KAKAMMPI News

The remains of a Filipino woman who was slain in Singapore last March 15 arrived in Manila Friday night and was received by her sister at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport's cargo section. A report on dzXL radio on Saturday said the body of Roselyn Reyes Pascua was brought to Manila on a Cebu Pacific flight at 9:05 p.m. Pascua’s sister Jenny Leda said they plan to bury the remains this coming Tuesday at the Garden of East Memorial Park in Sta. Cruz, Laguna. Pascua, 30, was found with stab wounds in her rented room at Bencoolen Street before dawn last March 15. The Philippine Embassy in Singapore said Pascua entered Singapore on February 3 as a tourist and extended her social visit pass until April 4. She was staying alone in a rented room at the Peony Mansion when the incident occurred. Police arrested an Indian suspected to be behind the killing of Pascua. The Singapore Police Force (SPF) did not identify the suspect but said he was 34 years old. “Murder is a serious crime. W...

CHICAGO – Although the more than 200,000 marchers for immigration reforms were somewhat overshadowed by the health care reform debate at the Capitol Hill, they are hopeful that a bipartisan support from the U.S. Congress could put the long-sought sweeping immigration measure over the hump this year. “This is also how we will achieve a comprehensive immigration reform. It takes courage, clarity of purpose, boldness of action, and using the people's voices and stories to describe the reality of our human needs and conditions," said Juanita Salvador-Burris, one of the organizers on board one of the hundreds of busloads from Chicago, Illinois, who joined the hundreds of thousands of marchers in Washinton D.C. Salvador-Burris, an officer of the Alliance of Filipinos for Immigrant Rights & Empowerment (AFIRE), hopes the mammoth crowd in the nation’s capital put pressure on members of Congress to also give attention to the immigration reform legislation. “(It) took us more than 1...

The Philippine offices in Singapore and Hong Kong are changing their work hours during the overseas absentee voting period, which will run for a month starting April 10. The Philippine Embassy in Singapore announced it will be reverting to a Monday-Friday work schedule, as it expects large numbers of voters who will be casting their votes over the weekends. During the one-month period, the Embassy will be closed to public transactions on Saturdays and Sundays. No consular or labor services will be available on 11, 18, and 25 April and 02 and 09 May 2010, it said. However, the Embassy will be open for such services from Monday to Friday starting April 16 until May 7. Office hours will meanwhile continue to be from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., and from 1:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. Visa applications will continue to be received from Monday to Thursday only, the Embassy added, but applicants are still advised to schedule their visit. In Hong Kong, the Philippine Consulate General will be open from Monday ...

Three of the 12 Filipino seafarers virtually detained for over eight months in a Panama-flagged ship arrived in Manila Tuesday, bringing with them hopes not only for the payment of their back wages, but also for the speedy repatriation of their compatriots still in Greece. Fifty-year-old Primo Fernandinco, who worked as a cook in the cargo carrier MV Aetea Sierra, expressed concern for the welfare of the nine other Filipinos still aboard the ship, which has been grounded in Greece since July last year. “Tipid na lang kami sa pagkain para hindi maubos. ‘Yung tubig, kinakalawang na rin (We’re scrimping on food so it will last. As for our water containers, they’re taking up some rust too)," Fernandinco said in an interview with GMANews.TV. Fernandinco arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport on the afternoon of March 23 from Athens, along with mess men Jerry Laride and Erolin Chong Jr. Stranded since July The MV Aetea Sierra was impounded in the Piraeus Port in September nea...

Overseas Filipino workers in Iran were warned against falling for "contracts" to carry items or baggage from Iran to another foreign city in exchange for money or leisure trips. Philippine Ambassador to Iran Generoso Senga said this is likely part of a modus operandi of drug-trafficking rings in the country. "Filipino victims were asked to bring a certain item or baggage from Iran to another country, usually Bangkok, Thailand or Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in exchange for money or leisure trips abroad," the Department of Foreign Affairs said in its website. The DFA also advised the public to be vigilant when offered similar job offers in Iran and to first check the veracity of the job being offered with the Department of Labor and Employment or the Philippine Overseas Employment Agency. Earlier, the DFA issued a warning to the public on smuggling illegal drugs in Iran after two Filipinos were apprehended for attempting to smuggle illegal drugs there. The two were lured b...

The Philippine Embassy in Riyadh has denied it had "overlooked" the repatriation schedule of 11 pardoned overseas Filipino workers (OFW) in the Kingdom, which resulted in the workers missing their flight. In a statement posted on the Embassy’s Web site Tuesday, it said the workers are in the custody of Saudi jail personnel, who in turn have the sole authority to make arrangements for the OFWs’ repatriation. "From their detention cells, the (OFWs) are directly brought to the tarmac and board the plane without going through the normal immigration procedure; they are not subjected to the departure protocols at the airport. It has to be emphasized that only Saudi authorities can bring the detainees to the airport and this Embassy does not have any authority to do so," the Embassy stated. The 11 pardoned Filipinos were originally scheduled for repatriation to Manila on March 15, but missed their midnight flight as their group, escorted by Saudi police authorities, arrive...

A Bermuda-flagged cargo ship with a Filipino crewmember on board had been hijacked off Oman, Philippine officials in Kenya confirmed on Wednesday. The Philippine Embassy in Nairobi said MV Talca was hijacked Tuesday off the coast of Oman, the Department of Foreign Affairs said. "On board the vessel are 23 Sri Lankans seafarers, one Filipino and one Syrian," the DFA said, citing information from the European Union Naval Force (EUNAVFOR). The ship was seized by pirates 120 miles off the coast of Oman, the DFA said. There are four Filipino seafarers, in two vessels, being held captive by pirates in Somalia, the DFA said. - RJAB Jr., GMANews.TV