KAKAMMPI News

By abs-cbnNEWS.com MANILA - Globe Telecom Inc. is now offering prepaid credit for international direct dialling (IDD) services to help keep Filipinos connected to their loved ones overseas. In a statement, the second-largest telecommunications firm said it has launched its IDD Suki promo, which allows Globe prepaid subscribers to purchase IDD credit in sari-sari stores, groceries, and other load outlets. "Since it is readily available in all your suking tindahan, there is no need to go far to avail of this IDD promo," Globe Segment Business Head for Overseas Filipino Communities Alan Supnet said. Globe offers 2 IDD Suki packages, depending on the country where one wishes to call. IDD Suki 20 allows a user to make an IDD call to the United States, Canada, Hong Kong, Taiwan, or Singapore for 5 minutes for P20, while IDD Suki 30 provides a 3-minute call to Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, or Kuwait for P30. Aside from being readily accessible, Supnet said Globe's promo is...

By Maria Aleta Nieva-Nishimori, abs-cbnNEWS.com Around 60 overseas Filipino workers in the Maldives had dreamt of providing a better future for their families in the Philippines. But, they are now the source of worry of their relatives in the country. “Agahan lugaw? Magbubuhat ka ng semento ang kakainin mo lugaw? Napakahirap po ang kalagayan nila doon,” said Myrna Grimaldo, the wife of Randy Grimaldo. Mrs. Grimaldo told media during a press conference organized by Migrante International that aside from the deplorable conditions endured by her husband and other Filipinos working in a construction site in the Maldives, their employer have yet to give them their five-month salary. “Pumirma po sila ng kontrata nila doon na for 15 months at may sahod silang US$300 a month. Ngunit ngayon po, limang buwan na po ang asawa ko. Umalis po siya ng March 15 dito. Simula po ng umalis siya hanggang ngayon hindi pa din sila pinapasahod. Napakarami na po nilang utang doon. Hindi na po sila pinap...

By Reuters RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA - The Muslim holy month of Ramadan has become a popular time for many non-Muslims, especially Filipino migrant workers, to convert to Islam. Everyday in Saudi Arabia, Islamic centres across the country open their arms to non-Muslim migrant workers who decide to join the world's fastest growing religion. During Ramadan, a period of fasting, Muslim organizations set up camps attended by migrants who want to break their daily fast. One religious center, The Cooperative Office for Call and Guidance at Al-Bat'ha (COCG Al-Bat'ha) in the capital Riyadh, sees around 200 would-be-converts from different nationalities flock through their doors every month. "Thanks to Allah, the number of those who convert to Islam monthly is somewhere between 180-200 people, from different nationalities," says the COCG's Director Sheikh Nouh al-Qarain. "Most of them give the reason for converting to Islam as the one-ness of God, they want to worship ...

By Raquel Bernal-Crisostomo, ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau Filipinos in Belgium are encouraged to save or invest their hard earned money for the future to ensure a comfortable life for those who will be retiring. In a seminar organized by Samahan ng Manggagawang Pinoy sa Belgium, a micro-financing group pointed out the importance of OFWs’ earnings not only to their families but to the country as well. “Kung kaya nating pag-igihan at magagamit ng husto ang remittances, mas mapapaigi natin ang ating buhay, matutulungan natin ang ating pamilya, pati na ang sambayanang Pilipino,” said Edwin Salonga of Ateneo de Manila Microfinance Capacity Building Program (SEDPI). The group also stressed that relatives and families of OFWs should also be informed of how hard it is to earn Euros and to orient them how to be sensible in spending the money they receive. “I think the most important advise na maibibigay ko sa mga OFW in Europe is magsabi sa kanilang kamag-anak sa Pilipinas kung gaano kahir...

Former president Fidel V. Ramos urged Filipinos overseas to choose and vote for candidates who can best resolve their many problems. “They must be aware of the issues in the Philippines. Unang tutukan nila iyong mga issues, what are the problems that are important to them that must be resolved as quickly as possible,” Ramos told Atty. Mike Templo during a special episode of Crossing Borders on ANC. Ramos said OFWs must carefully examine each candidate at the national level “who are best qualified to resolve their problems”. “Those candidates themselves must also be more caring, sharing and daring than our common Filipinos including the overseas workers,” he said. “Third, beyond just focusing on issues, in selecting the candidates who can best resolve the issues that are of highest priority to them, they must themselves be as self reliant, as self supporting as can be.” Ramos is not new to the many challenges and issues faced by millions of Filipinos who seek greener pasture abroad. “Th...

An alliance of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) on Tuesday warned that some of the amendments to the Migrant Workers Act of 1995 that lawmakers are proposing could only lead to the continued abuse and neglect of Filipino migrants all over the globe. Migrante – Middle East assailed the consolidated bills in the Senate (SB 3286) and House of Representatives (HB 5649) for being anti-OFW by continuing to promote labor as a “cheap" export while institutionalizing government-imposed fees and recruitment charges. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- In reality it only promotes exportation of cheap human labor and institutionalizes exactions of government-imposed fees – John Leonard Monterona, Migrante -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- According to Migrante-ME regional coordinator John Leonard Monterona, contrary to the obligations and responsibilities of the government set out in the Migrant Worker...

DONKEY WORK. Despite the name, a drug mule is actually a person who smuggles something with him or her across a national border in exchange for money. AP photoAlarmed over the spate of jailed Filipino workers in China, an advocacy group urged the Philippine government to form a special task force to crack down on international drug rings luring mostly women migrants. The Blas F. Ople Policy Center, a non-government organization involved in helping distressed overseas workers, said the task force should include the immigration, airport and drug enforcement agencies. According to Susan Ople, the group’s president, Nigerian syndicates often escape persecution after persuading female aspiring overseas Filipino workers to transport luggage in exchange for cash. "In the end, it is our own citizens that are put in jail while the ringleaders of these syndicates remain scot-free," Susan Ople, the group’s leader, said. Last week, Philippine Consul General in Guangzhou Joselito Jimeno s...