and initial accounts of Chengdu-based [overseas Filipino workers] OFWs there were no Filipino casualties," said DFA spokesperson Claro Cristobal in a text message to GMANews.TV. According to Cristobal, there are 397 Filipinos (as of February 2008) based in Chengdu, Sichuan's provincial capital. Most of the Filipinos there are employed as teachers, engineers, technicians and musicians. "The consulate and the Philippine Embassy in Beijing continue to monitor the situation and coordinate with authorities in the affected provinces," Cristobal said. The death toll from China's worst earthquake in three decades climbed Tuesday to about 10,000, while rescuers struggled to reach the epicenter of a quake that toppled schools, buildings and factories. Worst hit were ...

MANILA, Philippines - Two Filipino women accused of being unwitting drug couriers are being assisted by Philippine Consulate officials in Hong Kong where the two are detained. The names of the two – one from Baguio City and the other from Pozzorubio, Pangasinan – are being withheld at their request. In a statement on Tuesday, the Consulate said the Filipinos were arrested by Hong Kong authorities on 26 and 30 March, respectively and are presently on remand at Tai Lam Center for Women in the New Territories. A Consulate representative visited the two in prison last April 3 to offer assistance. "The Consulate has also spoken to the husband of one of the suspects to update him about his wife’s case. Representatives of the Consulate will be present during the respective court appearances of the two Filipinos later this month to confer with their lawyers and monitor the judicial proceedings," read the statement. Meanwhile, Consul General Alejandrino Vicente reiterated the warning ...

Protesters trumpet their calls to save OFW Marilou Ranario from execution in Kuwait earlier this year. GMANews.TVMANILA, Philippines - A 29-year-old Filipino worker who stabbed to death Filipina in Kuwait was sentenced to death on Sunday, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) confirmed. Bienvenido de Vera Espino was found guilty last Sunday of premeditated murder of a Filipina OFW by Kuwait's Criminal Circuit Court (Trial Court) and sentenced him to death by beheading. "Immediately after the verdict, Philippine Ambassador to Kuwait Ricardo Endaya conferred with Espino's lawyer and instructed him to appeal the case to the Court of Appeals," the DFA statement read. Reports said Espino confronted Filipina Jhias Gumapac on October 30, 2007. Espino allegedly only planned to threaten the victim for her refusal to pay for the laptop he loaned to her. But the confrontation ended in a scuffle and the accused stabbed the victim 33 times. Three other domestic helpers from the ...