KAKAMMPI News

At least 84 Filipina cleaners have been living in misery since being abandoned by their employer without salary, food, water and electricity at a home in the United Arab Emirates. While the local Filipino community has extended some help, the Filipina cleaners are also seeking redress from labor officials in Dubai as well as help from doctors. “We welcome any Filipino doctor who will come and check our health. Many have symptoms of hypertension due to the depressing situation, breathing difficulties, asthma, skin rashes, cough and cold. We are sleeping on the rooftop where we can get fresh air," Mary Grace Teneros said in an article posted Sunday on UAE news site Khaleej Times. Teneros was one of the first four cleaners who filed a suit before the Dubai court after they found out they were illegally brought there. For now, leaders of the Filipino community have helped keep up the spirits of the stranded Filipina workers and have brought them food, medicines, and toiletries. Roach ...

Iniwan nila ang glamoroso at maingay na mundo ng showbizness upang makipagsapalaran sa ibang bansa at makapagsimula ng bagong buhay. Sa episode ng OFW Diaries hosted by Kara David nitong Biyernes, ikinuwento nina Julio Diaz at Bernardo Bernando ang kanilang naging karanasan bilang mga overseas Filipino workers (OFWs). Dekado 80 nang sumikat si Julio sa industriya ng showbiz bilang dramatic actor. Sa husay niya sa pag-arte, dalawang Best Actor Award na kanyang naiuwi. Ngunit matapos makagawa ng mahigit 60 pelikula, unti-unti nang nawala ang ningning ng bituin ni Julio, na nagmarka sa ginawa niyang pelikula tungkol sa buhay ng bayaning si “Macario Sakay." “During that time kasi nandito ako sa bansa natin, siyempre medyo bumaba na nang bumaba yung career ko, bumaba na yung marketing value ko rito as an actor, so sabi ko hindi ako puwedeng titigil lang dito para lang sa isang bagay na para bang maghihintay," kuwento ni Julio sa OFW Diaries. Taong 2002 nang lumipad si Julio sa Aus...

A battered Filipino maid in the United Arab Emirates is getting another shot at justice after officials in Sharjah emirate decided to reopen her case. UAE-based news site Khaleej Times reported the Sharjah Immigration is looking into the reasons why Marialyn Vinluan has not received compensation for torture she endured from her employer. Vinluan had escaped from her Lebanese lady employer in Ajman on August 9 last year after she was beaten up, but it was not until May this year that the unpaid compensation came to light. (See: UAE-based Pinoy workers rally around battered colleague) Maritess Bautista, a coordinator of the consulate, said immigration authorities learned that Vinluan is being forced to go home without compensation for physical and mental torture. Bautista is assisting distressed Filipino workers in Sharjah, Ajman, Ras Al Khaimah and Fujairah. Major Ibrahim Hamdan, assistant investigation officer at the Sharjah Immigration, meanwhile said the papers for Vinluan’s case are...

overseas Filipino worker in Saudi Arabia needs government assistance as his health is deteriorating after suffering a stroke last August. Migrante Middle East regional coordinator John Monterona said Tamano Saltan Ismail, 35, is staying at a shelter and needs to be rehospitalized. “Fellow workers and some kababayans (compatriots) are taking care of him but his recovery is too slow due to lack of proper medication and medical attention. As the KGS (Kapatiran sa Gitnang Silangan) welfare officers have told us, his condition is now deteriorating," Monterona said in an article on the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines news site. “We believe he must be rehospitalized for better medical attention and we need the help of the Philippine consulate on this matter," he added. Monterona said Ismail, a native of Maguindanao, was rushed to the King Saud Medical Center last August 24, and underwent brain operation. Citing a clinical abstract signed by attending physician Al...

Philippine officials have started helping overstaying Filipinos in Saudi Arabia take advantage of a six-month amnesty period allowing overstaying foreigners to leave the kingdom without punishment. Ambassador Antonio Villamor said he will meet with Interior Ministry officials in Saudi to clarify certain details so he can guide the concerned overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) on how to avail of the amnesty. "I have informed the Department of Foreign Affairs in the Philippines about this development. We are indeed thankful to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah for this generous gesture," Villamor said in an article on Saudi-based news site Arab News. Meanwhile, the Philippine Consulate General in Jeddah said it will issue an advisory about the amnesty to the concerned OFWs. Labor Attache David Des Dicang of the Philippine Overseas Labor Office in the Eastern Region said the organization was “indeed happy beyond words over this good development." “OFWs who ran aw...

Seven Filipinas staying in London were recently arrested by the United Kingdom (UK) Border Agency and are set to be deported following a series of immigration crackdown operations. In a release posted on the website of the British Embassy in Manila, the seven Filipino women were arrested, along with other foreign nationals, during Border Agency raids on different addresses in Willesden in northwest London on September 16. “The enforcement operations are part of a planned nationwide crackdown by the UK Border Agency to tackle illegal working, sham marriages, bogus colleges and organised immigration crime," the release said. It was unclear, however, what specific immigration laws were violated by the seven. The release said UK Border Agency officers received information on locations of illegal migrants in Willesden and conducted the raid, along with Metropolitan Police officers and Brent Council staff. They found 50 people inside the addresses and in one accommodation, and arrested ...

After Saudi authorities announced a blanket royal pardon for all violators of the Kingdom’s residency laws, a Filipino migrant advocacy group there urged the Philippine government to assist undocumented overseas Filipino workers to avail of the amnesty. In a statement, Migrante-Middle East said there are thousands of undocumented Filipinos in the Kingdom who can benefit from the pardon. “We are urging the concerned RP posts to immediately guide and provide assistance to undocumented and illegally staying OFWs to avail of the Royal pardon," said Migrante regional coordinator John Leonard Monterona. An article posted on the Saudi Gazette said Saudi’s Ministry of Interior has announced a blanket “Royal pardon" for residency law violations, and illegal residents are advised to complete the procedure for their departure at the foreigners’ personnel offices of the Kingdom. According to the article, applications for inclusion in the pardon will be processed from September 25, 2010 t...